St Patrick’s Day Dinner and Wine Pairing

For Hors D'oeuvres we had “Bangers” (we used sausage with broccoli rabe (for a wee bit of green) and cheese), Smoked Salmon on Brown Bread with a dab of mustard sauce and Irish Goat Cheese Kisses.

Our St Patrick’s Dinner Blessing

God our Father, you sent Saint Patrick to preach your glory to the people of Ireland.

By the help of his prayers, may all Christians proclaim your love to all men.

For the bounty laid before us, may the Lord make us thankful, and ever mindful of the needs of others. To our friends here tonight, may we all have all the happiness and luck that life can hold and at the end of our rainbows may we find a pot of gold. Amen.

St Patrick’s Dinner Menu

 

For our first course we served an old time favorite, Lawyer Dublin which is lobster in a cream sauce which we served on miniature puff pastry shells. On Recipezaar’s website, I read that "the unusual name might come from the fact the lawyers are the only ones who can afford this, ha ha". We paired this lobster dish with a very special wine - Corton Charlemagne by Joseph Drouhin 2002 - a grand cru white burgundy. Corton Charlemagne is the only vineyard in Burgundy bearing the name of two emperors : Corton comes from Courthon, itself derived from the Gallo-Roman Curtis (estate) and Otho, the emperor who inherited it. The second emperor was Charlemagne, the famous emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, who was once the proprietor of the vineyard. Corton Charlemagne is a strong, rich and luscious wine, very long and persistent on the palate. It has a lovely intense golden hue, even when young. Often, the nose prefers aromas such as cinnamon, green walnuts, pepper, exotic fruit and amber. There is something massive about this wine, and no word can truly describe the awe that it inspires. So let’s charge our glasses “May your glass be ever full. May the roof over your head be always strong. And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead."

Irish Soda Bread

Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing. This salad was paired with Kellerai Cantina Terlan, a Pinot Grigio from the Alto Adige region. According to Banville and Jones Wine Merchants, “This wine is light straw in color with pleasant aromas of ripe melon and freshly picked Macintosh apples. Crisp and light on the palate with lovely pineapple, Bartlett pear and apple flavors that harmoniously intermingle with orange zest and almond notes. The finish lingers with spicy tropical fruit.”

Corn Beef, Cabbage. and Potatoes  With this "Irish" dinner we served a 2003 Caymus Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Spectator rated this wine 93 points and said that Caymus was "Smooth, rich and seductive, with impeccable balance, great depth, and lots of finesse and flavor.  The layers of plum, black cherry, mocha, spice and wild berry flavors unfold gradually, giving it a long, supple aftertaste.  Drink now through 2012.

For dessert we served Irish Whiskey Cake and Crème de Menthe Brownies.

St Patrick’s Table Setting

For our table setting we started with a white damask linen topped with our Green Chargers, topped with Wedgewood Cream on Cream topped with 2 different plates both from Fitz and Floyd – one is a leprechaun and the other a cloverleaf. For napkins we used silk napkins white with green shamrocks that are 20 X 20” over a white damask linen topped with diamond rhinestone turtles. For placecard holders I used small diamond rhinestone oval picture frames. Flowers where is the whites with accents of pale lacey greens.

Coming Attraction

Next week we are having yet another dinner party – I don’t have a theme yet – please email me any ideas you might have.