St. Patrick’s Day goodies

Enjoy these St. Patrick’s Day goodies. I’ll be seeing you around…Agnes

Corned Beef and Cabbage

4 pounds lean corned beef brisket

1/2 teaspoon rosemary leaves

1 bay leaf

1 large onion, sliced

1 head of cabbage (about 2 pound) cut into quarters

Cover meat with water in a large pot. Boil for 5 minutes. Drain water. Cover meat with fresh water. Add onion, rosemary and bay leaf to the pan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook until meat is very tender, about 3 and 1/2 hours. Remove meat from pan, but keep the stock. Bring stock to a boil, remove herbs and add cabbage wedges and cook until tender. Slice meat and cabbage. If you want to cook potatoes and carrots, add them to the broth, cover and simmer until done and serve along with the corned beef and cabbage.

Horseradish sauce

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1-3/4 cups reserved stock from corned beef

2 tablespoons horseradish

1/4 cup sour cream

1/3 cup chopped parsley

Melt butter and stir in flour. Cook over low heat for one minute, stirring constantly. Whisk in stock and cook until begins to thicken. Remove from heat and whisk in horseradish, sour cream and parsley. Serve warm.

To make sandwiches:

(Use any bread but light rye is the best.)

On a plate, arrange meat, cabbage and slices of Swiss cheese over bread. Serve with hot mustard and/or horseradish sauce.

Irish Soda Bread in a Skillet

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vinegar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the milk and vinegar. Let stand 10 minutes or until curdled. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, salt and baking soda. Stir in the curdled milk until smooth. (You can also add raisins that have been soaked in hot water, drained well and patted dry with paper towels.) Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface and shape into a disc. Place the disc into a greased cast iron skillet. Bake in the preheated oven until the crust feels firm to the touch. Makes 8 servings.

Fried Potato Cakes

2 cups cooked mashed potatoes (don’t use instant)

1 egg

1/4 cup flour

2 teaspoons finely chopped onions

Salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, blend egg and mashed potatoes. Add flour, onions, a dash of salt and pepper and continue mixing. The mixture will be stiff. In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat. Drop tablespoon scoops of the mixture into the oil (coating the spoon in oil helps to keep the mixture from sticking to the spoon). Flatten the cakes and cook until brown. Turn and brown the other side. Drain and serve hot.

Lemon Butter:

(this is great on fish)

Whip a stick of room temperature butter with 2 teaspoons lemon zest, 1 teaspoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon sugar. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Jalapeno Tartar Sauce

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1/4 cup chopped dill pickle

3 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped

2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons chopped jalapeno pepper*

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

2 dashes hot pepper sauce (such as tabasco, red hot, Frank’s, etc.)

Salt to taste

Mix dill pickle, capers, lime juice, jalapeno pepper, parsley, hot pepper sauce and salt together in a bowl. Mix in mayonnaise, cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour before serving. Makes enough for 8 to 12 people.

Recipe for Laughter:

•My personal favorite…God’s Problem Now: His wife’s graveside service was just barely finished when there was a massive clap of thunder, followed by a tremendous bolt of lightning, accompanied by even more thunder rumbling in the distance. The little, old man looked at the pastor and calmly said, “Well, she’s there.”

•When I die, I want my last words to be, “I left a million dollars under the…”

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