March 17
St. Patrick's Day
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In Ireland, Saint Patrick’s Day is both a holy day and a national holiday.
If it wasn't for Pope Celestine's
decision to rename the Welsh-born priest, Maewyn Succat, "Patricius"
when the pontiff commissioned him to
evangelize Ireland, M. Patricius was subsequently consecrated a bishop at forty-five and began
preaching the gospel to the Celts, a mission that lasted sixty three years
until his death at age 103. Living to 103 on Irish cooking was
probably adequate justification for sainthood itself.
St. Patrick has two symbols - the shamrock and the leek.
According to legend, Patrick
used a shamrock which was sacred to the Druids to explain the trinity. The
leek symbolism is based on an obscure legend about
Patrick
when he was
praying for a dying women. The woman had a vision about a "rush-like"
vegetable floating in the air. In the vision, the women learned that
unless she ate the hallucinatory vegetable, she would die. When she
told
Patricius
about the vision, he prayed over some rushes which were miraculously
transformed into leaks. The women then ate them and was cured. The Irish
have since considered the leek an indigenous food with miraculous
properties, a culinary symbol that they share with the Welsh . |
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The source of the traditional celebration
of St. Patrick's day with corned beef and cabbage is obscure.
While the process of preserving meat with salt is ancient, food historians
tell us that preserving beef with "corns" or large grains of salt originated in
Medieval Europe. The term "corned beef" dates to 1621. From the late 17th
century until 1825, the beef-corning industry was the biggest and most
important asset to Cork, Ireland. In this period Cork exported vast
quantities of cured beef to Britain, Europe, America, Newfoundland, and the
West Indies. However, some authorities claim that eating corned beef on St.
Patrick's Day is purely an American tradition. Myrtle Allen, author of Myrtle Allen's Cooking at
Ballymaloe House (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1990),
contends that corned beef is "no more Irish than roast chicken."
Homemade corned beef is superior to commercial corned beef primarily because
one has the advantage of modifying the spices in the brine to one's
individual taste. Homemade corned beef recipes generally call for saltpeter
(potassium nitrate) which is also used a fertilizer, in model rocket
propellant, and in several fireworks such as smoke bombs
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Here is the ultimate Irish
celebratory menu for St. Patrick's Day. For the most appropriate music
for this dinner, we suggest
"The Pooka and the Fiddler & Happy as Larry -- Two Stories by Colcannon"
recorded by the Irish
musical group Colcannon. For the perfect
après-dinner
film, we suggest St. Patrick:
The Irish Legend (2000)
with Patrick Bergin in the title role
and details the legend of how Patrick drove all of the snakes
from Ireland the moment he returned to the land where he was was held as
a slave in his youth.
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Irish Leek Soup
Corned Beef
Colcannon
Irish Soda Bread
Clover Honey Ice Cream with Candied Shamrocks
Irish Coffee
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.Irish Leek Soup
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Ingredients
4 large leeks, cut
lengthwise, separate, clean. Use only the white and pale green parts, chop.
3 Tb butter
1 cup water
1 cup half and half
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2 cups chicken broth
2 lbs potatoes, peeled, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
salt & freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup chives for garnish
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- Cook leeks in butter with salt and pepper in a medium sized sauce pan.
Cover pan, cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Check often. Do not let brown.
- Add water,
cream, broth, and potatoes. Cook for 20 minutes. Scoop about half of the
soup mixture into a blender, puree and return to pan. Add more salt and
pepper to taste.
- Serve with bacon bits as a garnish.
Serves 4-6.
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Corned Beef
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3 quarts water
3 12-oz bottles Guinness stout
1 cup salt
1&1/2 tsp saltpeter or ascorbic acid (sour salt)
1 beef brisket, about 4 pounds
2 whole allspice
12 peppercorns
4 medium onions studded with 6 cloves each
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4 bay leaves
12 peppercorns
1/4 tsp baking soda
6 garlic cloves
3 ribs celery, cut in 2-inch pieces
2 large onions, cut in wedges
2 cloves garlic, minced
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Instructions
- Salt beef on all sides and massage
into beef. Tie up with string in compact shape.
- In a large pot, add water, beer,
saltpeter (or sour salt) soda, 6 peppercorns, and allspice. Boil for
15 minutes. Skim and strain into a bowl. Refrigerate brine until cold.
- Spread half of remaining salt on the
bottom of an earthenware crock (never use a metal bowl). Sprinkle
remaining salt over top of meat and place in crock. Cover with brine
and refrigerate for 4-6 weeks.
- Turn beef every two days. (You can
also weight down with heavy object so the meat is completely
submerged in brine in which case you can turn beef one a week). Never
allow refrigerator temperature to go above 36ºF. To cook, remove from
brine. and wash surface under cold water.
- Place in a large (8-quart or larger)
pot. Cover with cold water and add the celery, onions, and 2 cloves
minced garlic. Bring to a boil; skim off any scum which develops on
the surface. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer for 3&1/2
hours.
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Serves 8-10
Colcannon
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Cocannon's name is
from the
Gaelic cal ceann fhionn
-- white-headed cabbage. Although
traditionally eaten in Ireland at Halloween, it is also a popular
dish on St. Patrick's Day. Although currently more commonly made with
cabbage, it used to be be made with kale (a member of the cabbage
family). When you get a few Irishmen together in a pub talking about their
mothers' cooking, one or more of them will generally burst out in the
traditional colcannon song
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Did you ever eat colcannon
When 'twas made with yellow cream
And the kale and praties blended
Like the picture in a dream?
Did you ever take a forkful
And dip it in the lake
Of heather-flavored butter
That your mother used to make?
Oh, you did, yes you did!
So did he and so did I,
And the more I think about it
Sure, the more I want to cry.
God be with the happy times
When trouble we had not,
And our mothers made colcannon
In the little three-legged pot. |
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Ingredients
3 cups finely shredded green cabbage or kale
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Guinness stout
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6 cooked large potatoes, mashed
1/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup butter or margarine
Salt and pepper to taste
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Instructions
- Place cabbage (or kale), onion, water,
and beet in
a saucepan and quickly bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and
simmer about 8 minutes until tender. Do not overcook.
- Add mashed potatoes, cream, butter
or margarine, salt and pepper.
Serves 4-6
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Irish Soda Bread |
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Ingredients
2 cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
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1 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. butter, chilled
1 cup raisins
1&1/2 cups buttermilk
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Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 ºF. In a
bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
- Cut in the butter until it is
pea-sized. Stir in the raisins and buttermilk. Turn the
dough onto a floured surface, knead 1 minute, and shape into a
disk.
- Cut an "X" in the top and bake on
a greased baking sheet for 45 to 50 minutes.
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Makes one 8-inch-wide loaf.
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Clover Honey Ice Cream with Candied Shamrocks
Special Equipment
Ice cream maker |
Ice Cream Ingredients
1 cup sugar
5 egg yolks
1&1/8 cups whipping cream
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1&1/8 cups milk
3 TB clover honey
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Ice Cream Instructions
- Beat the sugar and egg yolks together
until thick and pale yellow.
- Bring the milk to a simmer.
- Beat the milk into the eggs and sugar
in a slow stream.
- Pour the mixture back into pan and
place over low heat. Stir until the custard thickens slightly
(170° F on an instant-read thermometer. Use a thermometer, since at 175° F
the eggs will scramble). Stir in the honey. Refrigerate over night.
- Whip the cream. Gently fold the
custard .into the whipped cream. Freeze using an ice cream machine
according to manufacturer's instructions.
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Candied Shamrocks Ingredients
4 dozen shamrocks with stems.
(Some stores sell small pots of shamrocks for St. Patrick Day)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
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Candied Shamrocks Instructions
- Mix sugar and water in a saucepan.
Bring to a boil and stir constantly until sugar is dissolved.
Lower heat to a simmer. Add shamrocks and simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove shamrocks with a slotted spoon.
- Boil sugar liquid until it
registers 234º F on a candy thermometer. Dip shamrocks in
syrup to coat them and remove with slotted spoon to a cake racks
to cool. When dry, snap off stems.
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Irish Coffee
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Ingredients
1 can pressurized whipped cream
Irish whisky
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sugar cubes (3 per drink)
Strong black coffee or espresso
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Instructions
- Heat a stemmed whiskey goblet.
- Pour in one shot of Irish whiskey.
Add three sugar cubes. Fill with strong black coffee to within one
inch of top. Stir gently. Top off to the brim with whipped cream
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