The recipe is as simple as it gets: potatoes, salt, water. In Syracuse, New York, a once-booming salt industry gave birth to one of the region’s most cherished dishes: Syracuse salt potatoes. It was popularized in the 19th century by Irish workers, who’d boil potatoes in briny water on their lunch breaks. Don’t be alarmed by the amount of salt—it doesn’t fully ­penetrate the spuds but leaves a crackly, frosty, well-seasoned crust. For the best results, use fresh, local new potatoes and top-quality butter.

Featured in “Signature Spuds” by Ryan McCarthy in the Spring/Summer 2025 issue. See more stories from Issue 204.

Suggested pairing: A salt-loving sparkling wine from New York State’s Finger Lakes—Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery and Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard are the standard bearers. Find more recommendations from the Jancis Robinson wine experts here.

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For most Americans, St. Patrick’s Day is monopolized by green beer and bad decisions. It’s a day when you can get away with drinking past your limit and kissing perfect strangers just because they’re wearing green. But for me, a daughter of Northern Irish parents, St. Patrick’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate my heritage, spend time with my family, and most importantly, indulge in my favorite Irish foods.

The best meal in our weekend of Irish-only eating is my mom’s Irish breakfast—known as the Ulster Fry in Ireland—with over-easy eggs, bacon, Irish-style bangers, and my favorite, freshly made potato farls, or potato bread. When my mom pulls out the pots and pans to prepare breakfast, it’s the dish we’re all most eagerly awaiting: Pillowy squares of dough made with mashed potatoes, with a crisp, golden exterior thanks to a final fry in bacon fat.

Initially created to avoid wasting leftover mashed potatoes—of which the Irish have plenty—the recipe has been in our family for years, passed down to my mom from my grandmother, Myrtle. And although the dough is made up of humble ingredients and prepared using simple techniques, the finished product is extraordinary—it’s so reminiscent of what you would find in one of the cozy little pubs that line the streets of Belfast that, with one bite, I feel instantly transported and connected to the generations of my family that made and enjoyed the same type of bread in Ireland.

As most St. Patrick’s Day revelers are recovering from hangovers and scrubbing themselves clean of green sequins, I’ll be settling into a lovely little meal with my mom, dad, and brother. And you can bet I’ll enjoy my fair share of mom’s potato bread—the ideal vehicle for sopping up runny egg yolk and finishing off that last bit of bacon for the perfect final bite. —Kaitlin Hill

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Washington, D.C., chef and Dublin native Cathal Armstrong recommends using Redbreast or Paddy Irish Whiskey in this pick-me-up. Stir it together with brown sugar and strong black coffee, then pour fresh, soft whipped cream over the back of a hot spoon onto the surface of the coffee. There should be a good balance between the sweetness of the sugar, the heat of the coffee, and the warmth of the alcohol. That last mouthful of cool cream really brings together this well-made Irish coffee.

Featured in the SAVEUR 100 in the January/February 2011 issue.

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This recipe is brought to you by the SAVEUR Cookbook Club, our passionate community of food-loving readers from around the globe, celebrating our favorite authors and recipes. Join us as we cook through a new book every month, and share your food pics and vids on social media with the hashtags #SAVEURCookbookClub and #EatTheWorld.

At Kylemore Abbey in Connemara, Ireland, the Benedictine Catholic nuns are famed in the culinary arts. In addition to on-site workshops open to the public, making everything from marmalades and breads to candles and chocolate, the Abbey’s crowded café is the best place to sample their award-winning scones, voted as the best in Ireland on multiple occasions. In sharing their recipes with writer Jody Eddy in her book Elysian Kitchens, the sisters of Kylemore express their pride for the craftsmanship honed within the Abbey and extended to their local community. 

Adapted from Elysian Kitchens: Recipes Inspired by the Traditions and Tastes of the World’s Sacred Spaces. Copyright 2024 by Jody Eddy. Used with permission of the publisher, W.W. Norton & Company. All rights reserved. This excerpt may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Featured in “How Food Fuels Faith in Sacred Spaces Around the World” by Jessica Carbone.

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The SAVEUR test kitchen’s version of the classic New England boiled dinner (and St. Patrick’s Day favorite) both honors the flavors of the original and elevates the dish at the same time. Japanese turnips, golden beets, parsnips, and a handful of briny, bright-green olives complement the tender, salted meat, and add color and variety to the traditional potato-carrots-cabbage formula.

Featured in “Giving Corned Beef and Cabbage a Much-Needed Update.”

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The next time you get a hankering for Irish cream, skip the store-bought version and make the silky-smooth liqueur at home with just six ingredients. This Irish cream recipe adds sweet richness and depth to coffee and cake frosting, but it’s just as decadent on its own, enjoyed over ice. For the whiskey, look for an Irish variety like Green Spot, Connemara, or Jameson.

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Irish potatoes—the coconut buttercream candies—are an iconic part of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Philadelphia. Rolled in cinnamon to resemble little potatoes, they have been a seasonal tradition in the city for over a century, thanks to Philly’s candy-making roots. This version, adapted from a generations-old family recipe, uses a vanilla coconut buttercream dough made with cream cheese, which cuts the sweetness with a little tang. After chilling and scooping the dough into small rounds, the buttercream balls are rolled in cinnamon to give the candies their signature look of a plucked-from-the-earth spud. 

Featured in, “In Philly, Potatoes Taste Like Cinnamon and Coconut.”

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Apple purée has gone somewhat out of fashion, though it remains one of life’s simple pleasures. It was once a staple dessert in most households in Ireland, usually served with cream, custard, or ice cream. Apple snow is apple purée’s fluffy sibling. The addition of whipped egg white makes the strained fruit lovely and light—and it is particularly good when made with first-of-the-season tart baking apples. At Ballymaloe House in County Cork, head pastry chef J.R. Ryall uses the Bramley’s Seedling variety, but if you can’t find them, Granny Smiths work nicely, too. Serve the simple, fluffy mousse with very cold cream, a sprinkle of dark muscovado sugar, and crisp shortbread or oatmeal cookies. 

This recipe is adapted from Ballymaloe Desserts by JR Ryall (Phaidon 2022).

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This is an Irish take on the classic triple sec-and-cognac sidecar cocktail, first credited to the Ritz Hotel in Paris. The recipe, which is adapted from one served at the Sidecar Bar in Dublin, has a distinctive sweetness from locally sourced Wicklow honey and bee pollen. You can substitute a lightly floral honey with notes of lavender, nettle or heather; bee pollen is available in health food stores and online. Sidecar Bar head bartender Oisin Kelly suggests using Roe & Co. blended whiskey, which is distilled in a former Guinness Brewery powerstation. 

Featured in “Ireland’s Whiskey Renaissance Lets You Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day–Minus the Green Beer.”

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The peaty smoke of Connemara single malt Irish whiskey is offset by chocolate and citrus flavors in the Film Maker cocktail, a darkly sophisticated nightcap, based on a drink once enjoyed by director Alfred Hitchcock. The finished cocktail, which is adapted from one served by Oisin Kelly at Dublin’s Sidecar Bar, has a layer of crema on top, which forms when the juices froth during shaking. Garnish with a dusting of cocoa powder—Kelly prefers Cadbury’s Fairtrade Bournville.

Featured in “Ireland’s Whiskey Renaissance Lets You Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day–Minus the Green Beer.”

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Based on the Blood and Sand, created in honor of actor Rudolph Valentino’s famous 1922 bullfighter film, this Irish version from Oisin Kelly—the head bartender at Dublin’s Sidecar Bar—substitutes fruit-forward spirits for the original vermouth and blood orange juice. It has a sweet finish from amarena cherries. (If you prefer cocktails a little tarter, reduce the sweet liquors and bump up the citrus.) Kelly’s recipe calls for Teeling Small Batch, which is produced in Dublin.

Featured in “Ireland’s Whiskey Renaissance Lets You Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day–Minus the Green Beer.”

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