St Patricks Day Menu

St Patricks Day Menu

St Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland and St Patricks Day is the 17th March. It's famed not just in Ireland but colse to the World.

Now, if you want an excuse for a party, but don't fancy champ and colcannon - and I don't blame you if you don't - then here's a themed St Patricks Day Menu that you might like to try.

Menu Salads

The colours of the Irish flag are green, orange and white.

For starters, try a creamy basil tomato soup, garnish with a swirl of cream and chopped basil and there you have the starting of your theme - green, orange and white.

For main course, I would favour a poached salmon with watercress sauce, served with carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and new potatoes - that puts two orange, two green and two white items on your plate.

For dessert, try a mixed fruit salad - kiwi, mango, lychees, green grapes, orange segments and sliced pears - top it with whipped cream, chopped angelica and a shake of cinnamon or ginger - lots more green, orange and white.

Finish your St Patricks Day Menu with Irish Coffees - sweetened black coffee with a shot of Irish Whiskey and cream floating on top - delicious - and you might find you want more than one.

Continue your colour theme with a white tablecloth and green and orange candles and napkins.

White tableware would be nice - I all the time think food looks good served on white crockery.

Play some Irish music - if you don't like the customary folk music, then maybe Thin Lizzy will do as Phil Lynot was proud of his Irish ancestry and there's commonly 'Whisky in the Jar' on most compilation Cds :-) Or you might even go for The Nolan Sisters or Val Doonican - only joking.

Dave Allen was an Irish comedian and there are Cds ready of his shows. He was very funny, one of my favourites and it would for real entertain your guests if you could find a recording.

To drink, you can have Guinness - which is very good for you, so they claim - Irish Whiskey is freely available, but of policy neither of these are convenient for serving with your poached salmon.

I've researched heavily for Irish wines - and they do exist, but you're unlikely to find any on normal sale.

Ireland doesn't have the climate to hold large industrial vineyards - those that exist are very small - 5 acres or less and all colse to Cork (well, if you're going to produce wine, you need cork).

One of the vineyards makes wines for its own cafeteria and the others just contribute local shops and restuarants.

The largest produces a mere 3000 bottles a year.

If you hunt though, you can find Irish population who have emigrated to wine producing countries and the vineyards will have Irish sounding names - the best I can do as a wine suggestion for a themed St Patricks Day Menu.

I like champagne with salmon - a nice, medium dry fizzy wine is great and it adds to the celebration to have champagne corks flying.

If you don't like fizz - then go for a medium dry white - Nierstein, Piesporter or similar.

St Patricks Day Menu