Good morning. Last Monday was St. Patrick's Day—a holiday that, until six days ago, I celebrated by filing into an uncharacteristically busy pub to slam various brown liquids whilst dodging a swinging forest of young, credit card-waving limbs draped on, over, and around a mahogany bar that, on any other day, would best encapsulate my version of a "safe space." This year, I knew I could do better. Here's my improved, albeit not entirely traditional, Ireland-inspired menu that I'll happily be running back at numerous upcoming dinner parties:
Many mussels
Since at least the 1700s, when Irish folk would pick and trade cockles (medium-sized clams) washed upon their country's eastern shore, shellfish have been integral to Gaelic cuisine. While cockles remain a local favorite, in recent centuries, mussels—typically grown on elaborate rope and buoy contraptions—have entered the pantheon of Irish shellfish. That said, it was only logical that I made these mussels with dijonnaise and these mussels with lemongrass last Monday.
A Reuben with the best corned beef
First, I made Suzanne Goin's corned beef—a recipe that boasts a perfect, five-star rating along with 60 almost exclusively positive reviews. From there, I took my recently corned beef and recreated the best sandwich I made while working at Stephanie Izard's Little Goat: a Reuben with both griddled kraut and kimchi, piled high on Thousand Island-slathered rye.
Sticky Toffee Pudding & Coffee
The sticky toffee pudding is laced with Guinness. And the coffee's teeming with whiskey. Need I say more?
