Like most Americans, I feel extremely Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day. Only a few drops of Irish blood flow through my veins, but that doesn’t stop me from celebrating the Old Sod by singing Irish songs, wearing green, and cooking stereotypical Irish foods on March 17.
The songs may be my favorite part of the celebration. Most of them are, like me, more American than Irish. “Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral” (“That’s an Irish Lullaby”) was written for a show on Tin Pan Alley in 1913. “My Wild Irish Rose” was written and sung by an Irish-American performer named Chauncey Olcott. And so on.
I don’t care about the music’s pedigree. I just love to sing it in my faux Irish brogue. Saint Patrick’s Day gives me license to wax a bit maudlin as I croon “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen” or be ever so slightly risqué with songs like “Who Threw the Overalls in Mrs. Murphy’s Chowder.”
No one is a cynic on Saint Patrick’s Day. Some say the cynicism is washed away by the vast amount of alcohol that traditionally flows on this holiday. I prefer to think that the stereotypical (but to me very welcome) Irish sentimentality dispels skepticism and doubt.
Like Saint Patrick’s Day music, the food associated with this holiday is less than subtle. The dish most Americans think of when they think of Saint Patrick’s Day, corned beef and cabbage, is nothing if not hearty.
Interestingly, again like much of our music for March 17, the combination of corned beef and cabbage is not native to the Emerald Isle.
“Smithsonian Magazine” reports that most people in Ireland traditionally ate pork rather than beef. It was only when they came to the United States that Irish immigrants began to dish up corned beef with their potatoes.
Soda bread is authentically Irish. The soda bread served on the Emerald Isle in the past was plainer than the version we Americans generally bake today, however.
According to the Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread (yes, such an institution exists, if only on the internet), authentic soda bread consists of only flour, baking soda, buttermilk, and salt.
The society deems recipes that include additional ingredients heretical. I must be a heretic. I find that a little butter helps moisten the bread. My soda bread is still plain and easy — and is always eaten before it has time to dry out.
I have tried other versions of soda bread, including recipes with whole-wheat flour and no sugar. I only make soda bread once a year, however, so I gladly throw in a little white flour and sugar and prepare my favorite soda bread instead.
Here I share that recipe, along with a formula for Gaelic chicken from my friend Craig Hamilton.
Craig isn’t precisely Irish. He lives in New Jersey and prides himself on his Scottish ancestry. Nevertheless, his recipe calls for Irish whiskey so I think it qualifies as Irish, and “Gaelic” covers a broad swath of languages. Craig is a chef, and his dish is decadently rich and boozy.
I leave you with the traditional Irish blessing. Please share it with your friends. Share a little “Irish” music and food as well.
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
Craig’s Gaelic Chicken
Ingredients:
for the whiskey cream sauce:
½ cup (1 stick) butter
1 onion, diced
1-½ teaspoons minced garlic
½ cup flour
coarse salt to taste
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups chicken stock
½ cup Irish whiskey
¼ cup sherry
for the chicken:
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thick slices
a small amount of olive oil for sautéing
1 cup sliced mushrooms
whiskey cream sauce to taste
Instructions:
First, make the sauce. In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and the garlic and sauté them until the onion is soft. Add the flour; season with salt; and cook, stirring, until the mixture is a pale golden color.
Whisking constantly, slowly add the liquids, and whisk until smooth and velvety. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the sauce thickens (about 10 minutes). Remove the sauce from the heat while you start the chicken.
Sauté the chicken pieces in the oil until they brown. Stir in the mushrooms and sauté until they start to wilt. Add as much whiskey cream sauce as you like. (You will have extra!) Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or egg noodles.
This recipe serves 1 to 2 but can be multiplied with additional chicken and mushrooms.
Irish Cottage Soda Bread
Ingredients:
4 cups flour
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup (½ stick) cold butter, cut into six pieces
1 cup dried cranberries (you may substitute raisins if you like)
1 egg
1- cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
green sprinkles (optional)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
In a bowl, combine the flour, the sugar, the salt, and the baking powder. Use two knives or a pastry cutter to cut in the butter. Do not over mix; be sure to leave tiny bits of butter visible in the flour. Stir in the cranberries.
In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, the buttermilk, and the baking soda. Combine them with the other mixture — don’t mix them too much — and form the resulting dough into a ball.
On a lightly floured board, knead the dough for 3 to 5 minutes. Form the bread into two round mounds, place them on the prepared cookie sheet, and make a cross with a serrated knife in the center of each. Decorate the top with sprinkles if you wish.
Bake the mounds until they are golden brown in spots, about 35 to 40 minutes. Makes two small loaves.
Food writer Tinky Weisblat of Hawley is
the author of “The Pudding Hollow
Cookbook” and “Pulling Taffy.” For more
information about Tinky visit her website, www.TinkyCooks.com.