My St. Patrick's Day Dinner 2023

March 21, 2023

I always enjoy hosting St. Patrick's Day dinner at my Bedford, New York farm.

This year, I invited 12 friends to join me for a delicious feast - complete with my corned beef, root vegetables, and of course, my own version of the traditional Irish soda bread. I started with a fresh pea soup with homemade French baguette croutons. Our colorful salad included radicchio, arugula, persimmon, and pomegranate. The brisket from Pat LaFrieda was brined and cooked perfectly and served with potatoes, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, turnips, and leeks. And for dessert, Atlantic Beach Pie and the most delectable lemon sugar cookies. It was an evening of good company and great food.

I hope you saw my photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. Here are some more, enjoy. These photos were taken by Kevin Sharkey - follow him on Instagram @seenbysharkey.

: Whenever I entertain indoors at my farm, it’s usually in my Brown Room, a large dining room and sitting area. Here is our beautifully set table – in all shades of green, of course.

: I decide the place settings for every holiday meal – working closely with my housekeepers to make sure we have all the necessary plates, utensils, and glasses. The green china plates are Paris porcelain monogrammed with an “S”. This year, my operations manager Stephanie Lofaro, also made these charming shamrock place cards. Each one was printed on a heavy card stock and then trimmed with craft shears to give it a decorative edge. Do you know the difference between a shamrock and a clover? Shamrocks always have three leaves, while clovers can have a fourth. Shamrocks are usually green, but one can also find them in purple, green, or white. And shamrocks grow in clumps, while four-leaf clovers are rare and grow one at a time.

: Just before my guests arrived, I started a cozy fire in the Brown Room.

: Dinner was scheduled for 7pm and everyone arrived ready to feast. My friend, Stephen Sills, gifted me with these lovely cut orchids – they’re so stunning.

: I made loaves of my Irish Soda Bread with rye flour, wheat germ, raisins, and caraway. Everyone always loves my Irish soda bread – there’s never a crumb left over. Legend has it that, in some areas of Ireland, a cross was cut on the top of the Irish soda bread with a knife to ward off the devil and protect the household. It also helps the bread cook evenly and thoroughly. Irish soda bread is a somewhat sweet white bread made with eggs and butter and studded with raisins and caraway seeds — the “soda” in the name comes from the baking soda, or “bread soda” in Ireland, used to leaven it instead of yeast and kneading.

: One of my tips for entertaining is to select one’s serving pieces early, so they can be washed and assigned to specific dishes. This saves a lot of time later.

: And, it’s always a good idea to have all the china close at hand, counted, and ready to use to avoid any fumbling for additional pieces.

: Everything was made just in time. Here are all he vegetables waiting to be warmed slightly before plating.

: Kevin took this photo as I was slicing our corned beef brisket – it was so tender and moist.

: Here is my pea soup – the silky smooth texture of this soup is an elegant way to show off the subtle flavor of peas. Each bowl was topped with a handful of homemade French bread croutons.

: The salad was so colorful. I filled the platter with radicchio, arugula, pomegranate arils, and small wedges of persimmon.

: Salads were served with a light vinaigrette dressing.

: All the vegetables are cooked separately until tender – fresh cabbage, turnips, parsnips, carrots potatoes, leeks.

: There was plenty for everyone. Everything was so beautiful, and delicious.

: The platters were on the counter, so all my guests could help themselves. Kevin took this photo of me with two of the full platters before we all “dug in.” In Ireland, beef was a meat reserved only for the wealthy. The Great Famine resulting from potato blight caused a mass migration of the Irish to the new world. In America, corned beef was readily available to Irish immigrants and became a favored comfort food.

: Here is the table sans plates – many returned for second helpings.

: And dessert – a gorgeous Atlantic Beach Pie on the left and big lemon sugar cookies on the right. Atlantic Beach Pie mixes a creamy lemon-condensed milk filling with a crust made from crushed Saltine crackers and then topped with luscious whipped cream.

: Each guest was served a cookie and a piece of pie. It was so nice to gather with friends to share this wonderful meal. We all had a wonderful time.

: Here are some of the glasses being taken away after dinner. Using a variety of different glasses adds vibrant color to the table – experiment. I try to make my table look a little different each time.