No Blarney on St. Patrick’s Day

May the leprechauns be near you, to spread luck along your way.
And may all the Irish angels smile on you St. Patrick’s Day

'Tis March—that time of year that might be chilly, maybe snowy in some parts, and often windy. But it is that time of year that holds such promise. We experience the last winter weekend, and then spring arrives. And the road maps come out and are spread all over the table. It was that way in my house—we had all had enough of the cold, dark and gloomy days. It was time to pack up and hit the road.

Some years we have Easter in March, but we always have St. Patrick’s Day, and that holds such promising fun. Irish or not, it is a fun day to celebrate. And the food is so good! After the great potato famine, when the Irish immigrated to the United States in large numbers, beef was found to be far less expensive here than it had been in Ireland, so corned beef and cabbage became the traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal here. (In Ireland it was eaten usually only on Easter.)

TRADITIONAL CORNED BEEF DINNER
3-4 pound corned beef brisket
2 onions, sliced
2 minced cloves of garlic
6 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
6 small potatoes
6 small carrots
1 medium head of cabbage

Place the corned beef brisket in a Dutch oven and barely cover with hot water; add sliced onions, minced cloves of garlic, whole cloves and bay leaves. Cover and simmer (do not boil) 1 hour per pound of meat, or till fork tender. Remove meat from liquid and keep meat hot; add peeled potatoes and peeled carrots. Cover, bring to boiling and cook 10 minutes. Then add 1 medium head of cabbage, cut in 6 wedges; continue cooking 20 minutes longer or till vegetables are done.

Glaze the corned beef while the vegetables cook. Spread fat side of meat lightly with prepared mustard, and then sprinkle with a mixture of 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of cloves. Place in shallow pan and bake in 350-degree oven 15-20 minutes or till nicely glazed.

To carve corned beef, cut at slight angle across the grain, making thin slices.

For dessert, there is BAILEY’S IRISH CREAM CAKE
1 package of yellow cake mix
1 small package of instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup of water
1 cup of Bailey’s Irish Cream

Combine all ingredients and beat 4 minutes on high speed. Pour into greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 45-55 minutes. Let cake cool and invert onto plate. Slice into 1-inch slices, top with a scoop of Bailey’s Irish Cream topping.

BAILEY’S IRISH CREAM TOPPING
1 pound of powdered sugar
6 tablespoons of butter, soft
1/4 cup of milk
Dash of salt
2 tablespoons of Bailey’s Irish Cream
Beat until fluffy.

For St. Patrick’s Day breakfast, there is DUBLIN CODDLE
1 pound of pork sausages
1/2 pound of bacon
4 large onions
2 pounds of potatoes
1/2 pint of stock or water
Sprig of parsley, chopped

Chop each sausage into pieces, cut the bacon thickly too.
Boil them in a pan of water – just ten minutes ought to do.
Meanwhile, peel and slice potatoes, and the onions, very thin.
Take a heavy-bottomed saucepan, put a base of onions in.
Now put sausages and bacon, with potatoes in between,
In the pan in several layers, then add parsley, fine and green.
Pour the stock or water over, put the lid on very tight.
Simmer for an hour or longer, and your coddle will be right.

IRISH SODA BREAD is good morning or night
4 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 tablespoon each of nutmeg and cinnamon
1 1/4 tablespoons of baking powder
1 cup of raisins
3 eggs
3/4 cup of milk

In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and baking powder; mix in the raisins. Beat the eggs and milk together; add mixture to dry ingredients and work into a dough with a spoon. Let dough rest 30 minutes. Flour your hands and make 5 small, round loaves. Place on a greased and floured cookie sheet. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 30 minutes.

For lunch or supper, POTATO SOUP always hits the spot
2 pounds of potatoes
2 onions
1 pint of vegetable stock
1 pint of milk
1 tablespoon of butter
1 cup of cream
Chopped parsley
Salt and white pepper
6 slices of bacon

Potato soup, you’ll love and make it often; peel onions and potatoes, slice them small.
Heat in melted butter till they soften, but make quite sure they do not brown at all.
Now add the milk and stock, with herbs to season, and bring the mixture quickly to the boil.
Then turn it down at once—it stands to reason that unless you heat it gently, it will spoil!
Thirty minutes on low heat is what you give it, and since it will be rather thick to pour,
At this stage you should liquidize or sieve it, then add the cream and heat it up once more.
You’ll get a lot of praise, and you’ll deserve it, by ensuring your potato soup is topped
With a really tasty garnish, when you serve it, of bacon slices, crisply fried and chopped.

And you always need IRISH COFFEE. Make it with whiskey smooth as the wit of the land, sugar sweet as the tongue of a rogue, coffee strong as a friendly hand, and cream rich as an Irish brogue. Into a pre-warmed coffee mug, put a jigger of Irish whiskey and 1-2 teaspoons sugar. Fill to within 1/2-inch of the top with STRONG black coffee. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Top to the brim with chilled whipped cream, so that cream floats on top. Do not stir after adding cream. The true delight of Irish coffee is obtained by drinking the hot coffee and Irish whiskey THROUGH the cream.

Enjoy March to the fullest—wherever you might be heading, and whatever the weather. May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been, the foresight to know where you’re going, and the insight to know when you’re going too far!

HINT OF THE MONTH: When cooking the cabbage with the corned beef, place a small cup of vinegar on the range or add a wedge of lemon to the pot to help absorb the cabbage odor while cooking in your small RV kitchen.

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Marian Platt's regional narrative cookbook of Washington’s Sequim Valley, From My Kitchen Window, can be ordered by sending cash, check or money order for $25 (includes tax and handling/mailing costs) to Marian Platt, 434 Chicken Coop Rd., Sequim, WA 98382. Phone (360) 683-4691