Shamrock Shindig a virtual pub party with Irish drinks, food and music
With the St. Patrick’s Day parade canceled and pubs with limited seating, it may seem the luck of the Irish has run out. Have faith, you can still celebrate with your fellow leprechan lovers. Good Taste! Pittsburgh has organized a traditional Irish celebration, Shamrock Shindig!, with a virtual pub party, live music, food, dancing and storytelling.
The online party starts at 6:30 p.m. Friday live on Zoom, broadcast from Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle in the Strip District. Maura Krushinski, co-founder of the Pittsburgh Irish Festival and owner of the Irish Design Center, will host the shindig.
“She is perfect as host,” said event organizer Dee Weinberg, owner of Good Taste! Pittsburgh. “She knows more about Ireland than the Irish!”
Get a ticket to watch for $15 plus a $2.55 fee at good taste pittsburgh. To really get those Irish eyes smiling, shell out $45 plus a fee of $4.37 and pick up the Essential Event Kit on Wednesday or Friday at the Irish Center, 303 S. Craig St., Oakland. Your pot of goodies will include a customized beer glass, a bottle of Harp lager, a can of Guinness stout, a mini loaf of Irish brown bread, a sample bottle of Stout Beer Balsamic Vinegar from Oakmont Olive Oil, Irish pastry, candy and teas from the Irish Design Center and a free ticket to the Pittsburgh Irish Festivalin September.
Dave Regan, general manager of Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle, will give a lesson on pouring the perfect Black and Tan. The traditional St. Patrick’s Day libation, also known as a half and half, brings together in a pint glass Guiness stout (black) and Harp (tan). He will also be making a special Irish cocktail.
Participants will also see Meghann Walsh demonstrate how to make authentic Irish brown bread (see recipe at right).
“It is eaten all over Ireland,” said the former pastery chef at Cioppino in the Strip District who now has her own bakery in Scott.
When she visited the Emerald Isle, Walsh noticed that brown bread was ubiquitous. It’s made with a coarse, stone-ground whole wheat, giving it a nutty flavor.
“It is served with nearly every meal, not Irish soda bread,” she said. “I really fell in love with it. It is a very hardy bread and is good with salted butter and honey, which is how I like it.”
During the Shamrock Shindig, Walsh will also make boxty.
“It is an Irish potato pancake,” made with mashed and shredded potatoes, so you might want to have some on hand.
“Both recipes are very simple, which is why I chose them,” she said.
No St. Patrick’s Day celebration would be complete without music. Pittsburgh’s Whiskey Limerick band will keep the energy level high with rocking Irish tunes, and bagpiper Ryan Myett will play reels and jigs. During a break in the music and dancing, storyteller Alan Irvine will spin a few yarns about the Irish.
Irish Brown Bread
10 ounces stone-ground whole wheat flour
6 ounces all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda 1 tablespoon honey
1 ounce butter, cold
1 egg
1½ cups buttermilk Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add all dry ingredients in a mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until combined.
Chop cold butter into small pieces.
Add cut butter to dry ingredients and continue mixing on low speed until the butter is pea size.
Mix liquid ingredients together and slowly add to the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Serve with a salted butter, honey or jam
Yields a 1- to 2-pound loaf
— Meghann Walsh