Recipe: The Shalaylee Shake

This Sunday we'll don our green and celebrate St. Patrick's Day in some fashion. Already my son's school has been all a-flurry with activities. They've been chasing pots of gold, building Leprechaun traps, and having class parties. I wish my days were so fun!

When we lived in Charlotte I was in charge of Eldest's school's St. Patrick's Day Parade float for two years. It was great, though fairly involved and took up a good bit of time. These days our March 17th's are much more low key. Maybe we'll sip a beer or two, perhaps we'll enjoy a bowl of hearty potato soup. All that's for certain is that everyone wears their favorite shade of shamrock to avoid the pinches!

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day this year, I decided to fix a drink to celebrate the day. I wanted it to be friendly enough so everyone could enjoy it, but if an adult wanted to intensify the flavor, the could. Thus was born the Shalaylee Shake.



You're probably wondering why on earth named the drink after an Irish walking stick, and I do have a good reason. Once I began shaving the chocolate as a garnish, well, it reminded me so much of wood shavings, naming the drink anything other than "shalaylee" seemed wrong.

The Shalaylee Shake

Ingradients:
Milk
mint chocolate chip ice cream
Whipped cream
Chocolate shavings
5 drops green food coloring
1 oz.Peppermint schnapps

First off: a confession. I felt guilty making this drink. In fact, I felt badly enough that I made it mid-afternoon instead of the evening. Why? Because my sweet daughter gave up ice cream for Lent. She knew the drink was going to be made, but it felt wrong to make it in front of her when she couldn't enjoy it. Instead, I whipped it up earlier in the day with a promise that once our 40 days of sacrifice was over, I'd fix this for her right away.

I intend to keep that promise...and here's my own promise to you: you're going to love this minty drink!

Put one cup of milk and 2 cups mint chocolate chip ice cream into a blender. Blend to your desired consistency. Once you've achieved the thickness/thiness you desire, add five drops of green food coloring. Why? Because mint chocolate chip is a very light green. When you add milk, it becomes even lighter. How can this be a shamrock day drink if it's not a good, solid green? My friends, it just can't. Once you've blended the food coloring in, if it floats your boat, feel free to add your schnapps. Garnish with homemade whipped cream and freshly shaved chocolate-bittersweet or semisweet.



The end result? Green goodness destined to make your St. Patrick's Day a lucky one ineed.

And that's no bit of blarney!