Host with the Luck O' the Irish!

Let these ideas and recipes inspire you this St. Patrick's Day

Corned Beef
What is more traditional than corned beef and potatoes? This may seem like an intimidating dish, but this flavorful and bright colored dish can make the perfect no-fuss centerpiece.
Most store bought briskets (the cut of meat corned beef is made from) have cooking directions on the packaging, or you can use a secret family St. Patrick's Day recipe.

Tip: Don't skimp on cooking time or worry about overcooking. A night spent in the crockpot will make a very tender brisket!

Serving:
Thinly slice across the grain. The slices should be made up of little round pieces, not long and skinny pieces. Arrange these in a platter on a bed of arugula. Agrugula/rugula is a salad green used like lettuce and will look like a meadow of clovers!

Slices can also be used to make little hand sandwiches. Try potato or rye bread thinly spread with spicy mustard.

Adding a thin tomato slice and a few arugula sprigs will tone down the flavor and make a cute open-face hors d'oeuvres. Arrange on slices of bread cut into circles.

Potatoes
This versatile food can take almost any form, but here are a few ideas with St. Patrick's Day in mind.

Serving:
Arrange boiled or roasted potatoes on the same platter as the sliced corned beef. Quartered potatoes with bright yellow or red skins will keep the arrangement colorful.

Mashed potatoes are simple and can add a little color and fun. Try adding saffron for a rich gold color or experiment with green and yellow food coloring.

Mashed potatoes can be piped onto a baking sheet from a pastry bag into fun shapes; three overlapping circles will remind your guests of clovers. Also try scooping mashed potatoes into cookie cutters as molds. These shapes can be baked in a 300 degree oven for an hour and then chilled and served as the perfect finger food.

Desserts
Leprechaun Hats: Mix equal parts pineapple juice and lemon lime soda pop and non-flavored creamer. Add a few drops each blue and yellow food coloring until the desired shade of green is reached. Pour mixture evenly into muffin tin. Cover with foil or tight plastic wrap and poke candy/popsicle sticks through the wrapping into the liquid. Allow to freeze at least four hours.

This can also be served as a punch! Simply substitute the creamer with lime flavored sherbet in a large punch bowl. Prepare about 30 minutes before guests arrive to give the sherbet time to soften. This is especially pretty when the sherbet has been hand scooped and not just added whole.

Create a "Pot o' Gold" ice cream Sunday table: Use preformed chocolate waffle-bowls and include yellow sprinkles, caramel topping and edibles gold confection balls.

Games
Kiss the Blarney: Each participant has a pair of construction paper lips with adhesive (double-sided tape) on one side. The object is to place lips on a picture of a rock/grey brick while blindfolded and hanging upside-down from a chair. This simulates how visitors ACTUALLY have to kiss the famous good luck stone in Ireland!
Tip: The host or another volunteer should hold the suspended players legs for safety reasons.

Make a Wish: Tuck an uncooked, dry lima bean into the bowl of mashed potatoes or the batter of a cake, anything you can think of! Whoever finds the "magic bean" gets a special door prize! This can be modified for children by allowing an extra dessert helping. In a family setting, the family member with the bean could be declared "King," exempt from chores and such for the day.

From the desk of MamaKitty
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