SBIRL??

At the second official SWIRL of 2008, we engaged in a marked departure from our previous meetings. To honor St. Patrick's Day, we departed from our usual culinary format of exquisite cuisine and wines to match, and, instead, indulged in traditional Irish holiday faire married with dark Irish beer.

The beers of choice were Beamish Stout (which received near unanimous praise for its smoothness), Murphy's Stout (delicious and chocolately) and the eponymous Guinness Stout (less creamy, more acidic). (The Lehman's also brought some double chocolate stouts but prudence and moderation pre-empted their dance across our collective palates).

Ruth started the evening off with a stunningly presented baked ricotta dish, infused with hints of pepper and pepper flakes. A yummy beginning to say the least. An additional appetizer surfaced in irish cheeses and rainforest crackers....I believe contributed by Kay and Steve respectively (forgot to check the facts on this one, sorry to say). All went down well with the assorted brews.

The main meal followed: corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and soda bread. It was all excellent and would have stood proud on the country table of any true Irish family. Suzie thoughtfully adorned things with two wonderful mustards: a dijon and a stout. The beer was the perfect swill to wash it all down.

Jewel and Tim followed the entrees with a delightful simple salad that did a fabulous job of cleaning our beer soaked palates.

The evening closed with Ruth's immaculalte Guinness chocolate cake. Barry and Suzie offered up the perfect dark beverage, coffee, to offset the richness of the dense dessert. Barry demonstrated his culinary prowess by whipping up some "My T Fine" whipped cream, so that those inclined could add a judicious dollop to their Irish Whiskey laced dark brew.

More than a wee bit of fun was had by all. We were delighted that the Queen was able to join us. Her second term at the reign is getting off to an adventurous start!

No firm plans for our next event, although rumblings of a parisian themed meal could be heard, to honor the return of Barry an Suzie from their euro/dollar challenged time in Paris. Let it be said: better to be "poor" in Paris than not in Paris at all.

Your humble scribe.
gene