This is a work of fiction. It is not an Irish cookbook. The Altar Society of St.Brendan's Catholic Church in Walnut Shade, Kansas does not exist. Walnut Shade, Kansas does not exist. As far as I know, Kansas does exist, though there are those who suggest that it might do so only in an alternate reality. We'll leave that debate to another time and place. In this time and place, though, the Erin Go Bragh Cookbook is a fictional compilation of recipes going back to the first cookbook produced in 1912. Every ten years, the ladies of the Altar Society update the book and sell it at the annual St.Patrick's Day dinner in the church social hall. The proceeds go to a variety of charitable causes supported by the church, most of which have changed over the years, though some, such as St. Anne's Retreat for Wayward Girls and St. Jerome's Home for Hapless Boys continue to this day (although there seem to be fewer and fewer wayward girls, but more and more hapless boys, sadly). As with any cookbook, many of the recipes will seem familiar. "Didn't that appear in the September 18th issue of Capper's Weekly back in '47?" "Oh, that one was in the third edition of The Joy of Cooking." "I'm sure Martha Stewart made something similar for Christmas in 2006." Someone once said that every photograph that can be taken has been taken and every song that can be written has been written, rap notwithstanding. Perhaps every recipe has already been tried (goodness knows PBS and the Food Channel are giving it a shot) and all we are doing is just rearranging the ingredients, but isn't it that rearrangement that makes cooking so much fun? Who in the world, after all, would have thought that putting anchovies on a salad was a good idea? But then, what would a Ceasar Salad be without them? So this 100th Anniversary Edition of the Erin Go Bragh Cookbook is a tribute to all the cooks who have thought over the years that Aunt Hilda's recipe for tuna noodle casserole might be better with just a little more Velveeta and a little less salt. If you disagree, there's a new taste treat just waiting to be invented.
About the Author: Charles St.Clair is a retired University of Missouri Extension faculty member who lives in a Kansas City suburb with his wife, Suzanne, and their two Old English Sheepdogs, Abby and Harry. Cookbooks have long been an interest and when one of the characters in his forthcoming book, Your Faithful Correspondent, agreed to supervise the assembly of the local Catholic Church's 100th anniversary cookbook, he knew he had to do the same.