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It's an old Irish saying: "What butter and whiskey won't cure, there is no cure for."
You can paint the town green on St. Patrick's Day or you can fork over some green for some fine Irish food. Whole Foods in Westport makes 20,000 loaves of its exclusive Mrs. Murray's Irish Soda Bread for St. Patrick's Day in the northeast region. In this this video, you can watch the bread being shaped and baked.(Mrs. Murray is a no-show though.) Even with such a large volume of loaves, each loaf baked at its Massachusetts Bread & Circus Bakehouse is made by hand.
You might want to slather your soda bread slices with Kerrygold Butter, another Irish specialty available at Whole Foods. (Just don't tell the cardiologist.) Add some delicious, Irish and you and your guests will cheer (in Gaelic, of course) Éire go Brách (Ireland Forever!)
Whole Foods Marketing Team Leader Katie Cole also showed off a new specialty beer area, featuring a selection of microbrews and international beers, including selected Irish beers, like Guiness, Harp and Smithwick's Ale. (Add your own green coloring.)
At Balducci's in Westport, you'll find the St. Patrick's Day excitement in the dessert aisle. Bakery staffer Valerie showed off delicate chocolate petit fours decorated with tiny shamrocks (chocolate cake, chocolate icing and chocolate almond paste) and the vanilla version (white cake, a mint green layer and almond paste.) Shamrocks and leprechaun hats top the sugar cookies (really large ones). Vanilla shortbreads come shamrock-sized. Some of the iced butter cookies are shaped like dear-looking, shamrock-sporting dogs (West Highland Whites? Wait, those are Scottish!). For something stronger, try the chocolate cupcakes made with Bailey's Irish Cream. Offer guests a Balducci's goodie sampler on St. Patrick's Day, and they'll respond, Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig ort! (St. Patricks Day Blessing On You!)
"What butter and whiskey won't cure, there is no cure for," An Irish Saying
Over at Crumbs in Westport, Assistant Manager Jackie showed off a dizzying menu of St. Patrick's Day treats made to special order. A favorite: The "St. Patty's Good Guy" cupcakes. They're made of vanilla cake with green and white sprinkles baked in, filled with vanilla cream cheese frosting, decorated with green and white sprinkles--and then drizzled with white chocolate! Other special cupcakes for the day include "The Lucky One" and "The Shamrock" (swirls of sweet and green,) large hot cross buns (with green icing,) Irish Soda rolls and more. There are ready-made items, as well. Anything from this menu will cause your guests' hearts to swell le grá go deo (with love forever.)
At Billy's Bakery in Black Rock, Fairfield, it's hard to bypass owner Bill Hollis's non-holiday muffin loaves (banana walnut, blueberry or corn) and artisan breads. So don't! Just add some of his specially-made St. Patrick's Day soda bread, green bagels and shamrock-shaped linzer tarts. Your friends and family will chime Lá le Pádraigh! (Happy St. Patrick's Day!)
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