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Corned Beef and Cabbage (photo: Jonathunder/wikimedia)
How are you celebrating St. Patrick’s Day (if you are)?
I am for the first time this year, postponed until tomorrow owing to schedule conflict for today.
All the while I lived in Manhattan, I did not attend the parade. I’m not a parade fan. But it is the highlight of the day for the thousands who revel. A major segment of the population of NYC is of Irish descent, stemming from the Potato Famine. Of course, on St. Patrick’s Day, all New Yorkers are Irish.
My participation in this year’s celebration came together by happenstance. Last autumn, my neighbor Noa and I went to pick up the quarter steer we bought to share with a third participant. The couple we bought the organic, grass fed, grain finished beef from, Kim and Charlie, seem to do nothing but husbandry, cook and eat. Over a glass of wine, we discussed how to prepare the various cuts of beef. They gave elaborate instructions for making corned beef out of brisket, which Noa took in her share, while I kibitzed, including mentioning that I expected to be invited for St. Pat’s dinner. Neither Noa nor I had ever prepared corned beef.
As February turned to March, I asked Noa if she still wanted to do it. Yes, and the planning began. She thawed the brisket about 10 days ago, and prepared the brine. I got a phone call. Did I have juniper berries, whole allspice, ground ginger, cinnamon stick? Yes to all. When she arrived to pick up what she needed, I asked: “Whatever happened to borrowing a simple cup of sugar from your neighbor?
I’ll be making the cabbage, new potatoes, and carrots cooked in the braising liquid.
Spinach vichyssoise to start. You can make any color vichyssoise by adding a vegetable of that color.
Surveying the dessert suggestions on the menu page at Food Network, Noa chose bread pudding which I’ll make for the first time. Irish soda bread comes from the bakery.
We’ll serve the dinner with beer. There is a store in town that has beers from breweries all over the U.S. and the world. I enjoy beer, but don’t drink it a lot, and prefer a kind of German lager flavor. Most of the Irish brews the store had were somewhat on the sweet side, so I wimped out with Harps, with a St. Pat’s label for the day.
Irish whiskey and Baileys after dinner, though some might prefer it in coffee instead of straight.
There will be 7 people. My neighbors, an 18 year old young man living with them, parents of one of them (my age!), me and another friend. It is a joint project and will be served at my house. One guest contributed a green table cloth, I bought green napkins and candles.
Some Irish among the guests but it took another friend to inform me that the Irish don’t traditionally eat CB&C. Can’t say that I believed her, but when I got to the Internet, sure enough, she is right. Matters not. Everyone is looking forward to enjoying our meal.
If you don’t have any St. Patrick’s related plans for today or tomorrow, how are you going to spend your weekend? Must be getting spring fever by now. Particularly warm in the east and everything is starting to grow.
Pull up a chair.
182 Comments
Top of the morning to ya,
And to you tjbs!
Are you Irish, or do you just “play” one on the toobz?
Happy St. Pats to you eCAHN amd my fellow pups.
My good friend Roach and I may tip a few later today.
Not enough to turn green, I hope.
My good Irish friend sometimes “has the thirst upon him” but I learned years ago to know whwn to say when.*g*
One of the reasons I don’t drink a lot of beer is bc it’s so filling. Went to a local fish fry last night & after 1/2 bottle, I’d had enough.
Hard liquor, OTOH, does not have the same built-in stopping mechanism. :-)
What a nice surprise to pull up a chair and find you hosting eCAHN. And a Happy St. Paddy’s Day to all. I’ll be going to listen to my favorite local Celtic singer, transplanted Scot Ed Miller.
Have you been to the monument to the Irish Potato Famine down in the Battery Park area? It’s wonderful.
I had walked one winter day on what must have been the coldest windiest day in New York from W. 85th down to the Village from one friend’s house to another. It was well below freezing. By the time I got to the friend’s in the Village, trust me, I’d had enough of walking and of being outside. But she insisted we walk over to see the monument to the Potato Famine. I tried sullen, but nothing worked and she won and walk over we did. It’s really beautifully done, with a little rural looking hill up top and underneath a tunnel with postings about the famine.
Just last night, one of my neighbors told me she’ll be in New York for the first time for one day with her sister and they’ll be going to see the 9-11 Memorial. I suggested a walk to the Potato Famine Memorial as well and lunch at an outdoor restaurant at Battery Park with a view of the Statue of Liberty.
Oops! It’s now being called The Irish Hunger Memorial.
Have fun…I don’t care what day it is, I can’t look at that picture this early in the morning…cheers
In cruising around looking at some of my favorite sites, I came across this tour of Little Ireland that is a different take from the parade. I did a tour years ago with Big Onion. They are a great group. IIRC, was started by a group of Columbia students, history majors, who were looking for a way to make some money. The guide was well prepared, personal & knowledgeable. Tour was of Greenwich Village. They knew the topography before swamps were filled in and everything else up to the present.
Name of their org comes from what NYC used to be called long before it became the Big Apple. Stems from smells of immigrant cooking.
No, I was unaware of that memorial. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the tip.
I didn’t select the picture. First I saw it was this morning. Sorry.
Oh, two other matters. That’s quite a walk from 85th to Battery Park, esp in the weather you describe.
Then there’s your screen name. Must ask, given the day, what the ‘green’ part refers to. I suspect environment?
Good morning, everyone. Nice to see you “on deck” this morning, eCahn. A local diner-type place has an annual St. Patrick’s Day feast, and I usually round up a few neighbors and we dine, even though they have CB&C on the menu as a special year around on Tuesdays. We went last night. It was very yummy.
Happy st Patrick’s Day to eCAHN & fire pups!
This St Paddy’s Day I thought I’d try grilling my corned beef brisket. It was my husband’s idea. He said his mom used to soak it in milk and then make a bread stuffing and roll it up. I didn’t find a recipe even remotely like that, but did find one that sounds good to try. A trip to the Farmers Market for vegetables to grill alongside and some nice Irish soda bread should do it for the accompaniments.
You tell me.
Grand mom Catherine Twiss was married to Edmund Maahsen and wouldn’t you know it after seven kids she started in with the butcher next door and along came child number eight , Harry Maahsen, my dad. Then the two love birds, with the help of a generous inheritance Grandma received, after she got a divorce, left the first seven kids and they married and moved in together. Grandma and Grandpa and my father took to using his father’s name then my Ma, after bearing four kids, says to Pa if your father doesn’t adopt you, at age 58, you can’t legally inherit your father’s estate. so this 70 Grandpa adopted his kid , my Pa.
So on this St. Patties day I celebrate being born , legally, T.J. Maahsen.
The nearby Irish pub in Manhattan served it regularly. They had a good cook, I ordered it from time to time, and always enjoyed it.
I have no Irish blood: half Polish, so I like peasant type food.
Morning eCAHN and all fellow travelers. Sounds like a wonderful meal. The weather here is more like Memorial Day rather than St. Patrick’s day. Record highs in mid-Michigan. When I lived in Chicago they started St. Patrick’s day revelries on Wednesday. Drinking rather than eating was the preferred form of “celebration.” The city of big shoulders preferred their drinking two fisted style. A very long weekend.
Dinner sounds delicious!I’ll be playing Irish traditional music with friends tonight. Of course, there will be Guinness and corned beef!
For some perspective on the Potato Famine, here is a recent article:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/03/15-4
Yes, the “green” part of my name is from environmental activism. No Irish blood here that I know of. I just love the accent and, most especially, the music.
To be honest, I almost never remember St Patrick’s Day. The only reason I knew it was coming up this year is because yesterday some spam wound up in my regular inbox titled, “Happy St. Patty’s Day! Check out our insurance prices…”
I think I’ll just call it “Saturday”.
Grilling sounds like an interesting approach. Let me know how it turns out. I’m going with the usual braising for today, but there’s always next year. If I weren’t a novice at this, tomorrow might have been a great day to try it, since temp will be in high 60s.
I forget where you live, but if your farmers’ market has fresh vegies, it must be warm. Our winter CSAs are mostly frozen vegies from local farmers. Much better than commercial frozen.
I bought the cabbage and carrots at the supermarket.
I also want to mention that my nephew, a music theater major and now a starving waiter in Brooklyn will be asked to sing Irish ballads in his sweet Irish tenor, at one of Manhatten’s Irish pubs this evening.He’s been doing it for several years.
The name, Sean Michael Griffin
Yes, unseasonably warm here too. Though not warm enough to eat outside. One guest is bringing artichokes for appetizer, and, depending on the wind, we might have them outside.
I don’t have any CDs with Irish music and am not that familiar with it. My sound system is old, so don’t have ability to download & play on it. Will check out various sources.
At this time of year in Chicago they celebrate!!
They dye the Chicago River — and a few other things — green
Name sounds Irish to me! I’ll bet he enjoys the St. Pat’s engagements.
Thanks for the link. I didn’t know that there was plenty of food, but that it was being exported. Enjoy the meal and the music and the friends.
Saturday it is.
As I mentioned, this is the first time I’ve done anything associated with St. Pats. (Can’t get into Irish pubs on that day of the year.)
You never know, in some future year, the right set of circumstances might plop a St. Pats celebration into your lap.
Using any excuse, like a holiday, to market unrelated stuff, is one of the banes of U.S. consumerism.
Your meal sounds wonderful tonight (except for the corned beef part – I am a big not fan of corned beef), but I like how it’s come together as a community event.
SF Bay Area, so we are definitely blessed when it comes to fresh fruit and vegetables. Looks like the rainstorm has blown by—after a whole week of much-needed rain—so a clear day for the market and a good walk. I’ll report back on the grilling. The recipe says to use the packet of pickling spices to make a basting sauce, but the packet is puny. May have to embellish there a bit…especially to have enough for the vegetables. I was thinking rutabagas, Brussels sprouts & new potatoes.
I think I remember when the Chicago river was actually green. The picture you linked to is a good bit OTT for me too, and the accompanying story does not make it sound any better. :-(
If you’d like something local to sip with your meal, try some “Mother’s Milk” stout from Keegan ales in Kingston. Highly recommended.
And a happy St Paddy’s Day to you all. Sleeping in here after doing a thorough scrape and paint project in the kitchen when I can have the windows open. Storms about to move in so I took the weather advantage and over did, my celebration may be tamales. Green chili variety.
That looks very interesting. I’ll check it out later.
So much history that is not taught in schools. That business about history being written by the winners has wide & deep tentacles. Hard to keep alert for all of them
I hale from a county in the Midwest which was, until the ’90s, about 70% Irish ancestry. It stuck out like a green thumb among the German stock surrounding its’county lines. Poet Robert Emmett has a wonderful statue in front of the courthouse square and they have a great parade every year. Probably the best in the whole state. No corned beef to speak of but lots of wonderful grain fed beef, pork, etc and hooch to wash it down with. Best place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day I’ve ever been. Though, in Denver in 1983, while attending college some classmates and I went to a festival where the local chapter of the IRA made an appearance. What a hoot! My 100% Irish mother, bless her, just passed this winter after 96 wonderful years. Have fun out there.
I may not quite be as brazen as d r i f t g l a s s when he says, “Pay the effin’ writer” but we in Pottersville, population 2 1/2, desperately need some assistance.
If you happen to be in Chicago for a week or so after they dye it, you can still see the green. I’ve seen it, only never on St. Pat’s day.
Hey, eCAHNomics!
Your meal sounds wonderful, the food, the guests, it’s like out of a movie or something.
I looked at the brisket at the store yesterday and decided that it was too expensive too buy. It’s a dark and stormy weekend here, so maybe we’ll be eating soup.
The Moore part of my name is Irish. That’s my husband’s family name, but I have Irish in me from my father’s father. His name was Hugh.
That’s about all I’ve got.
Thanks for writing a nice post and hosting this morning, e.
Hmmm. Don’t remember that was one of the choices suggested at the beer store. Next time I’m there, I’ll have to ask if they carry it. Even though I asked for the “Irish” choices, I would have thought the knowledgeable might have mentioned it as a local alternative. Perhaps he took my question too literally.
My son is 28 today.
The night he was born everybody was out partying and nobody knew he was here till the next day.
Bring it on, bring it on. I hear they can be a hoot! :)
Beth normally has her annual fiftieth birthday party around St. Patty’s Day and I only have one of those in me per week!
83 yesterday and technically it’s still winter.
Lopate show on wnyc had a very interesting segment on the science of taste. So interesting an so much info that I can’t remember the new details. I’m going to listen again and prolly get the book. I think I remember that chilis have more to do with sense of touch (how they feel in your mouth) and releasing aromatics than with taste, but don’t take my word for it.
The Immigrant Irish weren’t used to eating corned beef, but they knew from cabbage and potatoes.
And I noticed your recipe doesn’t include an onion or turnip. You should try them. Everything that grows underground tastes great poached in the broth of your corned beef.
Thanks for the terrific link. I knew about the potato-only blight and that it didn’t really render the potato inedible, but not about the food exports while ignoring the plight of the Irish. A good history lesson with lots of relevance today. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll pass on your link with my green greetings today.
You’re welcome.
Make it a green soup!
I enjoy cabbage in all the forms I’ve tried it, mainly steamed (al dente) and sauerkraut, with the added advantage that it’s not expensive.
On edit: Expense is why the Irish in Ireland did not eat corned beef.
That sounds like an adventure! Presumably mother & son were healthy.
Did you succumb or resist naming him in honor of the day?
I don’t eat corned beef because it’s icky. But I’m not Irish.
Wow. Highest it’s been here so far was 73.
I can make a cream of potato soup with a lot of green onions from scratch. That will be affordable.
House has five adults living here now, and I have to be even more careful about what I spend on food now than before.
(And, that’s just a fact. I’m not sitting here with my tin cup in front of me. :)
I suppose I could get my flute out and play a few Irish tunes for you pups, though.
No doubt, chilis are about the feel. Admittedly I don’t much do corned beef or cabbage. And snakes are supposed to taste like chicken.
Well, someone must have known he was there. ;^)
Hello Pups
Green grits, anyone? yep have done that on St Paddy’s Day for the kids.
Meat, in almost every form I’ve had it in, is my favorite food. The Lopate show I linked above also talked about how genetics plays a role in the kinds of food you like. I obviously have a meat gene.
Cilantro, you may not be surprised to hear, is a real binary. Some love it, some hate it. The author’s explanation was genetics, related to its smell.
I bought some rye bread to make Reubens if we have any leftovers.
Oh yes, do your flute. That sounds perfect.
I hate corned beef, and cabbage, and those damn hushy puppy things.
Not many Irish still living in NYC, except for a sizable community of recent immigrants in Parkchester section of the Bronx. Earlier immigrants’ descendants are scattered in the ‘burbs — expect lotsa rowdy behavior on Long Island RR & NJ Transit tonight.
Flute, tunes, soup – it all sounds good. Top o’ the mornin’ to you!
The great Gaels of Ireland
Are the men that God made mad
For all their wars are merry
And all their love songs are sad
When I was a girl scout camp about a hundred years ago, someone killed and cooked a snake. We all got a little taste, and yes, like chicken.
I did buy a whole chicken yesterday, which was on sale for half price, and I might roast that. We’re not going to get much mileage out of a pot of soup. (I didn’t want to make it sound like we’re starving here.)
I was smart and thrifty enough to go to a house in the neighborhood where the owner sells firewood for $15 for a wheelbarrow full. So, the money thing is all about choices.
Can’t say if I’ve ever had grits. Regional related, never having lived in the south. Must say, the name makes them sound unattractive to me, and making them green wouldn’t help.
Although they say green foods have no calories. That is supposed to extend to pistachio ice cream. :-)
Not touching the snake part of your comment.
Mornin’, eCAHN, pups
Heh, St Patty’s Day. Green beer for all the amateur drinkers.
I’m French so I think I’ll have some homemade bean-only chili over spaghetti and finish off that nice bottle of Ridge Zinfindel I started a couple days ago.
I quit going to pubs almost two decades ago, except for the ones that served a decent sandwich if I was working in a particular neighborhood. It was a chance to socialize with other local tradespeople and keep in touch and no a ton of cigarette smoke during the short lunch. After public smoking in pubs was banned I never got back into stopping in for a draft brew as I might have, and the pubs are targeted traffic stops for the local police, no matter if one just stopped for food, no alcohol.
When I went to look at what the Irish actually ate, it was a lot less appetizing than CB&C. I won’t even list some of the foods this early in the morning but suffice to say that no edible part of animals was discarded.
If you want snake, I have just the thing for you in my freezer. Baby diamond backed rattlesnake, which my neighbor next door was kind enough to kill for me on Thursday. I put it in the freezer so it wouldn’t smell up my garbage can. I was planning to put it out for the garbage collectors Tuesday morning, but, hey, if you want it, it’s yours for the asking.
Hey ya, greenie.
Irish flute music.
Genetics, schmenetics. I don’t like anything that tastes like it’s turned. Remember I grew up in a Cajun household, (where I shared 50% DNA with two people and 100% with three others and I detest seafood too, while the other five love it. So I’m weird anyway when it comes to what I like and dislike. Not a judgment, just a statement of fact.
For that matter, my dad, (who was not Cajun), loved corned beef and cabbage so he liked to cook it when my mom was taking a break from making seafood. I was a skinny kid…
I would avoid green beer like the plague.
Chili sounds delish, with a nice wine.
The Irish side of me has eaten things you wouldn’t step in. heh.
Just the thing to wake a body up.
You were a skinny kid. That’s too funny. My mom just put all the food through the deflavoizer, which is why I was a skinny kid too. For me, it’s all about the taste.
Depends on the chili. One thing I did enjoy about Cajun cuisine was the spiciness and Tex-Mex raises that to a new level in some cases. Texas chili with Zinfandel is wonderful indeed, especially when accompanied by my world famous jalapeno cornbread. In fact, I think I know what I’m having now. Thanks SD.
I put bones from meat into the freezer until I accumulate enough to make broth. I just thought about doing that several months ago. My “garbage” can in the kitchen is a 20 gallon crock, so plenty big enough for the cat to jump into to retrieve what she wants. I knew not to put chicken bones in, but didn’t think about other bones until I heard this strange sound in the middle of the night & realized she’d scavenged some bones from ribs and as she chewed on them, they would get lifted up & then drop to the floor, which was the strange sound I heard.
happy st pat’s ecahn and pups!
today is the last full day of bike week and the campground is full + tents for the first time in my 14.5 months here. i expect some will attribute their celebrating to st pat’s day and the saloon will have corned beef featured; otherwise,
it’s just another great day! ;o)
Yeah, I hate deflavorized food too. Too much taste or too little makes for a great Margaret diet!
Hi (((demi)))!
deflavorizer…spoiled brat here, not having the edit function.
(Wonder why were in the diary mode today. Must be very careful with the fingers this morning.)
But some animals walk on them. :-)
Did your tastes change as you grew up? Sounds like not much. Author said kids don’t like a lot of food smells, as a protective mechanism, but many outgrow their aversions.
I’ve mentioned before that one of those local pubs serves the best corned beef (melts in your mouth) for a hundred miles around, I’d wager. That Reuben might be the celebration today. The self-seeding cilantro is already an inch high in my herb bed. I use it regularly from pestos to salsa.
Driving to a campaign kickoff for a state district democratic candidate (one of two running against the incumbent R)this evening, and I’ll print my list of populist questions on some green paper. I just phoned the d competitor to see if she was going to be in attendance at the other candidate’s kickoff.
Here’s who I’m going to see later at Opal Divine’s.
Do you live at a campground?
You’re welcome. I’m gonna make cornbread today but it’s gonna be that old fashioned down home southern stuff. Speakin’ of down home,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJhlM6W4uhk&ob=av2e
I have some chili peppers in the fridge. They’re old, so don’t know if they’re still good. I also have LOTS of corn meal. I’ve been wanting to a cornbread with them for awhile, but something else has always come up so that if I make cornbread, I know I’ll not have enough room in my meals to eat enough of it to make it worthwhile.
Meanwhile, I’ve been using the cornmeal to bread fish, and tried it on a chicken & pork chops. Definitely works for me.
Good Saturday to you Mr. Quixote.
I used to run with a group who met up for green beer once a year. We’d tour several pubs and get stupid off the green beer. No more. If I’m in the mood to get stupid, I do it at home.
Morning demi,
I miss the, “show text,” feature most with my short term memory deficiencies.
Heh. When I was a kid, I detested cheesecake. I out grew that silly aversion.
Bring it on.
Green paper. Perfect. Conveys two messages, as in greenwarrior’s screen name. Enjoy your Reuben.
That’ll get the toes a’tappin’ too. Have fun tonight.
There was a state story yesterday, where someone in a “pub crawl” group disappeared and has yet to be found alive. Someone perished walking through the same area of the city a year ago. Talk of revoking these pub sponsored activity, liquor licenses.
Now that’s one all time great video!
Yeah, they changed some but not a whole lot.
I didn’t like a lot of foods as a kid, for a variety of reason. Part was my parents’ cooking. Cheesecake was also on my list. I would eat Kraft M&C, grilled cheese sandwiches, mild cheddar. My parents also liked smelly cheeses. I couldn’t imagine any of those in a cake, though. I rejected cheesecake on the basis of the name alone. Also outgrew that one.
Hey, jalapeno cornbread can be “down home”. Depending on where the home is of course! ;)
Including you?? LOL
I remember years I wouldn’t eat egg yolks and then other years when I wouldn’t eat egg whites. I was a VERY picky eater and very skinny. Stayed skinny no matter what I ate (Stop picking up things to throw at me) until menopause. Now I’m still thin, but now it takes some work.
Bicycles or motorcycles? I thought of bicycles first, but on second thought, prolly not.
Whatever happened to “show text”? The squirrels playing with it backstage?
Funny story about memory. For last night’s little neighbors’ trip to the diner for corned beef & cabbage, I had emailed a few of the regulars. One neighbor suggested including someone I hadn’t emailed, and of course that was fine. On the way there, I was commenting that I remembered that one person ordered fish instead of corned beef, and we were chuckling about the fact that I could remember that a year later.
It was only later that someone else mentioned that the neighbor we included later was one of the original attendees last year. I had totally forgotten, and indeed I still can’t remember that she joined us — but I can remember the meal the other neighbor ordered.
I can figure out why I remember the meal, but for the life of me I can’t figure out why I don’t remember the other neighbor’s presence.
Forgotten the egg yolk thing. I also didn’t eat them when I was a kid.
Wasn’t skinny though, even though I was a tomboy & never stopped moving. My mother said I ate one meal/day. Started when I got up in the morning & ended when I went to bed at night.
Number one son was supposed to be training on his new job this week, but they pushed it back until next week. Son was rather bummed, so I’ve been Keeping Him Busy this week, in the backyard. He’s got fifty plants in now. Mostly different kinds of tomatoes and a variety of peppers, including jalapenos. He’s got a great green thumb and I’m looking forward to a strong and healthy crop of tasties.
Plenty to eat and plenty to share.
I wouldn’t dwell on your selective memory too much. You might not like what you find out. :-)
It hasn’t been added in yet, nor has the edit, but it will. They are putting a new restriction in place to prevent accidental malware like what happened a couple of weeks ago that had people blocked from FDL for a couple of days. So the edit and show text functions are lower on the priority list for now.
There’s an explanation here:
Watercooler: Important Tech Update
Speaking of eggs, I saw this yesterday online.
good morning msmolly,
did my five miler yesterday with no serious after-affects, heading out for a mile or so up and down my street to just to loosen up in a minute.
You didn’t by any chance need to meet any fighting irish criteria for your last career position?
Hope you are doing well today.
I am going to hop. I don’t have much to do for tomorrow’s dinner today. Just make the soup. But I have another project (too boring for words) that I want to do today.
Thanks for hanging out. Been a fun PUAC.
Thank you, Molly.
Good to know.
Geez.
Yeah, you’ve got that right! SD posted a vid about brain farts this week. But I always think of those as momentary memory lapses. This one seems to be more permanent. The recollection is just GONE.
I’m out too. Errands, including Farmer’s Market for eggs. Then a long bike ride this afternoon. It has been in the 70s here and will continue that into next week. Normal highs in March are 40s. So I am getting outside as much as I can while it lasts.
Yes, a fun PUAC. Thankin’ ye again.
Tomorrow sounds like a swell event. You’ll have fun then, also.
I know. Some things are not meant to be green.
Thanks for hosting today and be Irish!
Thank you eCHAN.
gw @ 81
yep. coincidentally, my folks’ first home was a trailer; and tho i’ve lived aboard my 23′ rv for 16 years now, it seems more like home to be here. aside from trips, i lived beside my mother’s driveway ’til i sold the house b4 move here.
this cg is unique with 25% residents, western theme, year-round restaurant with
entertainment.
oooh, not bad, make some tasty sandwiches. But maybe this one I better pass on.
Paddy. Never Patty.
Drink Guinness today kiddo’s. It’s what St. Padraig would do if he were alive.
I personally will be drinking Kaliber, a non-alcoholic Guinness import.
what part of the country are you in? are you campground host or a resident?
Nothing like a VFW fish fry, is there?
Dia dhuit, a bhean ui Cahn!
florida between st augustine and datona. full-time resident on month to month basis.
ultimate freedom as my rv has been my transportation since i got it, and try to get out 2x/wk for groc, etc as well as keeping it running well. it’s a ’86 with queen size bed over cab with the rest living area. especially love the awning windos as don’t use the new ac ‘cept to put load on generator also don’t use.
Eww! Why drink nasty, chewy beer if it won’t even get you drunk?
Favorite that you reminded me off. Almost 40 years ago did two years out of a full-size chevy van.
After looking at that photo, I’m gonna skip CB&C! Looks like the vegetable is being consumed by some indescribable entity!
And I just got up!
Off to the bathroom…
i’ve just been to florida for the first time. is the water aqua where you are like it is in the boca area?
my cab is chevy van g30. ;o) i think it’s the most common vehicle on the continent.
can get it repaired pretty much anywhere unlike most vehicles. definitely a feature i’ve appreciated: esp when it quit between bridge and st. peters, cape breton, nova scotia! towed, free onite at st peters garage & fixed next am. ;o)
I’m more Welsh and Scottish than Irish, but a blessing on my Celtic brothers anyway! And as a little bonus, I give you a Simpsonesque tribute to Ireland.
We’re doing the corned beef, but skipping the cabbage in favor of carrots and onions and slow-cooking the beef in chicken and pork stock. Will report back later.
the water color varies due to light, but south fl has more shallow water and light sand bottom to give that beautiful color. the ocean here is very close to a1a tho a1a/shore is “elevated” approx 10-15 feet and “beach” at low tide is more red/rust color.
very different from s. fl actually.
Well, I’ve been told by some Scots that the Celtic heart lies not in the green but in the thistle and the Irish are just wannabe Scots.
Having been to both heartlands a few times I prefer the Guinness to the English beer in Belfast and Edinburgh, but I do like single malt Scotch – wish I could still drink something other than tea! :-)
Thanks for the PUAC – it was a fun read – my CB&C is looking good after 3 hours cooking, but the preparation process was half as interesting as yours – and now that I know the green beer and CB&C in Dublin is just for the tourists, I have yet more appreciation for my tendency to believe the media. Got to become more of a cynic! :-)
Near as I can tell, I’m a quarter Irish. My mom was half. We hail from the Murphy line, which could be orange, for all I know.
I used to drink alcohol every day and never had a problem with it, addiction-wise. I could walk away from a half-full glass without second thought and frequently did.
Voluntarily gave it up a year or so ago and promptly lost 40 pounds without dieting.
Haven’t missed alcohol at all and I like my weight and body shape (6 foot, 160 lbs), so I’ve decided to continue not drinking.
Because I’m rebellious by nature, I make a point of not wearing green on St. Paddy’s Day, but back in the 70s I marched in Chicago’s St. Paddy’s Day Parade.
I ended up pouring ketchup all over myself and lying down on my back in the alley between the Biograph Theater and the Mee Woh Loh Restaurant. Had my friend snap a photo.
I was playing John Dillinger.
Don’t know what happened to the photo.
It was way cool.
felt the same as u bout the picture; ecahn didn’t pick it –she saw it first time along with the rest of us. lol
Dia Duith Mo Chairde Nua Agus Mor. Ta Me Ar An Hospital. Ach Ta Me are an St Paul, Minnesota. Minnesote, Tir Na Geilege Roite. Go Raibh Maith Agat agus Slan Go Foil. Tiochfaidh Ar la
Creators Blessing To You, My friend new and old. I am at work in the hospital. But I am in St Paul, Minnesota. As in Minnesota-Land of the frozen Irish. My Thanks and may good luck travel with you. Our Day Will Come.
Grin- from a real Paddy, not a plastic Paddy. Are ya all impressed? LOLOL. I am at work on lunch break. However, I will be in St Paul for the celebrations after work.
you and i are similar up to murphy: my gma was kelley ;o) happy patrick’s day to you!
i can’t decide if i’m happy or sad you lost the photo — leaning toward morbid fascination. lol
Great diary eCAHN!!
Time for a remake of the photo, and you could add all the extra footage as they now do in DVDs of movies.
OR, you could just photoshop the image.
Next time I think I’ll request editorial approval. :-)
I’m impressed by the Gaelic talented on the thread. A great addition.
Thanks.
Shhhh. BC we were warned that the beef shrinks in the corning process, Noa bought a store prepped corned beef to supplement. Since this seems like cheating, I didn’t mention it in the post. (See, corp media is not the only untrustworthy reporting.) Last night, Noa told me she is worried that the store bought one will be better than hers. Cooking angst.
Irish Coffee
2 tsp raw sugar, preferably vanilla infused
5 oz. strong, dark hot coffee
1 oz shot Bushmill’s Irish Whiskey
1 large dollop fresh, sweetened heavy whipped cream
(rim cup with raw sugar as option)
Put raw sugar in bottom of cup and add hot coffee. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add shot of whiskey and stir again. Add whipped cream and serve immediately.
*use only premium quality whiskey and coffee. This is one of those simple recipes that is only as good as the ingredients used.
You guys get extra points for removing the cut from the side of beef by yourself. I cannot imagine doing that.
Hahaha. Looks a little bit like a vag infection to me.
I’m going to offer it. I have good coffee & good Bushmills. I am going to cheat on the whipped cream, though. Whipping fresh cream adds extra frenzy to the last minute (otherwise it fades fast), when everything is already frenzied. Then what do you do with the leftovers. My friends rarely drink coffee after a big meal; food coma is so much more pleasant, so I think I won’t get many takers. But I have the spray can ready, and that stuff lasts forever in the fridge.
You give us waaay to much credit. I didn’t explain, bc I thought everyone would know, that when you buy 1/4 steer, it’s already been butchered & frozen in the various cuts. When we were enjoying our glass of wine with Kim & Charlie, we had all the frozen cuts spread out on two tables, discussing what to do with each of them.
All meat butchering in NYS must be done by a certified butchery, which are inspected (or at least they used to be). Even venison. It is when the hunter takes it to the butcher that his hunting permit is checked against the carcass.
eCAHNomics,
As I have told you before, you are very good at this. You should host this more often.
No one will complain about canned whipped cream, I think. This recipe is about the whiskey and the coffee. Mr. would recommend coffe brewed in a syphon pot, but realistically, that’s way too much work at the end of a long meal.
I had no idea that the meat came butchered. That makes the whole 1/4 beef thing tolerable. I admit that cutting meat up is revolting to me. I’m an adventurous cook, except when it comes to meat, I just can’t get out of the box–especially this week. I ordered some Vietnamese pho from a new restaurant upon the recommendation of the waiter and came home to find a heaping order of tripe soup. *shudder*
Thank you oldgold.
Hey Ecahn I am desended from my mum who was pure Irish, my father was of pure Scottish descent. Guess that’s why i like single malt an Guinness. I dont much care for CB+C so will not partake of that. But my musician friends wish me to attend tonights performance of their version of Irish music with a whiskey mushroom bent. I doubt i will stay long as i know all that CB+C will soon fill the small venue with the smells of pungent flatulence. Thanks for the nice post.
If you don’t like the butchering process, you should certainly not read this book. It is by the same author who wrote Julia & Julie. This one takes place mostly in a shop in Kingston, NY (17 miles north), where they butcher behind the counter, but in full sight. Only grass fed local meat. Julie learned how to do it, but it is also way TMI on her marriage & affair. The book got panned by amazon reviewers, but it is a hoot ‘n a half if you know the store.
Was snowing that day and the contrast of red on white — I spilled a bunch of ketchup on the snow next to my head and rubbed a bunch in my hair — was quite striking, if I do say so myself.
I’ve always had a flair for the dramatic.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you too.
And to everyone else as well.
Well, we can be honest here, but, that’s too fucking gross.
We all had our own reactions to the photo.
But, no thanks for the pointers. I don’t need that.
You’re welcome, homeroid. Hope you enjoy your evening, music part anyhow.
Sorry. Stream of consciousness commenting strikes again. Yeah, that was too much.
My stamina is not what it was. Chuckles i am sure are to be had.
You should do this more often.
I was asked once & I volunteered this time & will do so again when I have a topic that I think I might do justice to and that people will like.
Funny i was just thinking -what was the last thing you hosted? So i guess GOOD DO IT AGAIN.
It was about the most unusual, or name your characteristic, place you traveled to. Could be an internal journey as well as a place. Mine is Venice bc it is one of the few cities I couldn’t get any sense of direction or equilibrium in. Lots of literature & films that capture the feeling. I was only there for a weekend, but had to go to the Lido for awhile bc the beach runs straight and you look out over the ocean, instead of making your way around twisted canals, never knowing where in hell you are.
I’ve written several diaries which have gotten many comments.
Two corned briscuits (already brined) down in pot, with 10 garlic cloves, big sprig rosemary, one bay leaf, two sage leaf and the seanoning packets with the coriander seeds and pepper seeds and such.
Two yellow onions.
One red onion.
8 oz Newcastle, 12 oz Guiness Dark Lager, one cup Tennesse Whiskey (had to use what was on hand, no Bushmills this year sadly).
Carrots, parsnips, red taters standing by, with a head of green cabbage.
Will taste in 3 hours after removing the briscuits, and season accordingly again.
Oh, half cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup worcestershire, teaspoon of red chili flakes . . .
Seasoning might include some beef broth and drippings I been saving . . . we’ll see if it needs it. Oh, some ital seasonings and McCormicks CHicken Montreal seasonings, too . . . light on both.
I got the other half bottles of the Guiness and Newcastle, and the rest of the Tennessee Whiskey to amuse me for 3 hours now.
Slainthe Mhath, eCahn, great to read of you hosting a group thang, I suspect there will be great mirth and merriment, and dawg willin, that’s what life is really all about IMHO. Best to you and all others.
*slainthe*
VERY interesting.
How do you slice the briscuit so as to pound it out a bit and be able to roll and tie it up?
Goddamnit, Food Sunday is bad enough. Some of us here (moi) are bachelors from whom a hot meal comes from the microwave or the drive-through, and I for one would appreciate it if others would cut back on the mouth-watering descriptions of what I can only describe as the culinary equivalent of waterboarding.
Indeed, hence my variations this year, I even have some celery root I’m tossin in.
N dawg forbid, I left out a half cup of whole grain dark German Mustard in my recipe . . . and of course the seasoning packets have mustard seeds in them . . .
Multigrain bagguette subs for Irish Soda bread . . . slathered with said German Mustard and slices of Asagio . . . mmmmmm.
Grilled reuben sammiches?
Heh, you two.
After being raised in SE Asia on grand foods, we came home to USA and mom (who couldn’t cook) bought a pressure cooker.
That was the end of flavor, and the beginning of all things British flavored (bland). We DID eat a lot of milk toast n pancakes for lunches, up thru the end of grade school . . . thank dawg I started working in restaurants at 15. ;-)
I’d kill for a 20 gallon pot! Like the old days, little bubbles plop plop at 3am giving way to reductions the like of the goddesses.
Yay!
Best version I’ve ever heard from the Old Stones version.
Luvs me OCMS!
Slaithe Mhath, Frenchman!
Hic cut of corned beef is the fatty fall apart one? Is it the tip or the flat? I don’t care for the cut that requires slicing…
*which
Great work you do, eCAHN. Thank you and to all who comment.
In Ireland this day is a national holiday as well as a religious holiday. I think that’s still the case. As a kid I remember being hauled off to the House of the Lord and hearing again the story of St. Patrick.
We lived in Ireland until I was 11, so I don’t remember much Gaelic. Corned beef was not a staple. I’ve read that CB was the influence of the Jewish mamas in NYC recommending it to the Irish mamas in the area because Kosher butchers didn’t carry pork products. Fine by me.
The CB is simmering so I’m off to do the veggies and check on the horseradish creme – made with Wasabi paste. Talk about being all over the map. And there’s still time to make creme brulee for dessert!!
Alla youz are such a crack up.
I’ve got my ‘tater soup on.
Radishes, green onions, and little bit of celery blended with cream of chicken soup.
Into the crock pot.
Then blended the boiled potatoes with cream and butter and added to the other stuff in the crock pot.
Crock Potting now.
Yummmmmmmm. For later.
Except, we keep “tasting” it. :)
You need to be adopted by foodies.
My immediate neighborhood (rural or exurb, take your pick) has a serious case of estrogen poisoning. 6 houses in the vicinity have either single or double female owners. Look for something like that in your vicinity and put yourself up for adoption. For the life of me, I don’t know how that demographic came about, but if you lived near us, you’d be mothered in no time flat.
Pressure cooker actually SAVED my parents vegie cooking. Instead of boiling them to death, they went with the minimal time in the PC and they came out al dente, and tasted like real food. Ya can never tell.
Oh wasabi paste, why didn’t I think of that. I ruined the horseradish sauce I was making. Was all combined except for adding salt to taste. I was watching the teaspoon which wasn’t filling up, until I noticed that somehow the salt was spilling over the side of measuring spoon. Instead of careful observation, I just mixed it in. No salvation, way too much salt. Finally threw it all out and will serve with just mustard and actual horseradish, which is not too strong for me.
QC (quality control, aka tasting) is an integral part of cooking.
Next time you come north, I expect creme brulee.
That’s what I wondered. After thinking about it, I think you could butterfly it. Pounding would require a sledgehammer, I think.
A while back I learned to butterfly stuff from shrimp to lamb legs by watching videos on the web…one of the most helpful was (believe it or not) a vid by Martha Stewart. A brisket is usually already cut to be kinda flat and rectangular so butterflying it would be pretty easy. Basically you slice it in half horizontally (i.e., parallel to the tabletop) so you can open it like a book and leave enough thickness at the “book spine” edge that it is the same thickness as the rest
20 gallon crock, not pot. Is an antique of sorts and perfect, with plastic bag liner, for garbage. Can throw stuff into it from several feet away and make sure of earning two points.
Just checked chowhound and the tip cut is the fatty succulent cut. Flat is more lean and suitable for slicing and chopping for hash. Round is the leanest bit for use as pastromi.
By the way, here is a little fact for you all. Right from “da auld sod itself.”
People in Ireland do not generally eat corned beef and cabbage. I never had it till I moved back to the USA in 1984.
On Sundays, my mother used to make Boiling Bacon (salt pork) potatoes and cabbage. It was our Sunday treat.
This is what I came up with when I was googling around about what the Irish really eat. Somehow I thought it wouldn’t whet people’s appetite on Saturday morning. But I wasn’t surprised to discover that Irish couldn’t afford to eat beef, and of the animals they did eat, they ate every possible part. My family history is one of poverty. I know about it on my father’s Polish side. I don’t know about my mother’s side as much (her Welshish grandfather or greatgrandfather, Samuel Lee fought on the union side in the civil war), but her immediate family was extremely poor. So I am familiar with wasting no food as a matter of necessity.
eCahn
Yeah. I tell people that the book Angela’s Ashes is how I was actualy raised. Dirt poor but damned proud.
Yummmm Black pudding, as in blood sausage. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!
I hope my other vision of St Pat’s Day is not too shocking.
Blood sausage, not so much.
My initiation was in a high class German restaurant with German clients when I worked on Wall St. It was their not-so-subtle challenge to a middle-aged American woman to see if she (me) were man enough to talk to them about the U.S. economy. Round table of about 12 in a private room. I knew the challenge was about my missing Y gene. I ordered the blood sausages as an appetizer. They were awful, not bc of the ingredients or the underlying flavor but bc they were salty as shit. I ate one out of 3, passed the test, and when asked, I replied in as neutral a tone as I could muster that they were too salty and too filling and I had had enough.