Irish

Once the ingredients have been combined for this dish, use immediately. Serve the potato pancakes while crisp. These pancakes were developed at Dublin's Gresham Hotel and were featured on the "Bird Flanagan" bar menu. The "Bird" Flanagan was a celebrated Dublin character who once rode his horse into the lobby bar of Dublin's famous Gresham Hotel and requested a drink for his horse.

A perennial favorite on both sides of the Atlantic, this raisiny bread makes fine, fragrant toast.

(Bacon and Root Vegetable Stew)

These sweets are enjoyed with coffee or tea at Bewley's on Grafton Street, a Dublin institution that has long been part of the city's folklore and culture.

Eggs and fat were once forbidden during the 40-day Lenten fast, so on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent, Irish bakers would make pancakes to use up their stores of those ingredients.

Tangy Irish cheddar or Cashel, an Irish blue cheese, is ideal for this typical main-course pub salad; you can substitute English cheddar or French Roquefort. Thick slices of buttered soda bread and some raisin tarts could round out the menu.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Colcannon (Mashed Potatoes with Kale ) and steamed asparagus tossed with lemon juice strike the right note alongside this braised beef dish. Rhubarb pie from the bakery is our choice for dessert.

Gregg Thompson of St. Joseph, Missouri, writes, "A good many years ago, my wife and I enjoyed a beefy curried mousse at Snaffles restaurant in Dublin. The recipe was published in You Asked for It in your January 1972 issue. It's a wonderful dish that I have continued to enjoy through the years, and I believe it should be resurrected." Active time: 5 min Start to finish: 8 hr This is a great hors d'oeuvre to make the night before it's served, and it's best when made with the freshest garlic you can find.

"While my husband and I were vacationing in the Cayman Islands, we had the pleasure of dining at Fidel Murphy's Irish Pub on Grand Cayman," writes Regina Stewart of Acworth, Georgia. "We travel a lot and have enjoyed many good Irish stews, but the pub's rendition is the best ever."

Patrice Bedrosian of Brewster, New York, writes: "In the days that followed September 11, 2001, I — like so many Americans — gravitated toward roast chicken, meat loaf, and anything that brought comfort and ease to my home. You see, my stepbrother, Jerry O'Leary, a 34-year-old chef working at Cantor Fitzgerald's corporate dining room in One World Trade Center, was among the many victims on that terrible day. "I feel quite certain that Jerry's love for cooking stemmed from his mother, Julie Lestrange. And as long as I can remember, she has always had something delicious waiting for my family whenever we visit. "I would like to share a recipe that Julie has given to me. My hope is that you will, in turn, share it with my fellow readers, encouraging them to enjoy this delicious and comforting Irish bread, to smile, and to remember the love between a mother and a son." Offer this easy-to-make bread with plenty of butter and your favorite jam.

There must be as many versions of this—Ireland's national dish—as there are cooks. One thing all recipes should say is that the stew is to be cooked slowly until the lamb is meltingly tender. This stew is the ideal dish to return to after a day in the open air, as it can be made ahead and reheated while cook and guests enjoy the hot punch.

A milk pudding that dates back to the Middle Ages, syllabub was first prepared by milking the cow straight into a bowl containing "Sille," a wine that used to be made in Silléry, in France's Champagne region. "Bub" was medieval slang for a bubbly drink. There are a number of syllabub recipes in eighteenth-and nineteenth-century Irish cookbooks. This modern version calls for a sweet dessert wine and whipping cream.

(Mashed Potatoes with Cabbage) Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. This recipe for colcannon is thought to have come to the New World in the 1800s, carried by the great waves of Irish immigration.

Called Dublin coddle, this traditional Irish dish is a quick main course.

The pork is marinated overnight in a salt-water brine, making it tender and flavorful. After marinating, the pork can be cooked a day ahead so that St. Patrick's Day, which falls on a Monday this year, will be stress-free.

There's just a wee bit of the favorite Irish spirit in these treats.