Well, I couldn't let the holiday of my homeland go by and not mark it with a sundae.

While some local scoop shops are offering St. Paddy's ice creams, nary an establishment near me is proffering a full-fledged themed sundae. The closest thing I found, sadly, is the McDonald's Shamrock Shake, which Christina Uticone already wrote about her on Eating Our Words: "The bright-green shake had an unmistakable artificial mint flavor, like cheap mint gum." So once again I invented my own concoction, with a little help from interwebs recipes.

St. Patrick's Day sweets can usually be grouped into two categories: Mildly Authentic (porter cake, Irish bread pudding) and Green and Obscene (Shamrock Shake). Each has its place on the table, but the latter group is often unfortunately limited by the number of food that are "naturally" green and sweet. Mint seems to be the most popular choice, though more people should consider pistachio.

Like the omadhaun that I am, I eschewed my own advice since I am not a big fan of pistachio ice cream. Instead, I compromised and constructed a St. Paddy's Day sundae that I hope falls somewhere in between the two categories.

Using two scoops of mint chocolate chip ice cream as a base, I added Irish oatcake crumbles, chocolate whiskey sauce, and whipped cream. If you know of a Houston store that sells chocolate whiskey sauce, FOR THE LOVE OF KILLARNEY, LET ME KNOW so I can buy it wholesale. Until then, I will make my own at home:

Chocolate Whiskey Sauce

• 5 ounces of dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 shot whiskey

Melt chocolate in a double boiler and set aside. Whisk milk and sugar in a medium saucepan, bringing mixture to a steady simmer so that sugar completely dissolves.

Whisk in chocolate and heavy cream until smooth. Let mixture come to room temperature, then add whiskey.

Mint and whiskey might seem like discordant flavors, but contrasting temperatures (warm for the sauce, cool for the ice cream) made for a pleasing juxtaposition. I was simultaneously refreshed and intoxicated.

The pyromaniac in me wonders if I might be able to set a future version of this sundae on fire, but the neurotic in me says attempting a conflagration in our rental is probably a bad idea.