It’s St. Patrick’s Day and there’s nothing better than hearty Irish fare. Although you may not have time to make these recipes today, tuck them away in your recipe stash or make them for supper another day this week. Even though Spring’s just around the corner, there are certain to be a few more wintry days left – perfect weather for eating Crock Pot Corned Beef. Slow cooked with a rich, dark beer, this will melt in your mouth. Try it with Braised Napa Cabbage and place over some awesome Irish Mashed Potatoes. Finish off the meal with a slice of Leprechaun Pie! Happy St. Paddy’s and happy eating!

Crock Pot

Corned Beef 1.5 lbs. corned beef brisket, cut into large chunks 1 medium onion, cut into large chunks 5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped 2 carrots, cut into large pieces; 3 bay leaves 1 pinch dried rosemary 1 bottle of Irish ale or another dark beer 2 T butter Salt and pepper to taste

Add all of the stew ingredients except the butter to a crock pot. Let it cook on high for about 4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. When cooked, remove meat from pan and slice crosswise in quarter inch slices. Set aside. Skim fat. Add the butter and sliced meat back into the crock pot and stir the butter through as it melts. To serve, mound mashed potatoes on one side of a stew bowl and press them into something of a bowl shape with a spoon. Heap the cabbage to one side of the potatoes. Ladle the corned beef stew over the top of the potatoes and cabbage, being sure to include a fair amount of broth.

Braised Napa

Cabbage 1 medium head of fresh Napa cabbage, sliced in half inch slices lengthwise 1/4 sweet onion, sliced in long, thin strips 3 strips of bacon 2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped 1/2 C. liquid from corned beef Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet with a lid, fry the bacon until crisp and remove it from the pan. Add the cabbage, onions, garlic, and some salt and pepper to the pan and stir and toss for a moment or two, then cover for about 2 minutes. Chop the bacon roughly in that time. Then, uncover, add 1/2 cup corned beef liquid and the bacon, stir, and cover the pan again for 3-5 more minutes over medium-low heat. Keep the pan covered and turn off the heat.

Irish

Mashed Potatoes 3 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes 1/2 C. liquid from beef 1/2 C. buttermilk 2 T. butter Salt and pepper to taste

About half an hour before you’re ready to serve the corned beef, place potatoes in a pot of cold salted water and bring to a boil, cooking until fork tender. Drain and place them back into the pan, covered (this will help steam the potatoes). Before serving, combine all ingredients and mash with a masher. Add extra buttermilk as needed to get the proper texture, but keep stiff to stand up to the corned beef broth.

Leprechaun Pie 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1 8-oz. can frozen limeade concentrate 1 8-oz. container frozen whipped topping 3 to 4 drops green food coloring 1 prepared graham cracker crust or baked pie shell

Thoroughly blend together the sweetened condensed milk and the frozen limeade concentrate. Fold in the whipped topping, adding green food coloring a few drops at a time until desired hue is attained. Pour the filling into the prepared graham cracker pie shell. Garnish pie with dollops of whipped topping and lime slices, too, if desired. Refrigerate for about 2 hours prior to serving.