Kiss Me, I'm Part Irish

When I was 15, I got a button for St. Patrick's Day that said "I may not be Irish, but kiss me anyway."  I actually never got to wear it, because that year, two days before St. Patrick's Day, I checked into the hospital for a kidney transplant.  But, actually, one could kiss me for being Irish.  My heritage is actually a mix of cultures: Irish, German, Danish.  My maternal grandmother, originally a Doherty, was very proud of her Irish roots, and made sure her grandchildren were all familiar with it.

I am more used to celebrating Oktoberfest with food than I am St. Patrick's Day.  In America, St. Patrick's Day is usually about green beer and pinching people, but in Ireland, it's a legitimate holiday to celebrate a folk hero who, among other things, supposedly banished all the snakes from the island.  Regardless of the truth of the stories of St. Patrick, the holiday, for the Irish, is sortof akin to Thanksgiving in America.  It's an excuse to make a nice meal and spend time with family.  Rather than drown myself in green beer, I figured I would instead make a nice, Ireland-inspired meal.

My pseudo-Irish feast will of course be vegetarian.  I'm going to make a stew with a beer base, and sides of cabbage and cauliflower with cheese sauce.  I love cauliflower, especially with cheese sauce.  As a child, my mom would make that on a regular basis, and I didn't know until I grew up that cauliflower with cheese sauce is a very classic British and Irish dish. 

I am looking forward to my upcoming Irish feast.  Is anyone else planning any festivities for St. Pat's?  I want to hear about it!