Saint Patrick’s Day Menu—But Make it Southern

Admittedly, Southern food shares few similarities with Irish food. However, we don’t let that deter us from cooking up a Saint Patrick’s Day menu on this side of the pond. Common ingredients—like potatoes, cabbage, beef, cheddar, and beer—are the lucky charms we need to channel the Emerald Isle’s essence into our kitchen. And, if all else fails, a bottle of green food coloring and a shot of Jameson will do the trick.

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Sweet Stout Parker House Rolls

What could be more Irish than seizing any and every opportunity to infuse food with beer? Guinness adds a robust flavor to the otherwise simple dinner roll in this recipe. Their malty richness gets enhanced with the compound butter glaze at the end.

Shepherd’s Pie

Eat like you’ve spent a windy, rainy day tending your flock in a coastal pasture. This recipe comes from My Irish Table: Recipes from the Homeland and Restaurant Eve (Ten Speed Press, 2014) by David Hagedorn and Cathal Armstrong. You can substitute beef for the lamb, and you’ll have cottage pie instead.

Colcannon Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes colcannon is an Irish staple that creams together mashed potatoes and cabbage. You can swap in kale, collards, or brussels sprouts, but make sure you cook tougher greens before mixing them into the potatoes.

Corned Beef Sausage Rolls

Corned beef meet the English classic sausage roll in this recipe from Savannah Sasser of Sasser Culinary Insights. Plan ahead for this recipe. You make the sausage from scratch and let it rest for a day. And, don’t skimp on the smoked carrot aioli, it pulls the flavors together.

Frozen Irish Coffee

After months of toddies and creamy drinks, March seems like the perfect time to usher frosty beverages into the rotation. Break out the blender and blitz up a couple of these bad boys, but don’t forego the drizzle of crème de menthe at the end.

Chocolate Stout Cake with Bailey’s Ice Cream

Stout and Bailey’s? Yes, please. These adorable mini cakes channel the coffee-and-cream flavors of an irish car bomb. Go the extra mile and serve these with an irish coffee for a strong finish to the evening.