Everybody loves a party, but there is something about a Southerner that makes them reach lunge for any excuse to celebrate.
We’ve always focused on our Scottish ancestry (David’s a Douglas and I’m a Ferguson) but I do, at least, have some Irish heritage as well (McCormick on my Daddy’s side, should anyone require legitimacy.)
Just knowing us and our obsession with entertaining should have removed any minutia of surprise from the minds of friends and family when I announced we were adding St. Paddy’s Day to our list of annual gatherings.
After all, while based on a Irish religious observance, the modern holiday is truly an American celebration.
For us, an excuse to shake off the winter “blahs,” invite over a bunch of good friends, serve up a mess of great food and drink and enjoy a little festivity! (And the perfect excuse to dig out the green wig I bought years ago for another St. Patrick’s party)
March 17th, the actual St. Patrick’s Day, was out – it was mid-week and I had an enormous event at work, so we settled on a Post-Paddy Party the following weekend.
I love researching and designing menus, so I did some digging and came up with a Gaelic-inspired repast – thanks to some inspirational food blogs (please click through for the recipes):
Grab a plate and a cup!
Cheddar and Guinness Fondue with dunk-able ham cubes, croutons, apples and fresh veggies
Stuffed Baby Red Potatoes with Cheese and Bacon
Smoked Salmon Dip served with assorted crackers
Kale and Spinach Greek Yogurt dip served with European Cucumber chips. (I bought mine at Trader Joe’s but click the link for a delicious home-made version.)
Jeeves, our trusty alligator butler, offered revelers a “Lucky Charm” libation at the door
For bevs, we had our usual offering of red and white wines, a selection of Irish beers (Harp, Guinness) and a little sparkler I whipped up with fresh mango juice, cava and a dash of Emerald Green Tropical Punch Gatorade (shameful, I know, but the color gave it the zingy tone I was looking for).
Some lovely supplements to the spread were brought by friends:
Dana’s homemade Irish Soda bread (complete with holographic butterfly – he likes to add that “extra touch.”
Laura and Paul’s tasty Guinness chocolate cake with Bailey’s Irish Cream Icing! (and holographic butterfly – Dana had backup.)
And we dug in, drank up and had a wonderful time! Kudos to David for the spectacular Irish Stew!
Gathered in the kitchen, tucking into some Irish Lamb Stew and soda bread
Some of our Paddy’s Party players!
Enjoying the nosh!
Someone always has to play with the kiddy toys…
Some, more than others.
Happy hosts! That’s me in the green wig. (any excuse)
We had an amazing time – blasting Irish party tunes, talking, laughing, telling stories way into the wee hours. Absolutely fantastic party.
And then there was the after party math. ::sigh::
the 5 a.m. clean up party
And the wee green beastie is retired again til next year
Slàinte mhath, y’all!
Drunk on Life 
I feel like I was there, Kimi. Thanks for the invite. Jeeves was a great butler, and my hosts were the best! Your green hair certainly carries a special sheen, Ferguson. 😉 Oh, the aftermath. David did good, manning the sink at 5 a.m.
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Standing invite!
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We’ll be there someday, Kimi. 🙂 Thank you.
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Looks wonderful. What a creative menu.
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Sounds like a wild and crazy party – fitting for the occasion!
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It was so much fun. Work’s been really stressy lately, and I needed a big dose of good friends and good food!
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But did anyone have a brawl? Don’t the Irish always have to have a brawl in there somewhere? Oh, well, better that you didn’t. You do want them to come back next year.
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No brawling this year. The boys funneled their energies into beer consumption. 🙂
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