March 16, 2009

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We had a fantastic time at our little St. Pattie's Day/board game party this weekend. Every one enjoyed the food, company and hysterical games. If your old Taboo box is gathering dust, be sure to bust it out the next time you have company over.

On to the menu! To start, I set out a plate of mini-shepard's pies, an Irish cheese plate (with green grapes, of course) and a zucchini carpacio. The shepard's pies were a big hit, and even ended up getting reheated once the party dragged into the wee hours. For the main course we had this lamb stew and a side of my grandma's cabbage and noodles. I tend to use a light hand with the salt when we have guests over, since I don't know their preferences, but I think these both could have used a little more seasoning. For dessert we munched on the Oreo truffles, which everyone LOVED. We also had tons of Irish beer and this green punch. The punch is dangerous, since you can't taste the alcohol at all, so be warned!

Also a big thanks to Debby over at A Feast for the Eyes, for this very sweet award:


I always enjoy Debby's blog and her comments. She has been a great friend! This award is for the following:

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated."

I want to pass this along to Foodie with Little Thyme. She is a mom, wife, runner, and of course, is always full of great recipes and delicious food. Please go check her out!

Hope you all have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day! Go kiss someone Irish!


Lamb Shank Stew with Russet Potato Top
Slightly Adapted from Tyler Florence

1 cup AP flour
salt and pepper
3 lamb shanks (appx. 24-oz.), cut into pieces
2 tablespoons EVOO
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and cut into coins
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
1/4 bunch of thyme
2 cloves
3/4 bottle (750ml) red wine
4-5 cups low sodium beef broth
1 cup barley
6 russet potatoes

Garlic-Parsley Butter:
10 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley, leaves chopped
1 stick unsalted butter
  • Preheat oven to 350℉.
  • Place flour and a liberal amount of salt and pepper on a plate.
  • Dredge lamb pieces in flour and shake off excess.
  • Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat.
  • Brown lamb pieces on all sides, the set aside.
  • Add garlic, carrots, onion, bay leaf, thyme and cloves to pot, and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until veggies are slightly browned.
  • Add beef stock, wine and barley.
  • Add lamb back to pot, cover and roast in oven for 2 hours.
  • Garlic-Parsley Butter: Make while stew is cooking.
  • Using the back of a knife, mash together garlic, salt and olive oil, to form a paste.
  • Mix with parsley.
  • Melt butter in a sauce pot and add garlic-parsley mixture.
  • Cook over low for 5 minutes, then set aside.
  • Peel potatoes and cut in half lengthwise (submerge in cold water if not ready to use immediately, to keep from turning black).
  • After stew has cooked for 2 hours, remove the lid and place potatoes on top (you may have to cut the potatoes to make them all fit).
  • Place pot back in oven to cook for 45 minutes.
  • Baste the potatoes with the garlic butter, and return to oven to cook for an additional 15 minutes, or until potatoes have cooked through.

Green Punch

2 (12-oz.) cans frozen limeade concentrate
2 (12-oz.) cans frozen lemonade concentrate
3 liters sprite
1 (750ml) bottle rum
2 quarts lime sherbet (All I could find was rainbow, which didn't affect the flavor, but I did add in a few drops of green food coloring to intensify the color)
  • Combine first 4 ingredients, then stir in sherbet.
  • Serve cold.

31 comments:

Foodiewife said...

What a beautiful party-- and such beautiful guests! I SO love lamb, and this recipe looks delicious.
Zucchini carpaccio?! Love it! After my baking marathon, it's time for me to think of more veggies!

Hugs,
Debby

Simones Kitchen said...

Sounds like you had a great party there!! Excuse my ignorance though.. but is St. patrick's day on the 15th or on the 16th?

Culinary Wannabe said...

Hi Debby - Thank-you! The zucchini is one of my favorite appetizers to serve. Really light, and very pretty!

Hi Junglefrog - It is actually on the 17th. I'm just jumping the gun. :)

Anonymous said...

What a great party! So many delicious eats! The lamb shank stew sounds amazing! And i love the green punch!

Stacey Snacks said...

Your party looks great, and the food looks terrific!
I love Debby at Feast for the Eyes too.
She always leaves a nice comment on my blog! She's a good egg!

sugarlens said...

It looks like you had a sweet little party! Glad to hear everyone enjoyed the food!

Anonymous said...

Hi there. You have a great blog! You seem like a big food network fan. Check out my blog,address listed below, and see my blog list. We have a group for Tyler Florence and we can cook any recipe we like and email it for a post on Tyler Florence Fridays. There is also a lady who belongs to TFF and she has a weekly soup blog group. Sunday soups or something like that. I thought you might be interested in that because you have a lot of soups/stews in your blog.

Michelle said...

What cute party food you made! Nice job! As an Italian I abstain from St. pats but that's just me :-)

Donna-FFW said...

WOW! You did an awesome job, everything looks fanntastic, I especially adore the punch!! You all look like you were having such a great time.. Good for you!

Sophia Lee said...

amazing! I would so love a hearty bowl of that lamb skank stew! bet everyone went home jealous of the recipe! haha!
oh, and congrats on the award!

Anonymous said...

happy st patrick's day! the food looks great!! i always have trouble during st. patricks day bc i don't own any green clothing!

Anonymous said...

What a fun party. Love the green punch with sherbert!

Culinary Wannabe said...

Hi 5 Star Foodie - I still have tons of the stew leftover, and it's been even better as leftovers. :)

Hi Stacey - Yes, Debby is definitely a good one!!

Hi Sugarlens - Thanks!

Hi Kim - Thanks for the invite, I will be sure to check that out!

Hi Michelle - Really?! Don't you live in Boston where it's like the world gets turned upside down today?? :)

Hi Donna - Thanks girl!!

Hi Burp and Slurp - I they all just wanted the oreo truffles, which a lot of them had seconds of a work yesterday. :)

Hi Dessertobsessed - No green clothing?! Go get yourself this really pretty kelly green t-shirt from Banana pronto! It's going to be my uniform for today.

Hi Noble Pig - You and I would be quite a pair with our green cocktails!

Jescel said...

wow, that lambstew looks soo good.. what a nice party you had. and the green punch is interesting :o)

Anonymous said...

What a fun looking party! I love those tiny shepherds pies- they're so adorable!
(Taboo is one of my favorite group games- I rock at it!)

Apples and Butter said...

Looks like a fabulous St. Patrick's Day Celebration. I am definitely going to have to try your stew!

Femin Susan said...

Hope you enjoyed the party.....

Foodie with Little Thyme! said...

WOW! I'm so honored. I feel like a real blogger now! Thank you so much for your kindness! The Irish Eye must be smiling on me! Thank you also for checking my blog out. You have been there almost from day one. Your comments are always a joy to see.

Glad your party was a success. We do lots of entertaining and I understand the work that goes into a nice evening. Go you!

Thanks again!
Cassie

Unknown said...

The stew looks so yummy! Sounds like you all had fun. :)

grace said...

mini shepherd pies!!! what a great idea, did i miss those on your blog? if you haven't posted about them, you should--they sound great! 'tis a lovely spread. :)

Sophia Lee said...

hey! thanks for the comment!
what do you mean by you use your mac for everything but blogging? you use another computer just for blogging?
boo hoo...I really wish mac was more blogger-friendly!

Katie said...

Sounds like a great party! I'm glad you had a good St. Patty's day :D

Femin Susan said...

Hope you enjoyed. Cheers:)

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had a fabulous time! There's nothing like good company and great food.

CookingCourtney said...

what a fun party!! all he food looks delish!

Maria said...

What a party! I am glad it was fun. Nice spread of food!

Anonymous said...

What a great party! And the food definitely adds to the festive occasion :) Great post!

Emily said...

This looks like so much fun! I'm dying to try some of your green punch.

test it comm said...

That is a nice looking St Patrick's day feast!

Dwiana P said...

stumble upon your blog here, and wishing you belated happy St. patrick's Day:)

Chris De La Rosa said...

That lamb shank stew looks amazing. Other than me, no one here will go close to lamb, so I'll have to give this a test the next time my parents visit.

Regards

Chris