As Saint Patrick’s Day approaches, I start thinking about Irish food. Of course, Irish food is so delicious that I like to enjoy it throughout the year, but Saint Patrick’s Day is a great excuse to plan an all-out Irish menu for the entire day. While I have fond childhood memories of Saint Patrick’s Day corned beef and cabbage dinners complete with my mom’s home made Irish Soda Bread, I usually make something different each year. In fact, I have started somewhat of a tradition in my home of going to the grocery store the day after Saint Patrick’s Day and picking up one or more corned beef briskets for half price. They freeze well and we can enjoy them any time.
This year, I am thinking of making Irish Soda Bread to enjoy with Irish Breakfast Tea for breakfast. I’m hoping that I if I follow the recipe closely, it will turn out as nicely as it does when my mom makes it. For lunch, I will have beef and Guinness stew with more Soda Bread – I just love Soda bread. For dinner I may try to recreate a wonderful meal that I had at a great Irish restaurant a couple of years ago. It is a twist on Boxty, the traditional Irish potato pancakes. The way that it was prepared was that potato pancakes were rolled around a delicious filing of smoked salmon, tomatoes, scallions, and cream cheese – I’m drooling just thinking about it.
As I think about, plan, and prepare this Irish feast each year I celebrate my Irish heritage. My paternal grandmother was Irish, and she would often show us pictures of Ireland. A few of my cousins actually got to go on a trip to Ireland with her, and I have seen those pictures too. They actually visited the Blarney Stone, among other places. My husband is part Irish, and he has traveled to Ireland with his family when he was a teenager. His family really enjoyed their trip, and I enjoy hearing their stories about it. We plan to travel there as a family, so that we can explore our family history and show our son where some of his ancestors lived.