Cooking for St. Patrick's Day

Green beer, Irish food, and merriment are all to be enjoyed on St. Patrick's Day. The thought of "Irish food" often sends men and women reeling. What do you cook for St. Patrick's Day and how do you cook it?

Traditionally, Corned Beef and Cabbage should be served. The dish is easy to prepare. Purchase a corned beef, the flat cut is usually lower in fat while the point cut is more flavorful. A Crock Pot is perfect for cooking corned beef. The trick to cooking corned beef is in slowly simmering it for a few hours. By cooking a corned beef in a Crock Pot, you can slowly cook the corned beef in a fuss free environment. The corned beef should be placed in the bottom of the Crock Pot and then covered in enough cubed potatoes, sliced cabbage, sliced carrots, sliced onions, and diced turnips to feed the crowd. Cover this with three cups of water and cook on low for the entire day (8 to 10 hours).

You can also cook Corned Beef and Cabbage on the stovetop or in the oven. Use the same procedure as in the Crock Pot and then slowly simmer or bake it at 325 degrees for three to four hours.

Some people do not enjoy corned beef. There are options that will work well with these people. Irish Stew is a popular option. If you enjoy lamb, Irish Stew is a mixture of lamb cubes, onions, potatoes, and carrots. Coat the lamb meat in flour and pan fry until golden. Add some seasonings (salt, pepper, and thyme), the vegetables, and a pint of Guinness. Slowly simmer for two hours. This recipe can also be made in the Crock Pot, just make sure the lamb is browned on the stovetop first.

Irish Stew is excellent when served with Irish Bread. This bread is more like a huge biscuit than yeast bread. It is simple to make. Flour, baking soda, a touch of sugar, butter, salt, and a bit of milk creates the dough. It should have currants (small fruits that are similar to raisins) in the mixture, but using raisins or omitting them completely will work. The dough is shaped into a large circle and then using a sharp knife, slit an X into the top of the dough. As the dough bakes, the X bursts creating a large, round loaf of bread.

Irish food relies heavily on potatoes. Another option is to cook platters of "Bangers and Mash." Mash is simply mashed potatoes. Bangers are British sausages that are usually an equal mixture of fatty ground pork and fresh bread crumbs. Bangers are usually seasoned with sage, salt, and pepper.

Dublin Coddle is another intriguing dish. The dish is a mixture of fried bacon pieces, bangers, potatoes, carrots, and onions. The potatoes are browned in the bacon fat and then tossed with the bacon, carrots, and banger chunks. The dish is covered with a pint of hard cider and slowly baked for an hour.

St. Patrick's Day should be a fun, festive time for everyone to kick back and relax. Many Irish dishes require little preparation time and can easily be cooked in the Crock Pot. This enables the host of a St. Patrick's Day meal to mingle with guests instead of becoming overwhelmed in the kitchen.