SLAINTE!
Just like the French toast, “Santé”, the Italian toast “Salute” and “Salude” in Spanish, the Irish toast, “Slainte”, (pronounced “slawn-che), and it means “Health”. So here is to your health and to a spectacular St. Paddy’s Day celebration. To help things along, I am sharing my favorite, tried and true Saint Patrick’s Day recipes. ENJOY!
What does Erin go bragh mean?
Another phrase that you often hear around Saint Patrick's Day is Erin go Bragh or Erin go braugh and it also has a significant meaning for the Irish.
"Erin go braugh" /"Erin go Bragh" are from "Éire go brách" meaning "Ireland to the end of time".
"Erin" is the ancient Irish Gaelic word for "Ireland" and "go bragh" means "til the end of time" or "til doomsday."
St. Paddy’s NOT St. Patty’s
Saint Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. The reason that ‘Paddy’ is the acceptable spelling is because the D’s in ‘Paddy’ comes from the Irish spelling of the name Patrick, which is spelled Pádraig… (Patty is short for Patricia).
A DRY Holiday
Saint Patrick’s Day was considered a religious holiday in Ireland for most of the 20th century which meant that the nation’s pubs were closed for business on March 17. To the delight of many, the beer ran freely again when the day was converted to a national holiday in 1970.
A Patron Saint Who, According to Legend, Drove the Snakes Out of Ireland
Though there is no evidence of snakes ever existing in Ireland, Saint Patrick is one of the country’s most celebrated figures. Interestingly, he wasn’t born Irish and his birth name wasn’t Patrick, it was Maewyn Succat. He was born in Roman England around the year 390, kidnapped into slavery at age 16 and brought over to Ireland. He escaped to a monastery in Gaul (around present day France), where he converted to Christianity. Here, he became a priest and then eventually a bishop and changed his name to Patrick. He returned to Ireland in 432 as a missionary and played a major role in converting the Irish to Christianity. He was named Ireland’s patron saint after his death on March 17, 461 AD.
Blue or Green?
Everyone SHOULD be wearing blue, not green. A light blue became associated with the Order of St. Patrick, an 18th century era order of knights, perhaps to create a shade of blue for the Irish which was different from the English royal blue. St. Patrick’s blue was considered symbolic of Ireland for many centuries and the Irish Presidential Standard is still blue. So….why do we wear green to avoid being pinched? Historically, the color green has been associated with a number of Irish rebellions.
The use of green for nationalistic reasons was seen during the violent Great Irish Rebellion of 1641, when displaced Catholic landowners and bishops rebelled against the authority of the English crown, which had established a large plantation in the north of Ireland under King James I in the early 17th century. Military commander Owen Roe O’Neill helped lead the rebellion, and used a green flag with a harp to represent the Confederation of Kilkenny, a group that sought to govern Ireland and kick out the Protestants who had taken control of that land in the north of Ireland. (They were ultimately defeated by Oliver Cromwell.)
–Timothy McMahon, Vice President of the American Conference for Irish Studies.
Wearing green in the US for Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations date back to the 19th century when Irish immigrants came to America after the Great Famine of the 1840-50s. They wore green and carried Irish flags along with American flags as a point of pride for their home country.
Instant Pot Corned Beef with Roasted Vegetables and Guinness Mustard Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 pkg corned beef (2.5-3 pounds) flat cut is best
- 1 head green cabbage cored and thickly sliced
- 6-8 carrots peeled and cut into pieces
- 1-2 medium apples, cut into 2" chunks Pink Lady or Granny Smith work well
- 1 Walla Walla Sweet or Mayan onion peeled, halved and thickly sliced
- 1 large yellow onion peeled, halved and cut in ¼" slices
- 4 cups beef stock or water
- 1-2 lbs new potatoes, red, white, gold or a combination washed
- extra-virgin olive oil,
- butter, salt, pepper, fresh parsley to taste
Instructions
- Place onions in the pot and set the corned beef on top of the onions, fat side up. Add stock or water. Sprinkle the pickling spice packet over top of the corned beef.Lock the Instant Pot lid, turning vent to 'sealing'. Choose manual setting, high pressure, 80 minutes.
- While corned beef is cooking, scrub the potatoes and cut them into 2-inch pieces.
- When time is up, allow the pressure in the instant pot to naturally release. (This should take about 15 minutes). Remove the meat from the pot and set on a cutting board. Cover with foil to allow it to rest and stay warm.
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Place carrots, cabbage, apples, and sweet onion on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Place vegetables in the preheated oven and roast for 20 minutes, turning half-way through. (I cook until browned and the carrots still have a slight snap).
- Strain out the onions from the cooking liquid, and then return the liquid to the pot. (You may want to skim off excess fat before adding the broth back to the pot.) Add potatoes to the pot. Lock the lid in place, turning vent to 'sealing'. Choose manual setting, high pressure and set for 2 minutes.When time is up, release the pressure.Strain potatoes and stir into melted butter and season with salt, pepper and freshly chopped parsley.Serve alongside roasted vegetables, slices of corned beef and plenty of Guinness mustard sauce.
Guinness Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup course-grained mustard
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp Guinness Stout beer
- 1 tbsp shallot minced
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl to blend.Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.Can be made 2 days ahead, keep refrigerated.
Why We Eat Corned Beef and Cabbage on St. Paddy’s Day
Historically, Ireland has exported salted meats since the Middle Ages. Unfortunately, for most of the Irish population, beef was an unaffordable luxury. As a suitable substitute to beef for religious holidays and other celebrations, many turned to pork as a more affordable option.
Upon arriving to America, The Irish immigrants discovered, to their delight and surprise, that beef was more affordable than pork! With this new reality, they turned to corned beef–which they could afford AND it was a food their homeland had once been famous for. SCORE! The growing Irish-American population paired the corned beef with cabbage, a traditional accompaniment to salted pork – and there you have it.
Corned Beef, Cabbage and Roasted Vegetables
Equipment
- Sous Vide
Ingredients
Corned Beef & Vegetables
- 1 package corned beef
- new potatoes red, white, gold or a combination
- 1 head green cabbage cored and thickly sliced
- 6-8 carrots peeled and cut into pieces
- 1-2 apples Pink Lady or Granny Smith both taste great
- 1 Walla Walla Sweet or Mayan onion halved and thickly sliced
- Olive oil extra-virgin
- Butter, salt, pepper, fresh parsley to taste
Guiness Mustard Sauce
- ½ cup course-grained mustard I use Trader Joes
- 2 tbsp regular Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp Guinness Stout
- 1 tbsp shallot minced
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
Instructions
Prepare Corned Beef
- Rinse the corned beef before placing it in a vacuum sealed bag. Seal the bag and place it in a preheated 180° F sous vide water bath. Leave to cook for 10 hours, adding additional water when needed.****You can serve this up the day you cook it OR, I prefer cooking it a day ahead and letting it sit in the refrigerator over night. (It is much easier to slice this way).
- Half the new potatoes and place in a large pot filled with well-salted room temperature water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. **If corned beef has been chilled over night in the refrigerator, slice and warm the slices in a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, placed over the pot of potatoes.
- While potatoes are cooking, place vegetables on a large rimmed cookie sheet. (Use two if needed so as not to crowd the vegetables.) Drizzle generously with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Place vegetables in a 400° F preheated oven and roast 20 minutes, turning half way through. (I cook until browned and the carrots still have a slight snap). Stir potatoes into melted butter and season with salt, pepper and freshly chopped parsley. Serve alongside roasted vegetables, slices of corned beef and plenty of Guinness mustard sauce.
Guinness Mustard Sauce
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl to blend. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Can be made 2 days ahead, keep refrigerated.
Notes
ST. PADDY’S DAY BOOZY BUNDT
INGREDIENTS
- 1 package spice cake mix with pudding
- 1 package (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup whiskey
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 4 jumbo sized eggs
- 1 1/3 cups coarsely chopped walnuts, divided
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Grease and flour a standard sized bundt pan.
- Combine the first six ingredients in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on low for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed for an addition 2 minutes.
- Fold in 1 cup walnuts and pour batter into prepared pan.
- Sprinkle remaining walnuts over the top and bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool in pan.
FOR GLAZE
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup whiskey, (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon water
- Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Cool 3 minutes and pour 1/2 of glaze over hot cake, (still in pan) Let stand for 30 minutes and remove from pan to cool completely. Cover
- Next day, reheat glaze and brush over cake and cool before covering.
- Serve with whipped cream sweetened with pure maple syrup and sprinkle a little pumpkin pie spice over top.
Almost Better than Corned Beef and Cabbage on St. Paddy's Day is the LEFT-OVERS!
My friend, Gayle, who knows how to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day in style, shared this spectacular Reuben recipe with me. It is AWESOME!!!
Frank Comito’s Reuben
GRILLED REUBEN
- 2 slices Rye Bread (swirled)
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 2 slices Swiss Cheese
- 1 oz special thousand island dressing (recipe below)
- 1/2 cup sauerkraut, drained well and seasoned with 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
- 6 oz corned beef, sliced
- Butter bread-put butter side down on griddle
- Put corned beef on griddle to get hot-spray with a bit of water
- Put one slice of cheese on each piece of bread (off-set so every bite gets some cheese)
- Put 1000 Island on both pieces of bread
- Mix kraut and chili sauce together and put portion on griddle to heat through
- Put corned beef on top of 1000 Island.
- Top with kraut
- Put other slice of bread on top
- Cut and plate
Frank’s Special 1000 Island Dressing
(Gayle broke this down to 2/3 of the recipe)
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 c mayonnaise
- 5/6 c catsup
- 1 1/2 tablespoon dill pickle relish
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/3 teaspoon dill weed
- 1/3 teaspoon black pepper
Mix and chill. If covered and chilled well, will last 2 weeks.
