We are creatures of habit in these here parts. Once I find a theme meal that works for us, we tend to stick to it. Buche de Noel on Christmas, finger foods for New Years, and …. wait for it…. Irish Stew on Saint Patrick’s Day. Neither FishPapa nor I care for corned beef, so we avoid that American ritual and go to something simple: a hearty beef stew.
My kids eagerly look forward to the side dishes, however: Irish Soda Bread and Dubliner cheese. The Dubliner is a little bit of a splurge, but Costco usually has a fair price on it. It’s our once-a-year gig with Irish cheese.
The soda bread is super easy to mix up. It goes great with the Irish stew — and there are rarely leftovers.
Irish Soda Bread
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons oil
1 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large mixing bowl, combine flours, baking soda and salt. Add oil and buttermilk. Stir until a sticky dough forms. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough lightly and shape into a 6-inch round. With a sharp knife, cut an X in the top of the dough. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Crust should be brown and will give a hollow sound when thumped. Enjoy warm with butter or a bit of cheese.
What do YOU serve for an Irish Feast?
Leave your link or tell us about your Saint Patrick’s Day meal.
Next week: Springtime Recipes
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I made my Irish stew a day early since I have a very packed day tomorrow… All I can say is YUMMO!! And the beef is beyond tender! Wish I had had time for Irish Soda Bread, next year for sure!
Happy St Patrick’s Day from N Ireland
I can’t link up anything, as here it isn’t actually a day when we traditionally eat anything different! We do eat irish stew sometimes, but not especially today. I have never had corn beef, in fact I didn’t know it was associated with Ireland until I started blogging a few years ago!
We don’t try to catch leprechauns, wear green so we don’t get pinched etc …everyone else seems to do these instead! Hope I haven’t disillusioned you too much
My kids don’t even have the day off school – but I’ll probably head into Belfast to photograph the parade and share it on my blog later.
Gotta have that corned beef and cabbage, right?
I looked for that cheese when I made my fondue and never did find it. Your bread looks yummy!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
~Liz
I developed this simple and ALL NATURAL recipe for dairy-free fudge just this week. It even has alternatives for special diets. It was a great hit at our home. Try it yourself -it is a great way to sneak in a secret healthy ingredient into your diet as well! Happy Saint Patrick’s Day and thanks for hosting!
We don’t really celebrate or do anything special on St. Patrick’s Day and we are not real fans of Irish food. In fact, when I went to Ireland about 6 years ago, I thought I was going to starve before I got to England! I linked up a “green” recipe using spinach today, however I think it would be great to sub Dubliner cheese.
Love that cheese! Hubby doesn’t like corned beef much, so I make a “Guinness steak pie”– double-crusted pie. You throw in some onion & floured steak, a handful of raisins, bit of brown sugar, S&P to taste, and simmer it all in Guinness (add more as needed) for a few hours. Now that I think of it, I should try this in the crockpot! Anyways, toss it in a pre-baked bottom crust, slap another crust on top and cook til the crust is done. It is amazing!
We don’t have a dinner ritual, but today I sent only green things in my 7-year-old daughter’s lunch – green salad with green Ranch dressing, kiwi, green grapes, pickles, and green lemonade. I can’t wait to hear whether or not she liked it.
thanks for hosting, happy st. pats! I plan on getting my kiddos to eat green fruits and veggies today, stop by my post and see how, plus three naturally green healthy recipes.
I always love finding new St. Pat Day recipes to try each year!
when i was growing up, my spring break was always over st. patrick’s day and we’d go to FL to visit my grandparents. my grandma would always serve corned beef and cabbage, which none of liked, so we’d go to mcdonald’s after dinner on our way back to our condo
…now it’s my husband’s birthday so we don’t really celebrate st. patrick’s day, though i did make him a grasshopper pie for dessert 
we’re having stir fry instead!
It’s been a fun day! We started with green pancakes (which sort of turned blue when they cooked). Now we’re following your exact recipes for Irish Stew and Irish Soda Bread! Looking forward to a yummy dinner! Thanks!!
I linked a little golden layer cake – the kind you find at the end of a rainbow!
We had Irish soda bread (my recipe came from a Taste of Home issue, and includes caraway seeds and raisins), fried potatoes, and a egg-sausage-mushroom-cheese breakfast casserole dish. It was a St Patty’s Day brunch for dinner.:) We watched Darby O Gill and the Little People, and ate brownies with M&Ms for dessert. We’re making shamrock cookies tomorrow, even if it’s a day late.:) The desserts may not be authentically Irish, but they’re yummy.:)
YUM! I doubled this recipe last night. I baked it on my silpat as I didn’t want it crispy crunchy as my hubby & older daughter are in braces. They gave this recipe rave reviews! I’m thinking of making a recipe into biscuits as 1/2 my family won’t eat foods cut into triangles. Seriously. haha
Allie
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