I know that people in Ireland do not eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day. But just like I can't imagine not wearing green on March 17th, I can't imagine the day without the American interpretation of a traditional boiled dinner. I love the salty cured taste of the corned beef and the way the cooking broth flavors the vegetables.
My cooking process for the meal takes two days. The easiest type of corned beef to find in the store is brisket, which has a thick layer of fat. Yesterday I cooked the meat in a large pot of water, removed it from the broth, then chilled the broth to make it easy to remove the hardened fat. Today I sliced the meat and prepared the rest of the meal (in our case cabbage, potatoes, and carrots).
Of course a holiday meal isn't complete without dessert. Karen would take the time to whip up a great meal-ender, but there's only two of us in the house and I don't have enough will power to avoid the sweets that would be left over. When I was out running errands today I stopped in a nearby bakery to buy some shamrock-shaped sugar cookies. The display cases were a riot of green cookies, donuts, breads, and rolls. A cute little snake bread asked to come home with me, and I couldn't refuse.
Your St Paddy’s meal sounds so good! The bread looks fantastic.
ReplyDeleteThe snake was by far the best green bread I've ever had.
DeleteTo many things a the grocery store ask to come home with me. They don't stay very long though.
ReplyDeleteI try to go into the grocery store with a detailed list....and stick to it.
DeleteAll this sounds too tasty. I doubt I can wait two days for a broth. Can't you make it any faster?
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Good things take time.
DeleteSounds delicious, and thet snake bread is too cute! Spring is right around the corner, now.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly doesn't feel spring-like today, but I'm looking at the big picture and declaring winter over.
DeleteSo what do you do to the brisket after you boil it?
ReplyDeleteI put it in the refrigerator until the next day, when I remove any remaining layers of fat, slice, and heat it.
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