Family Chow Hall

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

March 16th, 2009

I love St. Patrick’s Day — one of the few holidays when there are no obligations for expensive gift-giving, or party obligations. The only requirement is to wear something green, so you can avoid getting pinched, which I find not to be a hardship at all. St. Patrick’s Day is simply fun! And it also involves cooking foods we don’t normally have, so for me, that makes it extra fun.

For more information about St. Patrick and this day, check out the History Channel’s website here.

For our St. Patrick’s Day dinner, I will be making:

Corned Beef
Boiled Potatoes
Fried Cabbage
Irish Soda Bread

I also saw a recipe for Lemon Curd Cake (suggested to go with your St. Patrick’s Day meal) in a magazine, but I’m not going to be making it since I really don’t need any more calories in my life or in this meal. If this interests you, do a quick web search, I’m sure something will pop up. I’m not offering any advice about lemon curd cake since I have never even eaten it, much less made one.

Corned Beef –> This time of year, it is easy to find a package of corned beef, all ready to be cooked, with a little spice packet included. I have found that these are very, very good. At my warehouse club, I can buy this all year round for about $2.39 per pound. Last week, my corner grocery had them for $1.79 per pound. I bought two and will cook both on St. Patrick’s Day, the leftovers make great sandwiches. To prepare, simply place the raw corned beef, with spice packet sprinkled on top, in the crock pot and cook on low all day.

Boiled Potatoes –> Simply cut potatoes into quarters, and boil gently for about 20 minutes or until soft all the way through. Then drain, add some butter, salt and dill and you’re done.

Fried Cabbage –> Also easy to prepare. Chop a head of cabbage into chunks, add some chopped onion or green pepper. Melt a generous amount of butter into a large skillet and fry for about 20 minutes until the cabbage is soft and caramelized. Yum. Cajun seasoning is yummy on this, too, if your family likes spicy food.

Irish Soda Bread –> Refer to this earlier St. Patrick’s Day post to see a recipe for Irish Soda Bread.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of my readers!!

Entry Filed under: Beef, Bread, Holidays, Mixed bag, Recipes, Supper