A toast to Teddy

We lost a great American today when Ted Kennedy passed away. I think that regardless of your politics, you have to agree that he was a great man who did much to help the poor, the oppressed and the needy.
In his honor, I wanted to highlight a recipe that was perhaps one of his favorites, but in my research, I found that he didn't eat much in the way of vegetarian food. He liked lobster and lamb, I read.
I read further that in his younger days, he was quite fond of Irish Coffee. That's vegetarian, I thought. So here we go.
I always thought Irish Coffee was an ancient brew. It turns out that it is a much more modern drink. The original Irish coffee was invented by Joseph Sheridan, a head chef at the Foynes port in Limerick , Ireland. The chef whipped up the first batch of the coffee after a group of American passengers arrived aboard PanAm “flying boat” on a miserable winter evening in the 1940s. The enterprising chef added whiskey to the coffee to warm the passengers just a little more. Was it exotic, gourmet Brazilian coffee, they asked. No, better than that, he told them…it’s Irish coffee.
A travel writer among the group wrote glowingly of the coffee infused hot toddy. Barkeeps around the US started making the drink, especially on St. Patty’s Day, much to the delight of their patrons.
So, today, we’ll drink a toast to Teddy with an Irish Coffee. And if you don’t drink alcohol, leave it out because this drink is probably just as good without the whiskey. (You really can’t go wrong with coffee, sugar and whipped cream.)
Irish Coffee
4 parts whiskey
2 parts strong coffee
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Whipped cream

• Heat the coffee, whiskey and sugar; do not boil
• Pour into a mug (or, if you have one, an “Irish Coffee Mug” and top with cream; serve hot.