Crawling Through the Pubs with Sugar Plum

Emiline of Sugar Plum is hosting her very first blogging event ever...the St. Paddy's Day Pub Crawl in honor of St. Patrick's Day... and a love of beer, wine and other spirits. On St. Patrick's Day March 17th our local pubs will be serving up green beer in honor of our Irish kinfolk. It is a statuatory holiday in Ireland which means a day off of work!!! It was originally a Catholic holy day but has evolved into more of a secular holiday.

The person who was to become St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Wales about AD 385. His own name is Maelwyn. When he was 16 he was sold into slavery by a group of Irish marauders that raided his village. During his captivity, he became closer to God. His mission in Ireland to convert pagans to Christianity lasted for thirty years. He died on March 17 in AD 461. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since.

"Much Irish folklore surrounds St. Patrick's Day. Not much of it is actually substantiated.
Some of this lore includes the belief that Patrick raised people from the dead. He also is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland. Of course, no snakes were ever native to Ireland, and some people think this is a metaphor for the conversion of the pagans.

One traditional icon of the day is the shamrock. St. Patrick's followers wore a shamrock on his feast day as a sign of the trinity. St. Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity.

For Emiline's pub crawl I decided to keep it simple so am bringing this dip. I could serve it with veggies but have opted for chips with a side of Guinness!! I can attest to the fact that this piquant dip goes very well with the drink of the day!

**Onion Ale Chip Dip**

8 ounces cream cheese, very soft
1 -¼ cup Pale Ale Beer
3 T onion, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
3 T chives, chopped

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In medium bowl, blend together with electric mixer cream cheese and Pale Ale Beer. Mixture will be very frothy. Stir in onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard and salt. Refrigerate dip at least 2 hours, or up to 6 hours before serving to thicken. When ready to serve, pour into serving bowl and sprinkle with chives.

Serve with chips or raw vegetables.