St. Patrick’s Day
This holiday is by far one of the more calm holidays of the
year. It doesn’t come with the stress of
decorating or buying gifts, or even expecting a ton of people for dinner. This is a great holiday to have fun, invite a
few friends and family over and just enjoy the day/night. I always prepare a traditional Irish dinner
of corned beef, cabbage and red potatoes.
I generally add some sort of green colored dessert and drinks for fun.
On the menu:
Corned Beef
with cabbage (cut into wedges), red potatoes, carrots (I used the ready to eat “baby”
carrots) and onion (sliced; optional).
Watergate
Salad
Green Beer
7-Up and
Lime Sherbet Floats
Corned Beef and
Cabbage
In the past to prepare this meal I have used a Dutch oven. I place the corned beef and spice packet that
comes with it in the Dutch oven, cover it with water and bring to a boil. Once at a boil I reduce the temperature to a
simmer, cover and let simmer for about an hour per pound of meat (3 pounds; 3
hours). Then I add the potatoes and
carrots and onion. Once they are almost tender
I add the cabbage and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Remove the meat, let
it sit for 10 minutes and then carve it against the grain. Throw all of the vegetables in a bowl and
serve.
Watergate Salad (also
known as Pistachio Delight Salad)
·
16oz container of Cool Whip (store brand works
just as good)
·
2 packages pistachio pudding mix (again, store
brands works great)
·
½ cup chopped walnuts
·
1 can crushed pineapple, un-drained
·
1 cup mini marshmallows
Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate
until ready to serve. (Serve very cold)
Green Beer
For this particular holiday you
could pick an Irish beer, but really any beer will do and make sure it is a
pale ale or lager. Whether you are
making a pitcher of it or individual glasses make sure there is no head on the
beer because the color gets stuck in the foam.
Drop in several drops of green food coloring until you reach the emerald
green color that you are looking for. (If you use blue to mix with the
yellowish tint of the beer you will not get the desired color) Please remember to drink responsibly!
(Make a drink like this for kids,
or those who don’t drink, and use cream soda instead of beer!)
7-Up Floats (Irish Style)
The only thing that makes this “Irish
Style” is the green color! You can make
this beverage for any holiday and just change out the flavor/color of sherbet
you use. Put a scoop of lime flavored sherbet in a glass and top with 7-Up. This drink can be spiked by adding a shot of vodka or rum. Again, please be responsible if you are drinking.
If your children are like mine they may be a tad bit picky at the dinner table. Neither of my boys like corned beef and cabbage and so for them I have created a shamrock quesadilla. I make a quesadilla using two tortillas and I cut out three small heart shapes and a stem, when you put it together it looks like a shamrock. (Use spinach tortillas and you get the green color too!)
What are your St. Patrick’s Day traditions?
No comments:
Post a Comment