A Little Piece of Work & Fun: Luck O' the Irish St. Patrick's Day Bunco

I recently hosted the March Bunco at my house. It was a St. Patrick's theme... clover, Irish food, the whole thing. It was really fun to prepare and everyone seemed to really like the Irish food! My friend Leigh Ann helped with the appetizers and decorations too! Here's the menu we served:

Apple & bacon salad with cheese dressing. I got the recipe here. It was ok, but I wouldn't make it again like that recipe. However, I loved the butter lettuce and will use that again! It was fun to serve it like the chef shows on TV to each person as we "plated" the salad!

We served Irish Soda Bread with the salad and the main dish too, since I made 2 loaves. This is the easiest bread recipe I think! I made a brown flour version and it turned out pretty yummy. Marilyn O'Reilly's Irish Soda Bread was my favorite one but I will definitely be making both of them again for many occasions! All the soda breads have buttermilk but don't really need kneading or rising which is what makes them so easy to me! And this one listed caraway seeds and raisins, which I used but I would like to try it without the caraway seeds next time. Those are pretty flavorful little tiny seeds! It took me forever to figure out what they are so I'll let you in on a secret...they are on the spice aisle at the grocery store at about $4. I was looking in the bulk nuts area and produce thinking they were like sunflower seeds! Anyway, super easy recipe and goes great with butter and the main dish of...

Irish Stew. Here 's the recipe I used with some variations. It also includes the 2nd Brown bread recipe. I used one pound of lamb (it was kinda pricey and after reading the reviews, looked like you could sub the beef), and probably 3-4 pounds of beef for stew. I was pleased to see it was already cut up in the meat case! The pearl onions were available loose in my Kroger store and I chose about 30-35 of the smaller ones. They have a great flavor for stew. I used about 5 carrots and 4 cans of chicken broth and a little more water. I bought a 6 pack of Saint Arnold Stout and used 2 full bottles. The fresh thyme is key. This stew takes just a few minutes to prepare & about 2 hours to cook, so easy, low-stress party food! And it was hearty and tasty to all!

The best part of the meal was the dessert! This one is so yummy, everyone is waiting for the recipe, so here it is!!

Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

1 loaf French bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 quart heavy whipping cream
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup whiskey (I used Jim Bean)
1 cup raisins (soaked in whiskey overnight) - I used currants (can also omit them)
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon Vanilla

Soak the raisins in the whiskey overnight. Put the cubed bread in a large casserole dish and pour the whipping cream over it, allow to soak in. Combine sugar, eggs, chocolate chips, raisins and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Pour over the soaked bread and stir together thoroughly. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until brown and bubbly.

Whiskey Sauce:
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 eggs, beaten
Bourbon whiskey to taste (1/8-1/4 cup)

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Gradually stir in powdered sugar using a whisk to keep it in suspension. Remove from head and add beaten egg a little at a time. While whisking, allow to cool and add whiskey to taste. Spoon 3-4 Tablespoons whiskey sauce over each serving. Serve warm. Delish!! Note: don't leave out the whiskey sauce! The picture above shows what was left over.

Then we played BUNCO!

The most wins winner was Leigh Ann! YEAH GIRL!

And it just so happened to be that it was her Birthday that day! What a fun birthday gift to win some birthday bunco money!! We all sang Happy Birthday too when dessert was served. And she was a little impressed with how good it sounded.