A bit o' the old Blarney

Aren't we all just a little bit Irish on St. Patrick's day? Dan, who really is mostly Irish, is making his annual batch of Irish Stew the Bailey—a hearty "blonde" lamb stew made with hunks of veggies. I also made a small batch of colcannon, which is a warm Irish cabbage and potato dish—essentially an Irish verson of what Brit's call bubble & squeak. Tradition calls for the colcannon to be served with a little well of butter in the center, so why would I mess with tradition?

(Click here to see what I did with the leftovers!)

Dan's lamb stew, the colcannon, and a slab of Blarney Castle cheese will be a nice bit o' the Blarney for our St. Patrick's day dinner. We've also got a few pints of Bottingtons ale in the ice box. We started the day with some ultra smokey Irish back bacon, hash browns, sauté of mushrooms (very British isles), and in a wildly decadent move, put some Bailey's Irish cream in our coffees! I mean, why wouldn't we have Irish cream in our coffee on St. Patrick's day?! I don't even drink coffee, but made an exception today. In our defense, it was late morning. After a day of rich foods and a serious nod to the humble spud, it'll be good to get back to greens, beans and berries tomorrow.

Irish Stew the Bailey

prepping for the colcannon