Whether you’re 100% Irish or just love celebrating all things Irish, St. Patrick’s Day is a wonderful day to get your green on!
We asked our 2021 Brand Ambassador, and stylist extraordinaire, Toni Mogensen, to share a few of her tips for creating an easy yet impressive cottage style St. Patrick’s Day tablescape, including a few treats for your guests.
“My floral colors were inspired by the National flag of Ireland of white, orange and green.
I chose green and white hydrangeas, white berries, white ranunculus and orange tulips. I purchased my florals at Trader Joe’s and another local Salinas, CA market for a lively mix.
Once I had my flowers home, trimmed and resting in water in the sink, I gathered the rest of my pieces for the table:
- shamrock cocktail stirrers
- shamrock cookies
- green velvet ribbon
- printed dinner menu
- gold candlesticks
- gold vases
- gold bowls for “pots o’ gold”
- gold utensils
I love mixing thrifted and vintage finds with a few new items to create a more individualized look–never overly matchy matchy for me! I start with a tablecloth or runners like these from The Urban Farmhouse.
I also recommend oversized, statement style vessels for your florals. I found the large centerpiece vase at Pot Shop, Moss Landing the Honeycomb vase at Anthropologie and the small gold vase at The Urban Farmhouse.
Gold candlesticks, also from The Urban Farmhouse are my go-to accessory for adding warmth and coziness to any tablescape. Most of my candlesticks are thrift finds, but these were a special treat to add to my collection. My favorite places to explore for inexpensive and practical pieces include Dollar Tree, Home Goods, Target and Party City and Amazon has a plethora of fun things.
Adding a printed menu is a nice touch that let’s your guests know you have been thinking and planning for them, and who doesn’t appreciate that? You can create a menu on pre-cut card stock or even just half a sheet of typing paper, index cards, or any interesting paper. Using an app like Canva to print your menus is quite simple, but if you don’t have time or tech savvy, handwritten menus are just as special!
I also love tying sprigs of herbs or fresh flowers to my menus and around napkins. Green velvet ribbon works perfectly for St. Paddy’s Day but twine, strips of fabric, lace, etc would be cute, too.
Adding a few sweets to the table are always welcome and there’s no shame in my store-bought cookie game! I opted to spend time baking soda bread instead and it was such fun and oh, the luck o’ the Irish was shining on me as it turned out perfectly! Warm with butter, it’s beyond magically delicious! I set mine loaf upon a wooden pedestal from Antique Farmhouse.
Here’s the recipe I used from Sally’s Baking Recipes Be sure to visit the website for oodles of baking tips.
Grandma’s Irish Soda Bread
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 45 minutes Total Time: 55 minutes Yield: 1 loaf
Irish Soda Bread is a quick bread that does not require any yeast. Instead, all of its leavening comes from baking soda and buttermilk. This Irish Soda Bread recipe is my grandmother’s and has been cherished in my family for years. It’s dense, yet soft and has the most incredible crusty exterior.
Ingredients
1 and 3/4 cups (420ml) buttermilk*
1 large egg (optional, see note)
4 and 1/4 cups (531g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled), plus more for your hands and counter
3 Tablespoons (38g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed*
optional: 1 cup (150g) raisins
Instructions
Preheat oven & pan options: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
There are options for the baking pan. Use a regular baking sheet and line with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (bread spreads a bit more on a baking sheet) or use a seasoned 10–12-inch cast iron skillet or grease a 9–10-inch cake pan or pie dish. You can also use a 5-quart (or higher) Dutch oven. Grease or line with parchment paper. If using a Dutch oven, bake the bread with the lid off.
Whisk the buttermilk and egg together. Set aside. Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers. Mixture is very heavy on the flour but do your best to cut in the butter until the butter is pea-sized crumbs. Stir in the raisins. Pour in the buttermilk/egg mixture.
Gently fold the dough together until dough it is too stiff to stir. Pour crumbly dough onto a lightly floured work surface. With floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best you can, then knead for about 30 seconds or until all the flour is moistened. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
Transfer the dough to the prepared skillet/pan. Using a very sharp knife, score an X into the top. Bake until the bread is golden brown, and center appears cooked through, about 45 minutes. Loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil if you notice heavy browning on top. I usually place foil on top halfway through bake time.
Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm, at room temperature, or toasted with desired toppings/spreads.
Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. We usually wrap it tightly in aluminum foil for storing.
Next up was something festive to drink! This Fuzzy Leprechaun Cocktail from Tammilee’s Tips is refreshing with a few shamrock stirrers added for good measure.
Fuzzy Leprechaun Cocktail Recipe
An easy green cocktail that tastes delicious! This Fuzzy leprechaun cocktail recipe is super easy to make and perfect for St. Patricks Day.
Prep Time:5 minutes
Total Time:5 minutes
Servings:1
Calories:224kcal
Equipment
Cocktail Shaker
Hurricane Glass
Ingredients
1 oz Peach Schnapps
1 oz Blue Curacao
1 oz Vodka
½ oz Orange Juice
½ oz Pineapple Juice
Instructions
Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake
Strain into glass and garnish with orange and cherry
And finally, to make sure my guests want to linger a little longer, I always add cozy throws and pillows on comfortable seating. Such a simple thing to do but it adds so much texture, warmth and a welcoming ambiance to any table setting!”
My chandelier can be found at 1Stop Lighting, the dining table and bench at Bark and Burl and the dining chairs at Six Penny Home.
Have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day and as the Irish say “May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live!”.
To learn more about Toni, visit her on Instagram @toni_marianna.
