Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe

I’m really excited about this St. Patty’s Day because my BFF Michele (who I don’t get to spend nearly enough time with!) is coming over for some drinking and eats and I figured might as well make this a drunken dinner party and break out the nice flatware and set my seldom used dining room table for the occasion.

For our dinner I decided to make a traditional Irish meal of Corned Beef and Cabbage with Irish Soda bread (ok I cheated on the bread and bought it at the store).

I started out by marinating the corned beef in 2 bottles of beer overnight. Not sure if that was necessary as the original recipe didn’t call for it but I figured what they hey, alcohol makes everything better, right?

Using Len’s fun and informative recipe ( I urge you to read it for her humor and guide on how to select the perfect corned beef & cabbage to use in your recipe) on Food.com I Made This:

 

 

Ingredients:

1 (2 -6 lb) corned beef brisket ~Mine was about 4 lbs
1 teaspoon peppercorn
2 dried bay leaves

~You can leave out the peppercorn & bay leaves if your corned beef comes with the seasoning packet

1  head fresh cabbage
6 medium red potatoes
1 (1 lb) bag fresh carrot
fresh parsley (Dried won’t do at all)
real butter
1 fresh garlic clove
1 medium fresh sweet onion
grainy yellow mustard
irish soda bread
can of beer

Directions:

1. Place the brisket (best side up) in the bottom of a large dutch oven or stockpot.
   
2. Add the spice packet or a teaspoonful of peppercorns and two bay leaves.
3. Cover the brisket generously with water and a bottle of beer (optional – adds flavor and is a tenderizer) and bring to a boil
4. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours.
5. Meanwhile scrub and rinse the potatoes removing any eyes or bad spots but leave as much peel on as you can and quarter them.
6. Remove the outer leaves from the cabbage until the leaves are entirely light green, rinse and cut it into quarters through the spine so they stay together. Set aside.
7. Peel the onion and cut it into eighths. Set aside.
8. Rinse the bunch of fresh parsley and mince.
9. After simmering for 2 hours add the potatoes on top of the brisket and add water to cover.
10. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 mins
11. Add the cabbage on top of the potatoes and add onion and carrot on top of the cabbage. Add water to cover everything.
12. Bring to boil then educe heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
13. Dish is done once cabbage is cooked to tender.
14. Place the potatoes in the bowl while still piping hot and add butter, garlic, and add a handful of chopped fresh parsley.
15. While brisket is resting bring remaining liquid to boil then add cornstarch and whisk vigorously Cook until desired thickness.
16. Slice the brisket cross grain.
17. Top brisket and veggies with gravy.
18. Enjoy!!!

Related articles

• Happy St. Patrick’s Day! (melissariebe.wordpress.com)

Chocolate Fudge Icing AKA Chocolate Gooey Deliciousness

A homemade cake deserves homemade icing and in my humble opinion a yellow cake NEEDS a gooey chocolate  fudgey icing and I found the perfect chocolate fudge icing recipe courtesy of BettyR on ChefTalk.

This is my first homemade icing so I stuck to the recipe exactly and I Made This:

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

¼ + 2 tbsp cornstarch-packed

7 tbsp cocoa powder

¾ tsp salt

1 ½ cups boiling water

6 tbsp butter

1 tbsp vanilla

Directions:

BettyR’s original recipe has microwave instructions but I preferred the stove top method

1. Combine sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, butter, and salt.
2. Whisk in boiling water then cook over medium heat until thick & bubbly. This will happen quickly so don’t step away and start doing dishes like I did lol
3. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla.
4. Let cool then frost cake!

I suggest you use it to frost this yummy yellow cake 🙂

 

Roasted Balsamic Sweet Potatoes

I LOVE sweet potatoes and so I’m always on the look-out for new recipes to try to convert my ‘regular” potato loving hubby to my sweet potato ways 🙂 I found this recipe on Pinterest (shocker, I know, lol) courtesy of Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide, a fellow WordPress blogger.

The recipe is simple and straightforward enough that I threw it all together while I was making a cake! With just a few adjustments to the recipe I Made This:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup decent balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp packed brown sugar (I used light b/c that’s all I had on hand)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tsp salt
• 3-4 large sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400•
2. In large skillet bring balsamic vinegar & sugar to a boil
3. Reduce until sauce begins to thicken
4. Add butter and salt and cook over medium heat until evenly mixed
5. Place sweet potatoes into skillet and coat with balsamic mixture
6. Put potatoes into baking dish and roast until browned on the edges, about 40 minutes. Stir occasionally
7. Add parsley just before serving