Asheville Eats in the Grand Ole Irish Way

As someone keenly aware of my Irish heritage and with Catholic relatives, I was taught from a young age the importance of St. Patrick's Day. Naturally, since humility is not a trait commonly associated with the Irish, my family likes to believe that St. Patrick not only influenced Ireland, but the entire world more than any other saint, philanthropist, or scholar ever did. Supposedly due to this belief, we tend to throw ourselves into celebrating the dawn of a new age in Ireland. However, no matter how much I enjoy the stories about St. Patrick I was told every year as a child and have started telling myself since I've gotten older, I have a difficult time overlooking a certain coincidence. My family loves beer. When I say we love beer, I really mean it. The way some families talk about sports and tv shows for hours at a time, my family can talk about the quality of the hops, brewing process, region specific traits in the flavor, and how different beers blend with different meals for hours at a time. As a result, we get pretty serious about the one day every year that the rest of the world actually wants to listen to all the factoids we have stored up.

 

Regardless of my skepticism over my family's motivation to experience St. Patrick's Day to it's fullest, it has been a fabulous day for eating every year. Fortunately for us, we love meat and potatoes in almost any variation, so Irish food is an almost guaranteed to be a hit. The only time the "Celtic" menu didn't go over big was the year my mom made green eggs and ham for breakfast. Yes, really. Yes, that is as disappointing as it sounds. Besides learning that children's fiction isn't always the best place to look to for culinary inspiration, we also found that coloring food green does not make it Irish. Fortunately for you, making Irish themed food (with no artificial green color) all day long is not difficult. 

 

If, like my family, you like to start your celebrating with your first meal of the day, sausage, eggs, and pancakes are always a safe bet. Don't forget that the Irish love meat, so if there was ever a day you wanted an excuse for sausage or bacon to be your main course that day is now. If you want to eat the European way and have your largest meal in the middle of the day and need some inspiration, check out Corned Beef and Cabbage Wraps with "crisps" (potato chips). Or go American style and serve it with  Traditional Irish Soda Bread. The real purpose for a dinner around the world, but especially in Ireland is to gather your family and friends around a table and remind yourself what's really important.

No matter how enthusiastically you embrace St. Patrick's Day there's a way to bring it to your table. While we accept that we aren't known for our humility, we are known for our hospitality.There is always a great way for you to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the people you love! Lets face it, potatoes and beer are just about the best things in the world. Therefore a day dedicated to celebrating by consuming any form of them that you can get a hold of is just about the best day in the world. No matter what you do, or where the patron saint of March 17th finds you with, there is practically no way to mess up celebrating everyone's favorite bishop (I told you, not that humble). I hope that this post helps you plan a day that you're family and friends will remember fondly.