St. Patrick's Potluck

So I hosted a little dinner party in my apartment on Saturday. As Thursday was St. Patrick's Day, we had a clear and delicious theme for the potluck spread. Being the hostess, I went overboard.

I started with my now-famous Guinness corned beef. There are two bottles of Guinness Extra Stout poured in the crock pot over this along with a can of beef broth. It's cooked on low for eight hours and falls apart under the fork.I also made simmered cabbage. Most people aren't impressed with cabbage but I think it's because people cook it lazily. I like to cook mine in beef broth with butter, olive oil, and white cooking wine. It adds a lot of extra flavor.
I cooked a little of the cabbage in butter first and combined it with Thursday's potatoes and corned beef, some shredded cheddar, and wrapped the mixture up in egg roll wrappers, deep frying them to a delicious golden brown. Voila, Irish egg rolls!
And to cap it off, I made black and tan chocolate mousse. The dark portion is a Guinness and bittersweet chocolate mousse and it's topped with a mixture of white chocolate (or, as my Aunt Joan insists, "almond bark, there's no such thing as white chocolate!") and whipped cream. The prep uses so many dishes that my husband will now have to clean but they're so rich and so worth it.
One couple brought champ, a fantastic buttery mix of mashed potatoes and scallions served with extra butter. Nothing makes me happier than extra butter. The other couple brought a great Irish soda bread, Scottish shortbread (made with dark brown sugar, giving the cookies a molasses-y flavor), and Irish cream chocolate cheesecake. One friend brought some green beans with almonds and kale instead of her boyfriend. I love nights with good food and good company.