When Amanda and I were little kids we always tried to find the end of the rainbow. We seriously hunted for it every time. I think we were actually more excited at the prospect of finding a leprechaun than we were about finding the pot of gold. There was one place on our property where we found some treasures once, goldish buttons or something. We always thought the rainbow would end there, it just seemed like a leprechaun habitat, and those treasures were definitely left behind by those tricky little green-clad men. Those guys were good though, sneaky little buggers.
Do you need a last minute dish to take to a St. Paddy's dinner? Well, I'm here to help you class it up a bit this St. Patrick's day. No green beer for you, my friends! You'll be the one showing up to the party with a fancy schmancy salmon and cheese plate, even if you are just looking for something to nosh on before hitting up the pub crawl and downing pints of Guinness.
Apparently the Irish are known for their smoked salmon. That's what Gourmet tells me. And I listen to pretty much everything Gourmet tells me. Except for the part about using cold-smoked salmon, like lox. Because I much prefer the hot-smoked variety. Especially with some creamy Irish cheese, rye bread toasts, peppery arugula (because it's green!), and sweet-tangy malt vinegar syrup.
Irish Cheese Plate
What you'll need:
Irish cheese: Dubliner and an Irish Cheddar (mine had swirls of stout beer!)
Smoked salmon
Rye bread, thinly sliced and toasted
Malt vinegar syrup (recipe from Gourmet)
Arugula
What you'll do:
Either arrange on a cheese place and let people build their own snacks, or pre-make little salmon crostinis. Pair with Guinness or some sort of Irish Whiskey drink. Follow with stout floats.
