The business of actually making these is very easy. 4 ingredients. But the morning I decided to try it had a lot more going on. Perhaps 45 minutes before my guests Mo and Ramsey were to arrive at my house, I decided to surprise them with shamrock shakes. It couldn’t be hard! I googled around and found that I had everything except ice cream. So, still in my pajamas, I threw on a coat and went down to the store. French Vanilla. The register. 

I get back to the door and reach into my pocket for the keys. Hoo boy. No keys. It’s freezing and I’m holding a cold package of ice cream. I make futile attempts at buzzing my own apartment. Futile because my roommate Dylan is notoriously difficult to wake. Jeff was out of town. I buzz my neighbors and thankfully, they let me in. However, I still had to get into my own apartment. I survey my wallet for a card that I wouldn’t mind ruining (the insurance one) and Ocean 11’d my way back into the house. I did a little dance and rushed to get the shakes pre-made.

Do not, I repeat, do not put all 48 ounces of vanilla ice cream into the blender at once. I had put in a cup of milk and 6 drops of green food coloring. It exploded. All over the counter and floor. And it was GREEN. Don’t be like me. Overall, I used a cup and half of milk with half a teaspoon of mint extract. 

My guests arrived right when I was washing the blender. Two hours into brunch, I asked, “Do we want another beer or do we want the surprise?” All smiles, I went to the freezer and revealed the pitcher of shamrock shake. There were jigs.