Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In the spirit of today's world renowned Irish holiday, I wanted to make a traditional Irish dish for dinner.  The first thing that came to mind was the obvious, corned beef and cabbage.  I had never made it before and it's fun to do something a bit different for holidays.  While I'm not eating meat during Lent, I did make an exception in the case, I don't exactly think vegetarian or seafood when I think of Irish cuisine.  Can someone say Dispensation?

Corned beef is not something I would usually cook, or even eat.  It's just not really the style of cuisine that I enjoy.  I did partake in the Irish feast and although it wasn't my favorite and I'll probably never make it any other day of the year, the final word was that is was a very good corned beef.  It's actually pretty easy to make.  Although it takes a few hours to cook, there's isn't much active time on your part.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Ingredients

2 1b. uncooked corned beef brisket

4 cups beef stock

1 bottle of beer

2 tsp black peppercorns

3 cloves of garlic, smashed

2 bay leaves

4 whole cloves

dash of nutmeg

3 sprigs thyme

3 sprigs parsley

2 carrots, cut into chunks

2 onions, quartered

2 potatoes, cubed

1/2 head of cabbage, cut into wedges

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In large pot, add corned beef and all ingredients through parsley.  Cover with water and cover.  Bring to a boil then reduce to low and simmer for about 2 1/2 hours depending on the size of your corned beef until it is tender.

2. Add carrots, onions, and potatoes and cook for 15 minutes.

3. Add cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes. 

4. Remove corned beef and let it rest for 15 minutes.  Slice and serve with horseradish.