Tablescape Ideas for St. Patrick's Day

It's time to get your Irish on and set yourself a beautiful table. I was stunned, quite frankly, by all of the tables that I have set for St. Patrick’s Day over the years, and got a kick put of revisiting them.  It you’re looking to create a St. Patrick's Day tablescape, here are some fine examples to inspire you. Just click on the name beneath the picture and it will take you right to the informative post.

St Patrick's Day Tablescape

St. Pat's Dinner

Leprechaun Dance Tablescape

Springtime Table for St. Pat's

Leprechaun Lunch Table for Two

Wearing 'o the Green Tablescape

St. Patrick's Day Lunch

Lunching with Leprechauns

Dehydrated Potato Flakes, my newest culinary obsession.

Sometimes I am easily influenced, and by that I mean a lot of times, and what I really mean is always. As I mentioned last week, I have become quite enamored with Kevin Lee Jacob’s YouTube channel wherein, in his quiet and gentlemanly way, he shares recipes, household tips, and the lovely home and garden that he shares with his partner, “Mr. Fox.” Kevin recently, by way of his videos, turned me onto dehydrated potatoes. Make no mistake, they are not instant mashed potatoes; there are no added ingredients, simply dehydrated potato flakes. There’s a difference. Trust me, I know, and you have to look for them.  It appears that Kevin does most, if not all of the cooking in his household, and he makes good use of dehydrated potatoes to make mashed potatoes to serve with various dishes that he prepares.

The beauty of the dehydrated potatoes, of course, is that you can make small portions. I’m a fan of mashed potatoes, but I hate making them, because I hate all of the trouble involved for just one person, and I am terrible at gauging the amount. I do like the Bob Evans’ mashed potatoes available in the dairy case at the grocery store, but even the small container is too much for me. As a consequence, and influenced by KLJ, I started ferreting out dehydrated potato flakes, and I found some here. 

At the same time I discovered these from Bob’s Red Mill, I learned that Bob Moore, founder of Bob's Red Mill and one of the most recognized figures in the natural foods industry, peacefully passed away at his home on Saturday, February 10, 2024, at the age of 94. I was so sorry to hear this. Clearly, at the age of 94, with a successful business under his belt, Bob had a good run. He also changed the way a lot of us shop, but I’m wandering from my point. The point is that I ordered these hoping that Kevin didn’t let me down, and that I could make my life so much easier by making these. I thought they were quite pricey until I realized that I had mistakenly ordered a case of them, so I see a lot of mashed potatoes in my future.

 As it turned out,  they are every bit as good as they appear to be on Kevin’s YouTube channel. Will I stop making my own fresh mashed potatoes? No. But I will make these at least once a week to make my life so much simpler.

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Barbecued Sausage Bites

 

Are you as eager for the baseball season as I am? And when I say eager, what I really mean is a combination of excitement and nausea. If you have a favorite team, you know what I’m talking about. I don’t go to the stadium too much anymore, largely because most of the people with whom I used to attend baseball games are now attending baseball games in the sky. As a consequence, I make my own baseball snacks. I’m already plotting and planning for opening day, and I think these barbecued sausage bites are going to be on the list.  They are super simple to make because they’re baked. Spear yourself a small stack and enjoy.Barbecued Sausage Bites

Adapted from sweetteaandsprinkles.com

 2-3 lbs. Kielbasa

2 c. BBQ Sauce*

1 t. Liquid Smoke

1 t. garlic powder

1 t. onion powder

½ t. freshly ground black pepper

¼ c. brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spray the bottom of a 1.5-quart casserole with PAM.

Slice the kielbasa sausages into ½ inch round slices and places in the prepared dish. 

In a medium bowl combine BBQ sauce, liquid smoke, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Pour mixture over sausages, and sprinkle the brown sugar all over the top.

Bake for 20-15 minutes until bubbling and sticky and the sauce has caramelized. Broil for 2-3 minutes on high to get burnt ends.

*Use your favorite

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Restaurant Quality Salads at Home...with NO Effort

 

If you have been a reader of this blog for any length of time, then you are well aware that I have been a fan of, and have used, Melissa’s Produce for years. It excites me (more than I should probably admit) when they come out with something new. I was particularly excited to learn that they were coming out with a series of salad kits. 

 

Salad is one of my favorite things to eat, and one of my least favorites to make. All of that cleaning, shredding, and chopping takes a lot of the fun out of it for me. Thankfully, Melissa’s has come out with Greek, Asian, and Waldorf salad kits. I was expecting them to be good, knowing Melissa’s as I do, but these are beyond good, they are spectacular! Everything is vacuum-sealed (and I mean seriously vacuum-sealed), so that everything is at its absolute freshest. My salads were shipped to me from California over the course of a couple of days, and yet, when I opened them up and put them together, they were so fresh, crisp, and crunchy, it was as though the ingredients had only been prepped minutes before.  These are restaurant quality, but even better than that, it’s as though you have your own personal salad chef, making these up fresh just for you. Just a little PSA for all of you salad lovers out there.

 

From their website, here are the descriptions of each of the salads to clarify all that is included. I could have used a bit of feta or some Kalamata olives in the Greek Salad Essentials kit, but not enough to complain. So run, don’t walk, to your nearest grocery retailer, and pick up each one of these. If they are not available in your store, get in touch with your produce manager and request them. You won’t be sorry.

Melissa’s family-size Greek Essentials™ Salad Kit offers a convenient way for busy parents to provide a delicious serving of restaurant quality, prewashed vegetables without the time-consuming preparation and waste. Each kit comes with all the ingredients needed to make a complete salad inspired by the Mediterranean with a light mix of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and feta vinaigrette. Open, mix and serve right out of the convenient 36 oz. resealable tub to insure the freshness of a second serving.

Melissa’s family-size Asian Essentials™ Salad Kit offers a convenient way for busy parents to provide a delicious serving of restaurant quality, prewashed vegetables without the time-consuming preparation and waste. Each kit comes with all the ingredients needed to make a complete salad inspired by Asian components such as Napa cabbage, crunchy noodles and sweet sesame dressing that are tossed with red cabbage, carrots and green onions. Open, mix and serve right out of a convenient 24 oz. resealable tub to insure the freshness of a second serving.

Melissa’s family-size Waldorf Salad Kit offers a convenient way for busy parents to provide a delicious serving of restaurant quality, prewashed vegetables without the time-consuming preparation and waste. Each kit comes with all the ingredients needed to make this wonderful salad, first served at the elegant Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in 1893; apples, grapes, celery, walnuts and the famed Waldorf dressing. Open, mix and serve right out of a convenient 34 oz. resealable tub to insure the freshness of a second serving.

Murphy’s in a Clogher Valley Mist

 

It has been 10 years (!!) since I first posted this recipe. My guess is that a lot of you haven’t seen it, so I think it’s time, here on Throwback Thursday, to post it again. It’s tasty, seasonal, and the name is unbeatable as far as recipe names go. You must serve this at your St. Patrick’s Day dinner. You must!

 Murphy’s in a Clogher Valley Mist

Named for the Dungannon Valley where Grange Lodge, a small Georgian country house, is situated.  This recipe is from proprietor Norah Brown.

 1-1/2 pounds boiling potatoes, unpeeled (I used Melissa’s Baby Ruby Gold)

2 T.unsalted butter, melted and cooled

4 slices bacon

½ c. heavy cream

1 c. (4 oz.) Smoked Gouda, shredded

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Butter a 1-1/2 qt. baking pan. (This green one would be perfect.)

 Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water for 15 to 18 minutes, or until tender.  Drain and let cool to the touch.  Cut each potato into four wedges.  Place the wedges, skin side down, into the prepared baking pan and toss with the butter.

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp.  Using a slotted metal spatula, transfer to paper towels to drain.

 Pour the cream over the potatoes, sprinkle with the grated cheese, and crumble the bacon over all.  Season with salt and pepper, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cream has thickened and the cheese has melted.

 Serves 4.

  This recipe is from The New Irish Table by Irish-American culinary journalist Margaret M. Johnson. Delish!

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Red Lobster Clam Chowder Copycat

 

There used to be a local restaurant known for its clam chowder. It was called Noah’s Ark, and actually looked like what one would expect Noah’s Ark to look like, complete with life-size replicas of animals, 2 x 2, on the exterior. When it first opened up, it was a nice place to dine, and each table had a cauldron of clam chowder in the center for diners to enjoy with the management’s compliments. It was really quite charming.

Photo credit: Lost Tables

This was my first experience with clam chowder, and I really loved it. The recipe was a simple one, largely cans of condensed Campbell’s soup. It wasn’t until many years after Noah’s Ark closed that I made clam chowder using clam juice, minced clams, and half-and-half. What a difference! I recently came across a copycat recipe for Red Lobster’s clam chowder, and decided to give it a try. It is quick, easy, and very delicious. I used cubed baby red potatoes rather than peeling russet potatoes. It saved time, had more visual appeal, and tasted better as well.

Red Lobster Clam Chowder Copycat

 2 c. cubed Melissa’s baby red potatoes, cut into ½” x ½” cubes

½ c. butter

¼ c. diced green onions, white and light green parts only

¼ c. flour

2 6.4-oz. cans minced clams, reserve juice

1 t. kosher salt

16 oz. half-and-half

½ c. whole milk

1/3 c. bottled clam juice

Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Oyster crackers, for garnish

 Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water; cook on medium heat until tender. Remove potatoes from heat, drain and set aside. In 2-quart saucepan on medium-low heat, melt butter.

 Add diced onions and cook until onions are slightly clear in color. Add flour to butter and stir briskly. The mixture will start to thicken. Add half and half a little at a time while stirring briskly. The mixture will be creamy and will look like thick cream. Place salt, clams, and juice from cans, potatoes, bottled clam juice and milk with the mixture.

 On medium-low temperature, bring chowder to a slow boil. Turn temperature down to low and let chowder simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Chowder, hard rolls, fresh whipped butter, and a cozy fire will warm your tummy and your soul.

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Spinach Alfredo Garlic Bread

  

If you made last week's Cajun Shrimp Alfredo then you no doubt have some Alfredo sauce left over. Here is a wonderful way to put that to good use. This bread goes very well with soup or salad; it’s also darned tasty on its own.

Spinach Alfredo Garlic Bread

Adapted from realsimple.com

1 12-oz. loaf French bread, halved lengthwise

¾ c. jarred Alfredo sauce (such as Rao)

 ½ 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry

2 cloves garlic

1/3 c. thinly sliced Melissa’s shallot

1 c. shredded Fontina cheese

Garnishes: fresh thyme, fresh parsley,red pepper flakes

 Preheat oven to 350°F with rack about 8 inches from heat. Stir together Alfredo sauce, well-drained, chopped, spinach, and garlic. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place bread halves, cut side up, on baking sheet. Spread sauce over cut sides of bread. Top with sliced shallots and sprinkle with cheese.

 Bake until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Increase oven temperature to broil. Broil until cheese is golden brown and edges are crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.

Garnish as you see fit. Cut each half into 4 pieces.

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