Irish party menu?

**piperdbh** · 19th February 12, 07:48 AM

Suppose you were visiting friends and family in Ireland and your hosts decided to hold a lunch party in your honor and invited 10-12 people. What traditional recipes would be on the menu? I know each individual Irish cook would add his/her own twists and choices, but are there a few dishes that appear at just about all parties/functions? I've done some Googling on the topic but want to get beyond Colcannon and Soda Bread.
The reason for this query is that the Mrs. and I are hosting a St. Patrick's Day lunch and inviting some of our friends and family. We have Irish roots umpteen generations back, but we know next-to-nothing about them. I want to have a fairly "traditional" meal, but don't know exactly where to start. My initial thoughts were:
Colcannon
Soda Bread
Green (tossed) Salad
and that's as far as I got.

Is "Irish Stew" Irish?
Yes, there are regional differences in Irish cookery, but what dishes appear pretty much the island over?
Thanks for your help.

**Paul Henry** · 19th February 12, 08:10 AM

Apple pie
Boxty pancakes
Boiled Ham
Champ
Wheaten Bread, much more usual than soda bread

Growing up there we never had colcannon, would never have thought of green salad as Irish,but we did have Irish Stew with mutton

**madmacs** · 19th February 12, 08:52 AM

Irish stew would in my experience be lamb/mutton

Soda bread...
Their equivalent of the scottish tattie scones... Fadge(?)

And apparently... Er... Corned beef, cabbage, and green beer... ???

**Paul Henry** · 19th February 12, 09:03 AM

Originally Posted by madmacs

...snip
Soda bread...
Their equivalent of the scottish tattie scones... Fadge(?)
...snip

Fadge is potato bread, and what many Scots call potato scones.
Soda bread is quite different, it's basically a scone bread, with flour, baking soda and milk, no potatoes at all!

**madmacs** · 19th February 12, 10:07 AM

Originally Posted by paulhenry

Fadge is potato bread, and what many Scots call potato scones.
Soda bread is quite different, it's basically a scone bread, with flour, baking soda and milk, no potatoes at all!

That was 2 items... Lol

And i recalled tattie scones being called fadge over there just wasnt 100% sure... Hence the (?)

**Joshua** · 19th February 12, 10:48 AM

This is my play on an Irish classic... boiled bacon with cabbage and potatoes. I did this for St. Pats last year and it was awesome.

You can make your own "loin" bacon with two days prep (for a wet cure).

Go to the butcher and ask for an untrimmed (fat still intact) whole pork loin. There should be about 1" of fat around it. I would go with 6oz per person, or therabouts.

Make a brine with veggie stock (from the store is fine), lots of salt, lots of brown sugar, clove, nutmeg, thyme, mustard seeds - all milled in an old coffee grinder that you don't intend to ever use for coffee again.

Soak the pork loin in the brine for about 6-8 hours per pound. Once done, put the whole pork loin on a rack in a pan in your fridge, uncovered for about 4 hours. The surface should be slightly tacky from all the proteins being drawn from the meat by the brine (peticle is the official term, IIRC).

Brown the whole pork loin in a 400* oven for about 20-25 minutes until the fat starts to get some real color in it.

While that's happening, fill a pot with broth (I keep homemade chicken stock around), onions, celery, carrots, and leeks. For every quart of broth, add 1/4 cup of apple cider vingar and a tablespoon of brown mustard. Make a spice sachet with cloves, whole black peppercorns, dry thyme, a cinnamon stick, and two bay leaves. Start that pot on the boil.

When the loin comes out of the oven, carefully transfer to the pot, lower heat to a simmer, and cook it until tender (I don't remember how long, I did the fork-twist test, if you can stick a fork in it, then twist that fork and the fibers separate, you are done.) As soon as you hit the "tender" spot for the loin, remove it and increase the temperature in the pot to a good boil (after removing the sachet). Boil enough shredded cabbage for your party in the broth for 25 minutes UNCOVERED (important).

I usually keep the oven on during this time and will roast yukon gold potatoes or Okinawan purple potatoes (not traditional, but my favorite), serve them with butter, and a side of the very good pork and cabbage.

**auld argonian** · 19th February 12, 09:09 AM

One of the chefs from a restaurant attached to the Irish Cultural Center here was on the Noon News program and did boxtie's. Basically an Irish latke but this guy turned it into a potato crepe with yummy fillings.

I've been searching their archive to see if the video segment is still available but no luck.

Bit of research should give you the basic info...

Best

AA

**seanachie** · 19th February 12, 07:02 PM

Originally Posted by paulhenry

Apple pie
Boxty pancakes
Boiled Ham
Champ
Wheaten Bread, much more usual than soda bread

Growing up there we never had colcannon, would never have thought of green salad as Irish,but we did have Irish Stew with mutton

I am with Paul on boxties and champ , those are two things I thoroughly enjoy on my trips. Of course in America fresh local sausage, at least in LA, is a rare find so I always enjoy bangers.