Halfway Between St. Pat's & Easter

It is so unusual for St. Patrick's Day and Easter to fall so closely together. It is putting a real kink in our decorating plans. Many of you know my Mom loves to decorate for holidays. (That may be an understatement!) We had to curb our green decoration in order to make a quick transition to Easter. So far we are not moving very quickly but it is coming. Plus we are motivated by a party planned for Sunday!

We had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day meal to honor the Irish. Both the Johnson's and the McCarter's are of Scotch-Irish descent. Mom, Dad, Alex, Gil & Jane visited the McCarter Castle in Ireland a few years ago. I thought it extremely apt they kissed the Blarney Stone on that trip! For the occation, we had Traditional Irish Stew called The Bailey. The recipe was from Gourmet Magazine:

3 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
6 cups chicken broth
3 pounds boiling potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 stalks celery, trimmed and ribs cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil

In a 7 to 8-quart kettle simmer lamb, parsley, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste in 4 cups broth, covered, 1 1/2 hours. To lamb mixture add potatoes, onion, carrots, celery, and remaining 2 cups broth and simmer, covered, 1 hour. In a small bowl whisk together flour and oil until smooth and stir into simmering stew until well incorporated. Simmer stew, uncovered, until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes, and season with salt and pepper.

It turned out well in the end but it was only after I had two disasters! First, although the lamb was in 4 cups of broth, it went from smelling wonderful to having smoke throughout the house in less than 5 minutes. Brenda saved the lamb from the charred ruins on the bottom of the pot. We added fresh broth and finished the stew. You could hardly even taste the burnt portion! Then, I went to make the soda bread and I realized I was supposed to have soaked oatmeal in buttermilk for 12 hours. Brenda made the cornbread! For Gil and Jane, Mom made Dad play the Irish music at 2 in the morning. I'm not sure she sang along but I heard she danced a little jig.

Now we are moving forward to the Easter menu. My turkey is much better than my lamb! And Jane, Mom and I will be wearing black and white for Easter.