Happy St. Patty's Day!

Top O' The Afternoon to you! Doesn't flow as well as Top O' The Mornin' does it? Oh well. Couldn't write this morning, Zoe and I were invited to a St. Patrick's Day party at her friend William's house. William's Mommy Anne put out a fantastic spread of Green Shamrock Pancakes (Peanut Free and very yummy!!), Green Fruit (grapes, apples, melon) with some sort of scrumptious dip, Guacamole & Chips, Green Pirate's Booty, Green Limeade, Green Twizzlers, Green Milk, Green Sushi (yes, cucumber & avocado), Green Tortellini with Broccoli & Pesto and Green Jello Shamrocks! Hope I didn't miss anything. It was a nice, sunny day and the kids played so well together. Thank you Anne!
My Corned Beef is on the stove slowly simmering now. You can start now too. It only takes 2 to 3 hours to cook the brisket (which usually comes already prepared with the seasonings in a separate packet. Cover with water and cook away). I am going to cut up my veggies now, so they will be ready.
CityMama's Corned Beef and Cabbage
When buying your brisket, plan on about 1 lb. per person (more if you want leftovers) since there usually is a fair amount of fat to account for and it shrinks quite a bit when cooking.
· 1 prepared corned beef brisket (these come already "corned" or brined and are sold prepackaged at supermarket).
· 3-4 garlic cloves
· 1 bay leaf
· 10 peppercorns
· 4 whole cloves
· peel from half an orange
· 1 savoy or regular cabbage, cut into six wedges
· 1 pound of carrots, scrubbed, ends trimmed, leave whole
· 2 turnips, peeled and quartered
· 4 parsnips, peeled, ends trimmed, leave whole (or if they are particularly large, cut in half lengthwise)
· potatoes, scrubbed (1 medium waxy potato [like white or Yukon Gold] or two new potatoes per person)
· finely chopped flat-leaf parsley to garnish
Condiments for serving: freshly grated horseradish, coarse salt, whole grain mustard
Place brisket fat side up in a dutch over or other heavy bottomed pot and cover with cold water. Add garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, cloves, and orange peel and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer slowly according to package directions or until fork tender, 2-3 hours. Skim foamy impurities every so often.
Remove brisket to a large platter and tent with foil. Remove orange peel and discard. Raise temperature of liquid to medium, and add veggies to the pot. Simmer until root vegetable are just fork-tender, about 15 minutes.
Slice corned beef on the bias against the grain and return to platter. Arrange vegetables around the meat and sprinkle parsley over all. Serve with condiments on the side.

Guinness anyone? Actually I forgot to pick some up on my way home today. I will have to ask Jim to pick some up. My Mom made some yummy Irish Soda Bread, which will be a nice accompaniment.
Here is a nice Irish Toast to start your meal:
Who through strategy and stealth,
Drove all the snakes form Ireland,
Here's a toasting to his health.
But not too many toastings
Lest you lose yourself and then
Forget the good Saint Patrick
And see those snakes again.
'Beannachtam na Feile Padraig!'
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Have a great day, I am off to find the elusive four leaf clover! We could all use a wee bit of luck couldn't we?