Corned beef and cabbage dinner

   

I like the Irish, which is why I went out of my way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a slow cooked meal of corned beef and cabbage. Mind you, I don't have any Irish blood in me —at least none that I know of— but Italians and the Irish are kindred spirits. We are both easy going people who love to drink —who cares if we prefer wine and they favor beer?— we both like to celebrate life and we both have a good sense of humor. Unlike us, the Irish are not known worldwide for their fabolous food, which is a pity because they have some wonderful dishes everyone should try. Corned beef and cabbage is one of them and I found this Cooking Light version to be absolutely fantastic: the horseradish crust over the meat really gives it a kick and the lemony potatoes and cabbage round up the meal nicely. Eating the corned beef dinner and soda bread last night made me want to go to Ireland real bad, something I usually would disregard as a "maybe one day" kind of dream, but since soon I'll be in Europe with low cost flights at my fingertips, I think Dublin will see me sooner than later. 

CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE DINNER

From Cooking Light

• 1  (4-pound) cured corned beef brisket, trimmed
• 16  cups  water
• 2  cups  chopped onion
• 1  cup  chopped celery
• 1  cup  chopped carrot
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  pickling spice
• 3  garlic cloves, peeled
• Cooking spray
• 1  tablespoon  caraway seeds
• 1  (2 1/2-pound) head green cabbage, cored and cut into 1-inch strips
• 4  pounds  small red potatoes, quartered
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley
• 2  teaspoons  butter
• 2  teaspoons  grated lemon rind
• 2  teaspoons  fresh lemon juice
• 1/8  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1/2  cup  dry breadcrumbs
• 1  (5-ounce) jar prepared horseradish, drained and squeezed dry
• 3  tablespoons  Dijon mustard

Place brisket in a large stockpot; add water and next 5 ingredients (water through garlic). Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 3 hours. Remove brisket from pot.
Place brisket on the rack of a broiler pan or roasting pan coated with cooking spray; place rack in pan. Strain cooking liquid through a colander into 2 large bowls; discard solids. Return liquid to pot. Add caraway seeds and cabbage; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes. Drain.
While cabbage is cooking, place potatoes in a large Dutch oven. Cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook 20 minutes or until tender. Drain. Return potatoes to pan. Stir in parsley, butter, rind, juice, and pepper; toss to coat.
Preheat broiler.
Combine breadcrumbs and horseradish. Spread mustard over one side of brisket. Press breadcrumb mixture onto mustard. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve brisket with cabbage and potatoes.

Irish soda brown bread

Happy belated St. Patrick's Day, everyone! Although I'm not Irish I celebrated St. Paddy's day yesterday by cooking a whole big Irish meal of corned beef and cabbage and soda bread and then we didn't eat it because we ended up going to a friend's house and eat macaroni and cheese instead. I know, I know. But it was delicious macaroni and cheese —the home made kind— and to feel a little more Irish we had shots of Jameson. So, there. And the big Irish meal will still be good tonight, if not better. For some reason corned beef and cabbage sounds like the type of meal that is even better the next day, doesn't it?

Well, I'll let you know about that tomorrow. In the mean time, I can tell you the soda bread was really good —I had a slice this morning with my coffee, as I was clumsily trying to remember what the hell was I thinking when I said yes to the shots of Jameson. I usually don't drink whisky. And this morning I remembered why. I had one of those nice metallic headaches that just don't go away. Not even with coffee and ibuprofen. Not even with delicious toasted homemade soda bread.

You live, you learn. Next year I'll stay away from the whisky. But I'll still make the bread which thanks to Cooking Light magazine is not only great but also good for you.

BROWN SODA BREAD

From Cooking Light

• Cooking spray
• 11.25  ounces  whole-wheat flour (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 2.25  ounces  all-purpose flour (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2  cup  steel-cut oats (such as McCann's)
• 2  tablespoons  brown sugar
• 1  tablespoon  wheat germ
• 1  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 2  cups  low-fat buttermilk
• 1  large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 325°.

Coat a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper, and coat with cooking spray.

Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flours and next 6 ingredients (through salt). Combine buttermilk and egg; add to flour mixture. Stir just until combined.

Spoon the mixture into prepared pan. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Invert bread onto a wire rack; cool completely. Remove parchment; slice bread into 12 slices.