“May your troubles be less, your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door.”
Irish blessing
I am not of Irish heritage, nor is my husband. However, we’ve never been known to shy away from any holiday celebration that involves great food and lots of booze! Side note: pub, restaurant and liquor store owners have repeatedly reported the highest days for sales are around St. Patrick’s Day!
Here’s the truth. I really don’t care much about the history, folklore, or political and social controversies surrounding St. Patrick. I do not want to debate the symbolism of the color green, shamrocks or driving out the snakes, and such. What I do know is that we’ve been getting pommeled with one snow storm after another, and we are ready for spring. So we celebrate the end of a long cold winter and welcome the warmer spring days by decorating the house in green and eating corned beef and cabbage!
Setting the Mood
Time to decorate! A few days before the big meal, green stuff starts appearing all over the house.
Starters
Of course we will start with wine, but not too much. It won’t mix well with the postprandial Irish coffees. We will also have a cheese tray, nuts and deviled eggs.
Dinner
Funny thing about corned beef and cabbage -people in Ireland do not typically serve it for their St. Patrick’s Day meal! This is something we do exclusively in the United States.
Irish Coffee!
It’s easy to make and it’s delicious. It is the perfect dessert coffee, to finish up a corned beef and cabbage dinner in style.
I had the most soul-warming cup of Irish coffee in Annapolis, MD in 1998 at the Rams Head Tavern. I asked the bar keep how it was made and I’ve never veered from her recipe to this day:
- 1 and a half shots of Jamesons Irish wisky
- 2 ounces of dark roast coffee
- A pinch of brown sugar
- mix it up with a spoon
- Top with a generous portion of whipped cream, the thicker the better. Do not use any substitutes. Do not use whipped cream from a can!
- Also, don’t ruin this recipe with Baileys!
Whether it’s just Steve and me or we invite the whole neighborhood, this meal always brings me joy!
So raise a glass and have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
🥃☘️Sláinte☘️🥃
Thank you for reading! – Barb, the River Blogger (Btrb)
Feel free to reblog anything I post. I welcome all comments and discussion.
The River Blogger 
Your home looks absolutely beautiful and festive. And the food looks wonderful. Enjoy ☘️❤️
Thank you so much! 💕
Go raibh maith agat 😉
❤️☘️
Sounds delightful, particularly the Irish coffee. Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
Thank you!
Everything looks great. Can’t wait to try the Irish coffee recipe. Thanks for sharing!💚🍀💚
Loved the pics. Especially the Irish coffee pics. Wicked cool!👍👍
Looking forward to next year’s meal.
I love your ode to winter’s end! Keep enjoying all the green!
Thank you for your kind words! ☘️