Places everybody. Parade coming through. A veritable feast of food and drink inspired by that most Irish of holidays, St. Patrick’s Day, is coming your way.
Yes, you’ll find a heap of soda bread amongst the parade participants and, yes, you’ll also see a distinct fondness for the combination of beef and Guinness (in fact, Guinness plus just about anything), but there are a few less-than-traditional surprises in there too – coconut faux-tatoes anybody?
Click on the links below to jump straight to your favourite parade floats or just browse the lot while sipping a cup of tea or perhaps a pint of the black stuff, given the day that’s in it. The running order includes:
– A Drinks float to kick things off.
– A jam-packed Soda Bread float.
– Potatoes, who, naturally, get a float all to themselves.
– A float with Starters and Side Dishes, mainly featuring the use of green vegetables.
– There’s a dedicated Beef and Guinness float.
– Quickly followed by a float which hosts plenty of non-beefy ideas for The Main Course.
– There is, of course, a float chock-a-block with Sweet Stuff for afters.
– And we round things off with a Cheese float.
I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated. As is a Spud’s wont, I have been humbled by the response. Now, if you’re sitting comfortably, let the parade begin!
(image from sweetlifebake.com)
If you’re looking for an alternative to Guinness when toasting St. Patrick this year, check out this glorious Irish Creamsicle cocktail from The Diva on a Diet (who, bless her, undertook a whole week of Irish-themed posts).
Diva's Irish Creamsicle
Phoo-D sent over this Loaded Leprechaun – she reckons that the combination of Jameson whiskey, Starbucks coffee liquor, and Haagen-Dazs coffee ice cream will make you feel very lucky (or possibly very tipsy if you have a few Leprechauns too many!)
Phoo-D's Loaded Leprechaun
English Mum reckons that you can’t get much more Irish than a nice slab of soda bread with a thick layer of Kerrygold, naturally.
English Mum's easy steps to Soda Bread
Nora The Kitchen ‘Splorer dropped in with her fine-looking wholemeal Irish soda bread, always good with smoked salmon.
Nora's Irish Soda Bread
Martha from Seaside Simplicity has even more Irish Brown Bread for us. Hope you still have room!
Martha's Irish Brown Bread
Joie de Vivre, who I was very happy to see back writing at Joie de vivre: An amateur gourmet’s guide made some lovely currant-filled Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread.
Joie de Vivre's Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread
Biren from Roti n Rice sent over her Irish Soda Bread and Irish Breakfast Tea, which is just as well, because there’s nothing quite like having a nice cup of tea with a gorgeous hunk of soda bread.
Biren's Irish Soda Bread and Irish Breakfast Tea
If you prefer to have your soda bread in the form of individual scones, then The Diva on a Diet has some Basic Brown Scones for you.
Diva's Basic Brown Scones
Or perhaps you’d prefer some Sweet Irish Scones from The Crazy Apron.
Crazy Apron's Sweet Irish Scones
Mangocheeks from Allotment2Kitchen baked some Shamrock Brown Scones and, even though you can’t see it, the scones are filled with green whipped cream, so they are.
Mangocheek's Shamrock Brown Scones
Last, but by no means least on the soda bread float, we find Phyllis from me HUNGRY!, who made sure that vegans weren’t left out of the soda bread fun with her Vegan Irish Soda Scones – nice job Phyllis!
Phyllis's Vegan Irish Soda Scones
Let’s start off with some Traditional Irish Champ from my good self, then, shall we?
The Daily Spud's Traditional Irish Champ
Followed by some some fine looking colcannon from Lori at Recipe Girl.
Lori's Colcannon
There’s more colcannon on offer from Kirsten of From Kirsten’s Kitchen to Yours, who made Colcannon with Mâche. Mâche is a new-to-me green vegetable, though she says she also makes colcannon with spinach, kale or the traditional cabbage.
Kirsten's Colcannon with Mâche
The traditional potato fare continues with The Diva on a Diet, who gives us her tasty take on boxty.
Diva's Boxty
Catofstripes from The Stripey Cat, meanwhile, sent along tales of her attempt at making the traditional Cavan speciality of Boiled Boxty. I’ll be returning to this whenever I finally attempt to make boiled boxty myself!
Catofstripe's Traditional Boiled Boxty
Hmm, doesn’t much look like potato, does it? That’s ‘cos it’s a yeasty Irish Potato Brown Bread from Debbie and Gary at Dining With Debbie, part of a whole slew of Irish food posts planned over there this week.
Debbie and Gary's Irish Potato Brown Bread
Over on this float, we kick things off with Braised Mustard Greens with Mustard Seeds from Greg at Sippity Sup, who hopes this is green enough for the parade (and I believe the answer is that it’s plenty green enough, Greg!)
Greg's Braised Mustard Greens with Mustard Seeds
Zerrin from Give Recipe sends us a Turkish dish with Irish colours, in the form of some fabulous Stuffed Green Peppers. She says that these are generally served as an appetizer or may also accompany a drink of Turkish raki – though perhaps on Paddy’s Day, you might have a drop of something Irish instead.
Zerrin's Stuffed Green Peppers
If you’re after some tasty nibbles, then Oz from Kitchen Butterfly has some spinachy Arancini for your delectation. A plate of these more-ish little balls of rice and cheese wouldn’t last long in my house, I can tell you!
Kitchen Butterfly's Arancini with Spinach
Irish Beef and Guinness Stew – well, it’s just a classic combination isn’t it? Here’s some that Joanne of Eats Well With Others made earlier.
Joanne's Irish Beef and Guinness Stew
When I saw that Kid Diva from The Sugar Bar had some Guinness Beef Stew with Bitter Chocolate on the go over at her place, I knew that it would have to make its way into the parade. She says that you should cook it with about half a bottle of Guinness and drink the rest whilst waiting for it to be done – sounds like a good plan to me.
Kid Diva's Guinness Beef Stew with Bitter Chocolate
If it’s something more akin to pot roast that you’re after, then you’re in luck, because The Diva on a Diet has provided us with her winning formula for Crock-Pot Beef and Guinness.
Diva's Crock Pot Beef And Guinness
And how could we not have some corned beef? While it’s much more American-Irish than Irish, it is synonymous with the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day in the US. New York resident Marc from No Recipes gives us his twist on the classic with Corned Beef in Stout with Mustard Chutney.
Marc's Corned Beef in Stout with Mustard Chutney
Kristy from The Wicked Noodle, too, has some wicked-looking, stout-infused Guinness Corned Beef and Cabbage going a-begging over at her place.
Kristy's Guinness Corned Beef & Cabbage
Confused by the first entry in this float? Well don’t be. This isn’t beef but, rather, some wonderfully spiced Corned Bison from Chrystal and Amir at The Duo Dishes. With plenty of cabbage and carrots, too, as you can see.
Chrystal and Amir's Corned Bison
Donal from The Good Mood Food Blog – Irish food blogger, cookbook author, pop star and you-name-it – explored good auld Bacon And Cabbage in his usual droolworthy way, as you can see below.
Donal's Bacon And Cabbage With Leek and Parsley Sauce
Reeni from Cinnamon, Spice and Everything Nice (aka the Queen Of All Things Pasta) combined her love of noodles with some traditional Irish ingredients and came up with some delectable Cabbage, Sausage & Bacon Noodles In Cheddar-Mustard Sauce.
Reeni's Cabbage, Sausage and Bacon Noodles In Cheddar-Mustard Sauce
Also seeking an alternative to the usual bacon, cabbage and potatoes, new Irish food blogger Joanna from Smorgasblog chimed in with this tasty Bacon, Leek & Potato Hot Pot which she says is great for heating up for lunch – that’s if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers in the first place!
Joanna's Bacon, Leek and Potato Hotpot
And how’s about this for a modern spin on a very traditional dish – Natasha from 5 Star Foodie spent 3 days recreating Michelin-starred chef Kevin Thornton’s Bacon and Cabbage Terrine and a very fine job she made of it too.
Natasha's take on Kevin Thornton's Bacon and Cabbage Terrine
I, on the other hand, went the decidedly non-traditional route with some Paddy’s Day raclette, complete with spuds, green vegetables and fabulous St. Gall cheese from Fermoy.
The Daily Spud's Paddy's Day Raclette
For something a bit lighter than cheese-laden raclette, you could do worse than check out this Simple Potato Salad and Lime-Pepita Salmon from Sweetlife of sweetlifebake.com, who used spuds and a little bit o’ green in the form of lime and pepitas for that Paddy’s Day touch.
Sweetlife's Simple Potato Salad and Lime-Pepita Salmon
Also combining fish and a bit o’ the green – in a late inclusion, but one I couldn’t miss – is this Miso Chilean Sea Bass over Collard Greens from Chef E of Cook Appeal: Food, Wine, Fun. With a proudly Irish family background, she says that, because her family made collard greens often, she always considered them an Irish thing.
Chef E's Miso Chilean Sea Bass over Collard Greens
Perhaps, though, when all is said and done, you should just go for broke and have a Traditional Ulster Fry, like this one from Janmary of Welcome to my world. She lets us know that potato farls, soda farls and wheaten farls – all traditional griddle-cooked breads – are essential for this.
Janmary's Ulster Fry and Farls
Sometimes, a little jam is all you need to sweeten things up, in which case the amazingly green Pandan Jam from The Cooking Ninja is just the ticket.
The Cooking Ninja's Pandan Jam
If, however, you feel the need for cake, then we can do cake, starting with local Irish duo Lola and Lu from Lola-Lu’s Kitchen, who present their lovely Jameson Whiskey Cake, which has a definite emphasis on the whiskey!
Lola & Lu's Jameson Whiskey Cake
There are other boozy baked goods on offer from Lori at Recipe Girl – you might like a slice or three of this Chocolate Guinness Stout Cake, for instance.
Lori's Chocolate Guinness Stout Cake
Of course I couldn’t resist including my own Whiskey Apple Pudding in the parade. It has Paddy’s Day written all over it.
The Daily Spud's Whiskey Apple Pudding
Carol from Simply…Gluten-free whipped up some Gluten Free Irish Coffee Cupcakes – she says that they are light, whimsical and, yes, a bit boozy – just like a good Irishman.
Carol's Gluten-Free Irish Coffee Cupcakes
Demonstrating that you don’t actually have to use alcohol in your Paddy’s Day dessert, Caroline from Bibliocook, one of the longest-running Irish food blogs around, intrigued me no end with her Potato Apple Tart. This is definitely going on my list to try.
Caroline's Potato Apple Tart
And what can I say about Tangled Noodle, who knocked my socks off with her combination of Filipino and Irish staples in the form of Potato-Coconut Candy, two ways. Her wonderfully named Coconut Faux-tatoes and chocolate-coated Coconut-Tater Truffles are surely the sweetest spuds of the day.
Tangled Noodle's Coconut Faux-tato
Tangled Noodle's Coconut-Tater Truffle
Last, but not least, I thought I’d round the parade off with a tasty (and occasionally stinky) Irish cheeseboard.
The Daily Spud's Irish Raw Milk Cheeses
To go with that little lot, you will, of course, need some farmhouse cheddar cheese biscuits. These come from the recipe archive of An Bord Bia (The Irish Food Board), and if, by some miracle, you’re still not fully sated by what you’ve seen here, they have a whole assortment of other St. Patrick’s Day recipes for you to drool over.
Bord Bia's Farmhouse Cheese Shamrocks
And with that, folks, the parade is over. I can’t resist sneaking a peek over my shoulder, though, to see if I can catch one last glimpse of the magnificent floats. I hope you’ve had as much fun watching the parade roll past as I had putting it all together. Care to join me again next year?
I’ve been waiting all week for this parade, and it hasn’t disappointed! The sheer amount of entries is staggering! I think my favorite float is the boxty. I’ve never seen that before and it looks just wonderful. Fabulous parade.
Wow, what an incredible and diverse array of Irish goodness, showcasing not only the best of Irish cuisine but what makes it so inspirational that it easily picks up flavors not commonly associated with it and makes them their own. Absolutely endless deliciousness all in one place.
Alas, this week has been incredibly busy, so I did not get to contribute, but I now have a single source to make many days in the new future that much more Irish. Happy St. Paddy’s!
Wow- what an incredible line up of recipes! I loved seeing the creativity and mouthwatering options. Making a big mental note to bake your whiskey apple pudding immediately!
This gets me in the St. Patrick’s Day mood! I realized late yesterday that I missed the deadline, but I’m baking some brown bread today. Happy SPD!
What a wonderful line up of recipes! I’m looking forward to make some of those delicious bread n beef. :)
I got my post done too late, but this is the best St. Paddy’s Parade I’ve ever been too.
I have not had so much fun at a Parade in years! I got to give the Best In Show Award to Reeni’s Cabbage, Sausage and Bacon Noodles In Cheddar-Mustard Sauce! Oh my that hit me in just the right way! GREG
Happy Paddy’s Day! What a cool idea – MUCH better than the Parade in town!!
NOM!
Seriously – this is like the BEST PARADE EVER.
We actually got our breakfast at the hotel for free today, just because of our Irishness. I think it’s going to be a good day in Texas!
Oh wow – far too many very good looking things here. Think my first to try will have to be the potato and apple cake / tart. Yum!
I liked the ‘St Patrick’s Day’ soup on the An Bord Bia’s site but fresh sorrel – at this time of year? Don’t think so!! :-D
Prize for most disturbing entry – Pandan Jam – that is very very Greeeeen!!
Joie de Vivre: I really was thrilled with all of the entries I got – definitely makes me want to do this again next year!
OysterCulture: And a Happy St. Paddy’s Day to you too – I know only too well that it’s not always possible to fit in the time needed to participate in things like this – but you can always enjoy the results :)
Phoo-D: the pudding is a good ‘un!
lisaiscooking: No worries, there’s always next year! Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you too.
The Cooking Ninja: you’ll be spoiled for choice!
Angela: sorry you couldn’t make it in time for the parade but glad you’re enjoying it all the same
sippitysup: so many candidates for best in show – Reeni is right up there, though!
aoife mc: thanks lady and go you with the free Texan brekkie – hope you’re enjoying SXSW
Ruth: thanks for dropping by to have a look at the parade – I definitely want to try the potato apple tart myself and do agree that the pandan jam is rather striking!
what a wonderful parade…so many faboulous dishes..what a great idea Spud what a feast for the eyes..
sweetlife
What an amazing array of delights! Thanks so much for putting it together, and I really love the Parade theme to tie them all together, very creative!
What a fabulous round-up. Each post was just so good and delectable – i could almost eat it off the screens. I loved the variety of scones, and definitely the drinks and OH the sweeties towards the end. Tangled Noodle’s got me sold :D x
What a parade! This is fantastic. There is no way to pick a favorite. I just want to try it all! I, too, am one of the ones that missed the golden opportunity to be included. Schedules and lack of planning ahead got in the way. I’m already setting a reminder for next year though!
What an incredible parade! A definite feast for the eyes! Thanks for hosting :)
Fabulous food parade!! Everyone really outdid themselves. I have to agree with Greg about Reeni’s Cabbage, Sausage & Bacon Noodles – definitely the dish I’m craving the most right now! But kudos to the Cooking Ninja for her creative (and very green) pandan jam! For anyone who hasn’t tried pandan before – it’s amazingly fragrant and delicious!
I kept clicking on your site early this morning, waiting for the parade to start, and had just settled in when the hubs pulled me away for the day’s errands! St. Paddy’s luck is with us, since this is one parade that sticks around, so I didn’t miss anything. 8-)
EVERYTHING is marvelous and I honestly can’t pick a favorite. I just want to jump on each float and never come back . . . Even better is that there are a few new blogs that I’ll be visiting for the first time. Thanks for leading the Parade!
Absolutely fabulous. I am so gobsmacked at the number of contributions to make it such a joyous and mouth-watering parade. Thank you so, so much for hosting such a parade and allowing us to be part of it.
Happy St Patrick’s day to you and your readers – Irish or not :D
Nice!!! Awesome food parade!!! I’m always amazed by the creativity of food bloggers. :)
sweetlife: thanks for both the kind words and for your submission – that’s the stuff that the parade is all about
Kirsten: It’s not a bad looking parade, I’ll admit :) Thanks so much for being part of it.
diva: Tangled Noodle’s sweeties are something else, aren’t they? :)
Lori: there’ll be another parade next year I’m sure, so plenty of time to plan for that one :)
Roti n Rice: and thank you for participating!
Phyllis: I have to say that I am now very curious to try pandan jam myself…
Tangled Noodle: it’s been quite a trip getting a parade like this to come together – it doesn’t amount to much without the participants, so thank you for your wonderful contribution – and it’s a real bonus that it’s something that you can, indeed, keep coming back too :)
mangocheeks: I was gobsmacked myself :) Thank you for being part of it!
jenn: as am I – food bloggers amaze and delight me daily :)
Lovely to see such an array of inspired dishes! I think I’d like to have a bit of each, please ;-)
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! What a fabulous round up! Each dish and drink is spectacular!
We had an opportunity to introduce my daughter’s kindergarten class to Ireland today since by luck it was her star student week. The kids were thrilled to learn more about St. Patrick’s day and hear an Irish fairy tale and I made cupcakes with green frosting decorations for their snack :)
That’s the best St Patrick’s Day parade I’ve even been to! You did an excellent job coordinating the “floats.” Irish food has never looked so good! Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Cheers :-)
Well done, your Spudness! There was a fair amount of organisation needed to keep all those entrants in line!
Seeing all the Irish food has caused me to relax and the green dots to dissipate…my computer thought it was off to the pub before me!
I have two birthdays to make cakes for tonight, never knew I had so many Leprechaun, or I should say Lucky friends!
nobody did the humble coddle
ValleyWriter: excellent choice, ma’am!
5 Star Foodie: How cute! I’m sure your daughter loved that.
Martha: Thank you and a happy St. Patrick’s Day to you too. Thanks for joining in on the fun!
Caroline: indeed – I’m wondering if this is what it’s like to be Grand Marshall of a real life parade :)
Chef E: were those green dots Irish dots, I wonder? there will probably be a lot of Irish people seeing green dots of one sort or another by the end of tonight I reckon, lol!
sinéad: you are quite right – coddle is a notable absence from the parade; it’s not so widely known and that, perhaps, is something for me to work on!
Happy St Patricks Day from up north in Norn Iron
There are more than enough recipes here to keep me going for months!
Thanks for including my humble Ulster Fry.
Dear, sweet, Spud … I am absolutely speechless! I knew your Paddy’s Day Food Parade would be something special but this is beyond belief! Each float more creative and festive than the next … i hardly know where to begin!
Not only are the entries impressive, I love the way you’ve presented it all. I am tipping my tiara to you on this wonderful success! Thank you so much for hosting it and for all of the work you’ve done to make it such a treat. Its stunning!!! I’m honored to be a part of it.
Loving all the dishes and really craving those desserts! :)
Happy St. Patricks Day to all!!!
What an awesome turnout! My mouth is watering over all these delicious Irish delights! I’m honored to be a part of. Happy St. Paddy’s Day!
I agree with the others. This is a great parade! Wow. So many dishes I haven’t heard of. I made colcannon today, and that was a new dish for me. I must try out the other dishes, too. I wish I had known about this in time. It was good to be a spectator, though.
Janmary: you’re welcome and I hope you enjoy whatever parade recipes you decide to try!
Diva: I blush – your week of Irish posts helped to make it all possible! Hope you had a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day over there in NYC.
Reeni: my mouth is watering too :) so glad you could join in and with such a fabulous recipe too
Memoria: thanks for coming along to the parade and so glad you liked it (and the colcannon, too, I take it!) – perhaps you’ll be able to participate next year? you’d be more than welcome
WOW!!! I am amazed by the quality of all those entries. We ate our cake yesterday after watching the parade, it was great thoroughly boozy, and moist. I love the look of that bacon and cabbage terrine – must try!! Well done spud an amazing parade indeed
Yum! This looks gorgeous, such a great idea, it’s my kind of parade. I totally missed adding my Patricks Day post but hopefully next year… I’m always late for everything!
What a fabulous parade! I think that we should start a petition to have the entire month of March designated as St. Patrick’s Month if for no other reason than to have a chance to try all these delicious entries. Great Job!
Hello!
I still wish you a happy belated St.-Patricks days! Yeah!!
All of these treats & dishes look delightful!!
MMMMMMMMMMMM,…now, what to choose???
are you two speaking of ‘coddle’ the baked dish of potatoes sausage and bacon? My grandmother made that a few times, and we dipped bread into it, why did I not think of that, darn!
We did eat greens so much I assumed it was an Irish thing like potato soup and other potato dishes, since they were so cheap and filling.
I love the parade, and thanks for getting my float squeezed in, it was ‘on the lighter side’ as you saw :)
Great parade … I even played the pretend trumpet while the photos scrolled by.
Food and Wine dropped in my letter box yesterday – I smiled and said ‘I know her’. Fabulous :-)
Lu: Thank you – it didn’t turn out half bad, even if I do say so myself! And thanks so much for the cake, a very worthy whiskey-laden entrant :)
Lilly: thanks for calling in to have a look at the parade – and you now have plenty of warning for getting your own entry in there for next year!
Carol: I’m all for the St. Patrick’s month petition – where do I sign? :)
Sophie: thanks – it’s a pretty tough choice, isn’t it!
Chef E: Delighted to get you into the parade – couldn’t possibly have missed you out! And that sounds like coddle alright – you’ll have to do that for next year’s event.
Gillian: I am off out to get a copy of Food & Wine now – didn’t know I was in there!
Sorry I’m late to reply, but thank you for posting my Sweet Irish Scones. I’m loving all these recipes, and can’t wait to go browsing around!
This was such a great parade! Thanks so much for organizing it!
Spud, I don’t know how to say this so I’ll just come out straight with it. I’ve been cooking from another cook’s recipe. I didn’t mean for it to happen. When you had this idea of inviting all these recipes and their pictures over to your place I simply thought it was a wonderful idea and a great way of celebrating Paddy’s day. But then I saw her, hot pot my name and hot by nature. It was just love at first sight and when I found out her cheesy sense of humor, I was lost. Before I knew it I was over at her placing meeting her step-mon – Smörgåsblog. Now hot pot is in the oven way. I’m really sorry. I hope we can continue to be good friends?
Piper: you’re welcome – hope you enjoy looking at the rest of the parade entrants :)
Joanne: It was my pleasure – thanks so much for participating!
Rufus: <Sigh> These things happen – I knew I was taking a risk. I’ll (try to) get over it, though, and at least I know that we’ll always have the Thai curry…