A SAINT PATRICK’S DAY Dinner Party Featured by Chef Katy McNulty '07, co-founder and creative director of The Pixie and The Scout catering company in Brooklyn, NY. March in the North Atlantic has always reminded me of Ireland … windy, damp, chilly, sun dappled and starting to feel very green … it’s easy for me to get excited about cooking a menu that features some of my favorite flavors from a place I love dearly. I’m lucky enough to have been in Ireland twice for St Patrick’s Day and now, with a sister and brother-in-law living in Northern Ireland … the island truly feels just a pond hop away. In my memories, St Paddy’s day in Ireland is not quite the green rivers and over-the-top heritage celebration that we go for here as Irish Americans. But it’s a bank holiday and a Saint Day … and yes, since the 60s there have been parades (largely mirroring the North American tradition). When I was living in Dublin, I found the day off to be a welcome chance to leave the city and enjoy a slow meal and catch-up day with friends. And now in our present circumstances of separation, that kind of celebration sounds positively dreamy. So here is a menu designed for a handful of friends, featuring some of my favorite Irish food themes. Bubble & Squeak Bites Fingerling Potato Champ Cakes with Dehydrated Seaweed Aioli + Oysters Stewed Lamb Shanks + Shelling Beans Roasted Winter Vegetables, Bacon, Tomato, Garlic + Orange Lemon Thyme Pots du Creme Meyer Lemon Zest + Thyme Scented Custard. Chopped Hazelnuts Brown Bread + Butter Salad of Simple Spring Greens + Lemon Honey Vinaigrette If you’ve ever been to Galway at the end of the summer for the International Oyster & Seafood Festival, you know that Irish oysters are a whole thing -- one of Ireland’s culinary claims to fame. With so many inlets, bays and brackish water riverheads -- the west coast of Ireland features nearly perfect growing conditions for a wide variety of oyster species, including a slew of Pacific varieties brought in the last 50 years to supplement the over-harvested indigenous species. I think I became interested in and mildly obsessed with the Irish oyster story because of how intimately the history mirrored our own story here in the North Atlantic region. Like us, Irish fishermen experienced an era of unchecked oyster industry and also its aftermath -- the murky waters of an ecosystem devastated by industrialized fishing pollution and the loss of bivalves who naturally filter and improve the waterways. Concerted efforts in the last 50 years to rebuild the oyster population combined with conservation efforts to limit harvesting and industrial fishing have enabled a native Irish oyster resurgence … and it’s truly a taste to celebrate. Indigenous Irish oysters are smooth and flat, with a defined salinity and an almost “gamey” or musty flavor -- super distinct from the creamy sweet pops of flavor we associate with Pacific Oysters. Irish natives remind me a lot of the oysters we find near my family’s summer house in Maine, where ocean inlets and riverheads rich in phyto- plankton and kelp create similar growing conditions. I can’t get Irish oysters for my St Paddy’s day but I can order a bag of Maine oysters and it’s just the right combination of delicious flavors and delicious memories. This recipe makes use of a traditional Irish potato dish called “champ,” which is essentially potatoes mashed with herbs and alliums. The mixture you use to make the potato bites is a very delicious dish in its own right! Bubble & Squeak Bites • 6-8 scrubbed, unpeeled potatoes - yukon gold, or any small waxy variety • 1 ½ cups whole milk • 1 cup scallion, young onion or green garlic chopped - use the bulb and green stem • 4 tablespoons butter, at least • Sea Salt for seasoning • 3 garlic cloves • 2 farm egg yolks • 2 teaspoons white vinegar • ½ teaspoon dijon mustard • 1 cup neutral oil • 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, very finely chopped • 2 tablespoons dehydrated seaweed or kelp flakes, finely chopped • 1 lemon for seasoning • Herbs for garnishing • 1 Bag of Fresh Oysters -- 24 is usually a good count for 4-6 guests Potato Champ: Make the potato mixture earlier in the day or a day before and refrigerate uncovered for at least 6 hours before crisping the potato bites. Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with milk. Bring slowly to a boil and simmer for about 3-5 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the milk and potatoes to infuse. Remove the potatoes and peel them - skins should slide off easily. While the potatoes are still hot, mash with the boiled milk and chopped scallions. Beat in the butter and season to taste with salt. In a cast iron skillet or non-coated pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil on high. When oil is smoking, add spoonfuls of potato mixture and pat down flat in skillet. Flip each spoonful when crispy and browned on one side. Remove from the skillet and place on a paper towel when browned on both sides. Season to taste with salt and a squeeze of lemon. Bubble & Squeak Bites Continued... Dehydrated Seaweed Aioli On a cutting board or in a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic with a little salt. Put egg yolks into a bowl with crushed garlic, white vinegar and mustard. Whisk in the oil little by little. Once the sauce has started to thicken, add the oil more quickly, stir in chopped parsley and seaweed. Season to taste with salt and a squeeze or two of lemon. Shucking Oysters + Assembling the canapes Step by Step Oyster Shucking Place your crispy potatoes on a plate and smush a little dent in the top of each. Spoon a dollop of aioli into the dent and nestle the oyster meat onto the aioli. Season with a squeeze of lemon and garnish with herbs. While Irish Beef enjoys global attention for its flavor and texture, let’s not forget the many sheep also grazing on those verdant pastures! Sheep are seasonal breeders and lambs take about 8-14 months to be slaughter-ready so fresh primal lamb cuts aren’t something you want to necessarily build your dinner party around …. BUT you can almost always find a frozen cut like shanks or shoulders from a regional farm or supplier. A braised lamb stew is the perfect entree for a not-quite-Spring evening. Here is a recipe that is inspired by Darina Allen’s famous Ballymaloe Cookery School. Stewed Lamb Shanks + Shelling Beans • 2-4 lamb shanks, about 2 ¼ lb • 8 sprigs of rosemary • 8 garlic slivers • 4 anchovy fillets, halved • Kosher salt Stew Ingredients • 2 tablespoons olive oil • 2 cups meat stock -- lamb, chicken or beef can all work • 8 oz bacon, chopped • sprigs of rosemary and thyme • 2 carrots, coarsely chopped • 2 bay leaves • 1 parsnip, coarsely chopped • 2 strips of dried orange peel • 2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped • 7 oz dried shelling beans, soaked overnight • 1 leek, coarsely chopped • 1 additional cup meat stock rosemary and thyme chopped • 1 onion, coarsely chopped • 1 garlic head, halved horizontally • 1 tablespoon dried paprika • 1 teaspoon dried chile flake • 8 oz tomato paste • 1 cup red wine Preheat oven to 300° degrees. Make two deep incisions in each lamb shank and insert a sprig of rosemary and a sliver of garlic wrapped in half an anchovy into each incision. Season with salt. Heat olive oil in a heavy saute pot or casserole and sear the lamb shanks until nicely browned on all sides. Remove the shanks from the pan. Add the bacon, carrots, celery, leak, onion, garlic, paprika, and chile flake to your pot and stir to sweat evenly until lightly browned. Add tomato paste and stir to coat the vegetables evenly. Add red wine and orange peel and bring to a boil. When the wine is mostly cooked off, add the shelling beans, lamb shanks and stock. Cover and cook in the oven for 2 ½ hours. Remove from the oven and add the rest of the stock. Cover and simmer on medium heat for another 45 minutes - 1 hour. When the lamb has finished cooking it will be falling off the bone. Remove the whole herb sprigs, bay leaf and orange peel. Taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish the stew with fresh chopped rosemary and thyme. Serve in deep dish bowls with Brown Bread + Butter. Dairy is a huge part of Irish cuisine. Many Americans know Irish dairy in the form of Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate, Kerrygold Butter and the ubiquitous “Irish Cheddar” … but when you’re in Ireland, the real magic of Irish dairy is its constant proximity, freshness and richness -- it’s coming from some pretty happy cows. Milk, Butter, Cream, Buttermilk, Custard, Ice Cream … It's hard to imagine an Irish meal that doesn’t include several layers of delicious dairy. One of my favorite low-maintenance ways to enjoy dairy with real flavor is to set a round of Pot de Creme or “Cream Pots” and have them ready in my refrigerator for that last festive moment of the evening. Because it is “hugged” year round by the relatively warm waters of the Gulf Stream, the island of Ireland enjoys a temperate climate and mild versions of all four seasons without too many extremes … plus it’s wet! It is the dream climate for perennial, wild and self-propagating edible plants, flowers and shrubs … herbs, watercresses, wild alliums, flowering peas, elderflower, wild berries, geranium ... they grow all across the island nearly year round and they remain the primary scent and flavor influences in traditional Irish cookery.