Mel's Memories and Meanderings for St. Patrick's Day

Cead Mile Failte (100,000 Welcomes) friends and family,

We are fast approaching one of my favorite days to celebrate, St. Patrick’s Day! As many of you know I have Irish blood running through my veins and I truly feel blessed to be of such strong stock. Besides I love potatoes and this gives me a good excuse to enjoy them quite often. Hmm! Now I just need to figure out how to get roots in Italy so I can enjoy more pasta.

Contrary to popular belief Corned Beef and Cabbage are not a traditional Irish meal consumed for St. Patrick’s Day.  In Ireland the meal would have been Irish Bacon (or Rashers) and Cabbage that would be boiled together. It is said in Ireland that the only thing they don’t eat from the pig is its grunt. There is even a town named "Circubbin" after the pig trotters or pigs feet. Beef was imported to America during the early years in Ireland. Also beef in Ireland was very expensive and eaten mostly by the English land owners. The Irish people themself very rarely ate beef. If a family owned a cow it was primarily used for dairy products, milk, cheese, and butter. The only time a cow would have been butchered is when it was past its prime and no longer of use as a Dairy cow.  Corned Beef and Cabbage is actually an Irish-American dish that was consumed by the Irish in America.

During the great Potato Famine when the Irish left Ireland in droves and came to America they soon discovered it was cheaper to buy the corned and brined beef than the pork. Being that the Irish had very little when they first arrived in America to survive they started boiling the cabbage with the corned beef. People began to associate the Irish with Corned Beef and Cabbage. In later years when some of the Irish returned to their home country they continued to eat the Corned Beef and Cabbage as beef had become cheaper and easily obtained by that time period.  Therefore it was presumed that Corned Beef and Cabbage was an Irish tradition. A meal that would have been a tradition for St. Patrick’s Day would have been Irish stew made of Mutton (Lamb), Potatoes, onion and carrots. Topped off by some Irish Soda Bread used to soak up the juices from the stew. And of course we must not forget a little Guinness for which to wash all of this down. (Pionta Guiness, le do thoil!) A pint of Guiness, please!

There are several websites that sell traditional Irish fare such as Bacon (Rashers), Bangors (sausages), Biscuits (Cookies) Crisps (Chips), Kerrygold butter and cheeses, etc. http://www.Foodireland.com is one I have purchased from in the past. Many of you might be surprised to know that one of our favorite Easter Chocolates is made in Ireland, Cadburys’ and they have a variety of treats unknown to us here in America.  Cadbury Flakes and Crunchies that you will certainly have to try as they are a favorite among Irish children.  Also when in Ireland my brother and I quite enjoyed a few bags of Tayto brand Crisps while cruising around the Irish countryside.

One such tradition is the “Drowning or Wetting of the Shamrock” that takes place on St. Patrick’s Day in many an Irish pub.  St. Patrick’s Day falls right smack in the middle of Lent and we all know that Lent is associated with fasting and the practice of restraint. On March 17^th in Ireland the Lenten rule is gently put aside for that one day as many men make a pilgrimage to their local pub to down what is called the pota Padraig or Patrick’s pot. It is actually a pot filled with Irish whiskey that is downed throughout the day. At the end of the day when the pub is ready to close a sprig of Shamrock will be submerged in a glass of whiskey and then flung over the left shoulder for good luck. (Ca’ mbeidh tu’ ag fliuchadh na seamr’oige?) Where will you be wetting the Shamrock?

In many places in Ireland pubs had to remain closed on St. Patrick’s Day and this was a tradition until the 1970’s. Also the serving of Green Beer is only observed in America and until recently was not found in Ireland. Now a few of the pubs in Dublin city have begun to serve green beer to their customers as many Americans come to Ireland to celebrate.

The wearing of the green is also an American tradition. In Ireland the wearing of the green is when one goes out in the early morning dew and selects a few Shamrock sprigs and gathers them into a tiny bouquet. Then the bouquet is pinned to their lapel for the day in honor of the patron Saint of Ireland. It is after all the shamrock that was used by St. Patrick to teach the people about the Holy Trinity. Patrick used the petals on the shamrock to describe that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements but be of the same entity.

Of course any good Irish man or woman worth their salt would not miss out on an opportunity to have a celebration so parades have been common for many years.  Dublin City and Belfast have huge parades and in America New York has a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day parade. Where ever it is you live you can take a trip to faraway places while never leaving home. A little good food, good music and good company can take you across the pond to the Isle of Erin, better known as Ireland.

It has been known for many years that on St. Patrick’s Day everyone becomes Irish. This year St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Saturday so why not celebrate the holiday in style with the following recipes. Serve your guest some Kerrygold Cheeses such as Blarney Castle or my personal favorite Dubliner along with some brown bread and butter for a snack. These cheeses and butters are available from http://www.kerrygold.com Put on the movie “Quiet Man” with John Wayne and Ireland’s own Maureen O’Hara or some Celtic music and enjoy the day.

Bacon and Boiled Cabbage (serves 4-6)

1 head of cabbage

1 ¼ to 2 pounds of a dry salt-cured, hickory smoked bacon (Smithfield’s has this type available) If not use some slices of smoked ham

Salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons of butter

Directions:

1.      Unwrap the bacon and put in a large Dutch oven full of cold water (I use about a 5 quart stock pot s you will need enough room to put your head of cabbage.)

2.      Bring the bacon to a boil, remove from heat and drain.

3.      Cover the bacon with fresh cold water and let come to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 30 to 50 minutes. (30 minutes for 1 ¼ lb and 50 minutes for 2 lbs.)

4.      While the bacon is simmering clean your head of cabbage by removing the outer leaves. Cut the head of cabbage in half and remove the inner core.

5.      Add the two halves of cabbage to the pot of simmering bacon and let simmer with the bacon during the last 20 minutes of simmering time.

6.      Remove the bacon, chop into small pieces and set aside.

7.      Remove the cabbage, chop into a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.

8.      Add in the chopped bacon, and the 2 teaspoons of butter. Mix well and serve with a side of boiled potatoes and some Irish Soda Bread.

Dolly’s Irish Soda Bread (my mom’s recipe)-makes 2 loaves

Note: I have added my own twist to this traditional bread recipe by using yeast. The traditional recipe makes a heavy dense loaf of bread and I like the lightness the yeast adds to the bread. The Irish would use Brown sugar instead of white sugar in their bread.

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

1 ½ cups of all-purpose white flour (I sometimes use unbleached bread flour as our Irish Ancestors used)

1 ½ tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. of oil

1 egg

2 Tbsp. Sugar

½ cup warm water (between 110 to 116 degrees)

1 package of rapid rise yeast or 2 ½ teaspoons of yeast

1 cup of buttermilk

¾ tsp. of baking soda

½ cup of molasses and honey (mixed)

Directions:

1.      Dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water, whip it up and then set aside to rise (or rope).

2.      In a large bowl, sift together the flour and salt.

3.      Make a well in the center of the flour and salt mixture. In a small bowl mix together the oil, egg, molasses and honey and pour into the well you created in your flour mixture.

4.      Add the yeast, sugar and water mixture to the well in the center of the flour.

5.      Pour the 1 cup of buttermilk into a 4 cup measure and heat for 70 seconds in the microwave.

6.      With the measuring cup of buttermilk close to the bowl of flour add the ¾ teaspoon of Baking soda to the buttermilk and stir. This will foam up so make sure you are holding this over the bowl so any that flows over the top ends up in the flour mixture.

7.      Now thoroughly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients by using your finger and pulling a little of the flour in towards the liquids. Work gently until you have all of the flour and liquid mixed together.

8.      Your dough should be soft but firm enough to form into a ball shape inside of the bowl. If the dough is too soft you may need to add a little extra all-purpose flour.

9.      In another large bowl place a little oil and oil the bowl. Add the ball of dough and turn it over so the dough is covered with the oil

10.  Cover the dough with a cloth and set in a warm place that is free of a cool draft and let the dough rise until it has doubled in size. (Note: I sat mine in a large bowl of warm water.)

11.  When the dough has doubled in size dump it out onto a floured surface. Just so it doesn’t stick to the surface. Separate the dough into two halves and place into oiled bread tins.

12.  Bake @ 375 degrees until brown.

13.  Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes then turn pans upside down and the bread should fall out. Let the bread rest on its side to cool. Once cooled you can slice and serve with Kerrygold Irish butter for a real treat. (Kerrygold is naturally colored and contains no dye but is a deep gold from the fat content. This is caused by the dark green grass that the cows eat in Ireland.)

Until we meet again, I wish a “St. Patrick’s Day Blessing on You!” Beannacthai’ na F’eile P’adraig ort!  Pronounced Ban-ick-tee na fay-lah pawd-rig ort!