St. Patty's Day Menu

There's only a few days left before the big day...do you have your St. Patty's Day menu planned?

NO?!?!?

Not to worry...Mr. VB and I kicked off a Dinner Club with a few friends this weekend. Since it was so close to everyone's favorite green holiday, we had to have a theme.

As usual, Pinterest was very helpful in coming up with the menu. Unfortunately, not everything made it on the list.

First up, dessert. We made Irish Car bomb Cupcakes (stout cupcakes with whiskey ganache filling & homemade Irish cream frosting). The cake recipe is from Smitten Kitchen. They turned out great...even though I left out a full stick of butter*.

*Editor's Note: I taste-tested too much of the homemade Irish cream liqueur got up really early to make these and didn't have my coffee yet.

For the homemade Bailey's, check out Semisweetie. This stuff rocks and was so much cheaper than the real stuff. And, it made a perfect gift for my guests!

Next up, Mini Reubens. From Skinny Kitchen, these were originally low cal. I got lazy and opted not to make my own thousand island dressing. Still...they were quite tasty.

For the main course, we served Irish Beef and Stout Stew from Everyday Foods.

At this point, I'm going to have to ask you to click here and immediately get this recipe. Seriously.

It was incredible. The beef melts in your mouth and the stout added such a great flavor. Mr. VB marinated the beef in stout for a few hours before we put it in the oven. What's even better is that it is so easy to make. Just toss the ingredients in a heavy pot, pop it in the oven, head to your favorite St. Patty's Day parade, and when you get home, you'll have a delicious pot of stouty stew.

We also had Bangers in a Blanket and Green St. Patty's Day martinis. Unfortunately, those photos are not suitable for Vanilla Bean I didn't get pics.

It looks like the weather will be beautiful here in St. Louis this weekend....hope it is the same in your part of the world!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!