Every family has certain things that they cook and enjoy for
holidays, birthdays, and specific days of the week. My family always had Friday
popcorn nights, Christmas green chile stew, and annual mac and cheese. When I
first started high school, my Dad and I would spend the week at a house close
to the school while my mom worked on the farm an hour away. It was a new
experience for all of us and it forced my Dad to expand his culinary horizons
and Cook for the Teenager. One of my favorite weekly Dad meals was canned
corned beef hash with an egg and ketchup. Best. Dinner. Ever. Sadly, I am now
jaded enough to pay attention to the nutritional value on the cans. In other
words, eating corned beef hash weekly is no longer on option. But on this fine
day, I am going to embrace my wacky Irish family traditions and improvise
corned beef and cabbage!
Unfortunately I almost forgot it was St. Patrick’s Day and
by the time I remembered, all the stores were out of uncooked corned beef. But
I did not let that stop me. One quick stop at a deli and I have ¾ lb of
sliced corned beef. Step two was making the spice mix to cook the cabbage,
corn, and potatoes. Hopefully bay leaves, peppercorns, mustard seed, whole
cloves, garlic, and coriander seed will do the trick. Step three: warming
the corned beef without overcooking it. I believe that thirty seconds in with
the potatoes and cabbage should do the trick.
It might not taste exactly
like St. Patrick’s Day dinner with the family, but my corned beef and cabbage
turned out nicely. Sometimes traditions change. People move, families spread
apart, and new life experiences take hold. Today I may not be having a
"normal" holiday meal, but I am wearing green, eating my corned beef
and drinking a Guinness. Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!
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