What's Cooking for St. Patrick's Day?

Are you Irish today? (smile) On March 17th, everyone's entitled to celebrate this grand holiday.

My family's a good part Irish, and when I was growing up, St. Patrick's Day was always a special holiday in our house.

The highlight of the day was gathering everyone together for our big dinner. Of course, you know what we ate. Corned beef. Cabbage. Carrots. And potatoes.

I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

There are various recipes, but the simplest is this:


Put corned beef (3-4 pounds) in a pot, toss in a couple of bay leaves*, and cover all with water.

Bring water to a boil.

Cover pot and lower heat to a simmer for about 3 hours, or until corned beef is fork-tender.

Remove beef from pot and reserve on a platter, covering beef with foil for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, to the water in pot, add a head of cabbage, quartered; carrots and potatoes (about 5-6 medium of each), peeled and cut into pieces.

Cover and simmer for approximately 20 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.

Slice the beef and dish up the vegetables.

* After cooking, discard bay leaves. Do not eat.


And you're done.

See? It's so easy, anyone—Irish or not—can enjoy this traditional dinner. I hope you will. (smile)

And I'd love to hear if your family celebrates with this or any other special foods or traditions.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

All my best to you,

Barbara

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Barbara White Daille
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/
http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille
https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille

Top o’ the Morning to You!

Or whatever time of day you’re reading this, I hope you’re having a grand time!

Lucky me, to find my blog date coinciding with St. Patrick’s Day. And seeing as I’m a good part Irish--in fact, more Irish than anything else--I couldn’t have asked for a better day to send a shout-out to you all.

Since I’m on a diet at the moment, I imagine you’ll understand when I say food is all I can think about. And one of my favorite things about St. Paddy’s Day is the delicious dinner that’s such an essential part of the holiday.

Mmm.... Corned beef, cabbage, and carrots, of course. My mouth is watering at the thought of a plateful! Or maybe two....

My next Harlequin American Romance (publication date and title to be determined) will be about an eccentric Irish family. Sure and you know they’ll be enjoying the traditional meal.

Will you?

If you’re Irish, or even if you’re not, is your mouth watering in anticipation of that delicious Irish dinner, too?

Of course, the Irish don’t have a monopoly on good food. I think every nationality has its own time-honored traditions when it comes to meals. Again, since I’m on that nasty diet and all I can do is think about food, naturally I’m a glutton for punishment. So, please tell me...

On special occasions, what does your family put on the table?

All my best to you,

Barbara

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Barbara White Daille
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com