St. Patrick's Brunching . . .

Last week I posted a sneak peek of the cocktail I'm serving for a St. Patrick's brunch with friends, so I figure I might as well blog about the brunch I whipped up for the occasion too.

Along with the Irish-Italian-American, I also had bottles of Killian's Irish Red Ale & Guinness Extra Stout on the ready. And to give the on-time guests something to nibble on while waiting for latecomers, I bought a loaf of Irish soda bread (which apparently has its own preservation society) and some Kerrygold tub butter. Normally I don't keep salted butter around the house, but the salted, creamy Irish butter worked well with the dense, sweet & raisiny bread (and it didn't hurt that Fresh & Easy was having a buy one, get one free promotion either.)

Along with the bread, I also put out some "crunchy greens" of pistachios and wasabi peas.

After everyone arrived, I started tossing my Emerald Isle Salad. Like the "crunchy greens", its homage to Ireland is in name only, being a hodgepodge of different greenish ingredients (spinach, butter lettuce, scallions and pistachio with a wasabi-lime dressing [recipe below]) I originally wanted to throw in some avocados too, but found out the ones I had on hand weren't quite ripe enough yet. Nonetheless, it was tasty and sophisticated at the same time with a myriad of different flavors and textures building upon each other, binded with a dressing that's delightfully tart, a little sweet with just a tinge of sinus-opening pungency from the wasabi and mustard.

For the main course, an Irish Beef Stew (originally intended to be a lamb stew, before I discovered that my local markets sold out of the stewing cuts of lamb...) and, a slightly truer homage to Ireland, Roasted Garlic-Rosemary Potatoes. The stew recipe is pretty basic and super easy... I simply browned two pounds of beef with a little salt and pepper, then tossed that in with bite-sized pieces of celery, scallions and carrots. Then I added a cup of broth and some herbs (rosemary, thyme and oregano) and let it simmer overnight in a slow cooker on the low setting. Lastly, a sprinkle of curly parsley & scallions for a little color and fresh flavor right before serving.

For the taters, I pretty much followed this CHOW recipe with just a few minor tweaks and had fantastic results (crispy, well-seasoned exterior and fluffy starchiness within.) And since both came out piping hot, it was a much appreciated entreé for my friends who drove through the cold & rain for the occasion.

Originally I intended to make some Irish Whiskey truffles for dessert but the ganache didn't quite set in time so I went for a quick sweet fix, Guinness Stout Floats. And one seemed to mind, if the empty goblets afterwards were any indication.

So there you have it, a St. Patrick's Day brunch that provided lots of comfort, yet thrown with little effort -- in tune with my party hosting style. I'm glad to squeeze one final use out of that slow cooker before the warmer days of Spring return, and I definitely plan on remaking that dressing for future salad 

Lime-Wasabi Dressing (simply combine and whisk away!)

4 oz. extra virgin olive oil

1 oz. rice vinegar

juice & zest of 1 lime (preferably organic, since the skin is used)

1 teaspoon green wasabi powder (alternatively, 2 teaspoons wasabi paste)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon brown sugar

a few dashes of freshly-cracked pepper

Recipe 31: Irish-Italian-American

I know, I know... tomorrow green beers and Irish car bombs will be all the rage for St. Patrick's, but instead of a drink that's (artificially) green to the point of frightening or one that's as crazy un-PC as hell, why not celebrate it with a little class? You can go easy-but-chic (and brunch friendly) with a Guinness Black Velvet, or in my case, the Irish-Italian-American . . . a Manhattan twist utilizing ingredients from the three distinct-yet-intertwined cultures and traditions.

Of course, since it *is* St. Paddy's -- feel free to have a little fun and name this drink after your favorite Irish-Italian-American (here's the few I recalled & tweeted from the top of my head)

Ingredients:

2 oz Irish Whiskey (Jameson or Bushmills would be fine, but I opted for John L. Sullivan since I found out that it's aged in Bourbon barrels, whimsically taking the Irish-American theme another level... and the bottle looked pretty awesome too!)

1 oz Italian Vermouth (Punt E Mes for me, since it's a nice balance of sweet & bitter with a real nice herbacious depth)

2 dashes Gary Regan's Orange Bitters (though Peychaud's would fit the American theme too)

1 ripe strawberry (A Luxardo or brandied cherry would work fine too if you want to keep it classic, but I loved how the sweet scent of the strawberry eases out the spicy edge of this drink... and gives you something light & refreshing to nibble on afterwards)

Directions:

1. Chill the cocktail glass, preferably with ice water.

2. Combine the whiskey and vermouth in a mixing glass, add a few ice cubes (the larger the better to minimize dilution) and stir gently for about 10 seconds

3. Strain into cocktail glass and add 2 dashes of bitters

4. Garnish with strawberry and enjoy!