Your St. Paddy's Day Primer

We'll be celebrating St. Patrick's Day on March 17th and thought today was a great day to share our St. Paddy's Day Primer.

At first, all we knew about St. Paddy's Day was that it's a good idea to wear green (dust off that green blazer hiding in the back of the closet!) and that it's a good day to celebrate with Irish Whiskey (like Bushmills and Jameson) and Irish Beer (like Guinness, Murphy's and Smithwick's). We also remember the vibrant image above of the Chicago River dyed green for the Windy City's epic St. Paddy's Day parade.

Originally a Catholic holiday for Saint Patrick, the most popular patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick's Day has become a wildly popular international celebration of Irish culture. So, get ready to wear some shamrocks and anything green you've got!

At FoodPair, we'll be waiting until the work day ends to start sipping on this Irish Coffee, but we couldn't wait that long to present you with a St. Paddy's Day menu fit for a king. Get things started with a seriously green & delicious Green Pea Soup, followed by an Aged Cheddar & Guinness Fondue or Irish Lamb Stew with Soda Bread for sopping up all the broth.

To help you assemble the ideal Irish menu for St. Paddy's Day, we fired up the increasingly powerful FoodPair search engine and found a handful of great recipes from across the Web.


Green Pea Soup with Tarragon & Pea Sprouts
You'll love the vibrant flavors & colors of this springtime soup.
Ingredients in this recipe: olive oil, shallot, yogurt, sprouts, tarragon, vegetable broth, frozen peas

Aged Cheddar and Guinness Fondue
Try this fondue with anything from bread to cocktail franks.
Ingredients: garlic, olive oil, apple, cauliflower, ham, Cheddar cheese, all-purpose flour, powdered mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Guinness, baguette, baby carrot, frozen apple juice concentrate

Irish Soda Bread
Soda Bread is an Irish staple that uses baking soda instead of yeast. It's great for dipping into Fondues and Stews!
Ingredients: butter, buttermilk, salt, baking soda, bread flour, cream of tartar

Irish Lamb Stew with a Twist
This stew is enhanced by first browning the meat and then adding everyone's favorite, bacon!
Ingredients: bacon, potato, carrot, onion, turnip, salt, black pepper, dried thyme, lamb shoulder, pearl barley, lamb stock

Pistachio & White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pistachios are naturally green and add nuttiness.
Ingredients: egg, butter, sugar, oats, pistachio, all-purpose flour, vanilla extract, baking soda, baking powder, milk, kosher salt, white chocolate chips, dark brown sugar

Chocolate Meringue and Mint Chip Ice Cream Cake
This cake is green, delicious and easy to make!
Ingredients in this recipe: egg, mint chip ice cream, sugar, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, whipping cream, sprinkles

Let's get cooking!

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