It’s nearly time for the wearing of the green, where we search for shamrocks and watch out for tricky leprechauns. St. Patrick’s Day is only a few days away.
We were having overnight guests at our house in the Cape; what a great excuse for an Irish themed luncheon to greet them upon their arrival. I made Potato Leek Soup the day before, and just had to heat it up and add the milk when we were ready to sit down. I had thoughts of making Irish Soda Bread to accompany it, but ran out of time. A little cultural diversity set in with purchased Italian ciabatta loaf. salami and Greek olives. I managed to find Irish Cheddar, however!
The table was easy to assemble.
I’ve had the Spode Fitzhugh salad plates for years, though the Aerin green-edged scalloped dinner plates are a new acquisition. I see they’re finally back in stock at Williams Sonoma – these were an eBay find.
My Fitzhugh Green collection is somewhat motley. I have the coffee and tea pots, six demitasse cups and saucers, the tureen, a small leaf plate, a sugar bowl and a number of pitchers, but so far no creamer. I’m still on the lookout for it.
Fitzhugh Green was first produced in the 1950s and finally discontinued in the 80s. It’s made of ironstone and thus is very sturdy. In terms of colour spectrum, it has a slight grey undercast. My favourite part is the twisted handles on the jugs with a delightful pattern of cascading leaves and berries.
Colonial Dame iced tea glasses by Fostoria really come into their own on St. Patrick’s Day. They’re truly a vibrant green,
The Arte Italica pewter-lidded soup bowls have long since been discontinued, but one can readily procure similar soup bowls in any number of places. Apilco makes a version with a white lid. The white porcelain goes well with the ironstone and the Aerin plates.
I found the sign at Christmas Tree Shops for the princely sum of $3.99; couldn’t resist the old-fashioned charm of the girl with the lovely spring hat, clutching a large shamrock.
Three beguiling leprechauns came home with me from the same place, for similar prices. I think I got out of there for under $10.
We finished up our fairly virtuous lunch with a small indulgence: Chocolate Pots de Creme. I had originally spotted this no-bake, easy peasy recipe which involved heating the cream in the microwave and pouring it over chocolate chips, sugar and an egg which have been pulverized in a blender (or in my case, a food processor).
Alas, the food processor refused to pulverize, after I’d added the raw egg and the sugar, of course. Frustrated and annoyed (a few choice words might have been used), I tossed the now-slimy chocolate chips into a colander and rinsed them thoroughly with cold water. Happily, I had not yet heated the cream. Time for plan B: do it the old fashioned way by heating the cream, melting in the chocolate, and then adding to a mixture of egg yolks whisked with sugar. The resultant chocolate confection is then baked in a Bain Marie, a fancy term for a plain water bath, the principle behind which is that water heats only to the boiling point, or 212° F, perfect for cooking the egg yolks to a creamy custard.
That done, I spooned the uncooked chocolate custard into six Fitzhugh Green demitasses and four small ramekins and arranged them all in a tin lasagne pan before pouring hot water around the containers up to about halfway. Cover tightly with foil and bake in a 325° F oven for about 45 minutes. I allowed them to cool slightly before removing the demitasses and ramekins from the water and chilling for a few hours. They turned out to be delicious; a bit more tedious than the no-bake 7-minute method extolled in the first recipe, but I need to replace my food processor before I can render an opinion on that one. Stay tuned! I’m determined to try it.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!
I’m sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch.
Very fun table. I have some of the lion’s head bowls. I found mine by accident at a shop that used to be open in our area that was half thrift store/half estate sale store. I had not ever seen them before and thought they were so cute. I have a larger one, a few medium size ones with white covers and a bunch of really small ones. The story that I was told was that the woman who owned them was going to be building a new, much larger house and was curating all of the dining pieces she would be using in this yet to be house when she unexpectedly passed away and her husband was selling all of her never used or rarely used treasures on consignment. I bought some of the small ones and all of the larger ones that day. I ended up buying the rest of the small ones a few weeks later when they were selling everything at 50% off in preparation for moving their shop to a larger building. The gold color of the soup contrasts nicely with the white of the tureens.
Aren’t the lion head bowls great? They keep the soup so nice and hot, go with everything and make a lovely presentstion. Great score on the estate/tag sale, Lorri! Sounds like you really landed a deal.
You seem to come up with the right theme for every occasion. What happened to the corned beef and cabbage?☘ Ha Ha. Lovely table and I love your Xmas tree bargains. Happy St Patrick’s Day.
I almost went with that! How did you guess? Hehe.
Dear Helen, Thanks for not taking the theme too far…leave that to all those other bloggers with their pots of gold candies and shamrock knick-knacks scattered about!
Of course, the Irish nicked the vichysoisse (minus the celery) from the French, and a Frenchie dessert with chocolate instead of Irish Cream Mist? But who am I, a Frenchie Fraser, to criticise? lol.
I was trying to think of a dessert for a keto-diet guest (and these days, who doesn’t have one?), and your chocolate challenge reminded me of a recipe I used to make in France. I rejiggered it to eliminate the sugar. Heat 1 cup heavy cream with a scant 3 tablespoons sugar (or add stevia with the vanilla at the end) and 85 g of 85%-90% chocolate. Whip 3 small yolks to lemon-yellow and whip into hot cream to make custard. Flavour with 1/2 tsp vanilla (and stevia to taste, if going sugarless), cool a bit, pour into darioles or demitasses, and chill, covered. Because it doesn’t heat up the cups so much, you can use your best gilt porcelain.
Oh yes, guests and their dietary requirements. … I’m all for accommodating genuine dietary issues, but this food preciousness that has gripped the nation makes my head ache…
I thought about incorporating Bailey’s, but we aren’t liqueur lovers, so apart from using it in some coffee with whipped cream in the fall, it would sit there.
Thanks for another wonderful recipe, Beatrice. We are going to have to give you your own category at Entertablement! It sounds like a cross between the 7-minute wonder (which has one egg) and the more time consuming traditional. I love that it doesn’t have to be baked, and you’ve hit it – one can use more delicate demitasses for it. Marvelous!
Wow! That Fitzhugh Green dinnerware is beautiful, perfect for the occasion!! such a pretty table!
Thanks, Ann. Fitzhugh comes in several colours, but I went with the green. Sure comes in handy!
Your FitzHugh is so perfect for the occassion, and I love, love, love paring it with the Wms. Sanoma dinner plate. It makes for a perfect blend of pretty and precious!
Thanks Linda!