In Ireland, St Patrick's day is actually a religious event involving church attendance. For the rest of the world, it is a cultural festival wherever there are Irish emigrants or their descendants, and there are lots of us.
Cynics complain that it's less a cultural festival and more of a drinking festival pushed by the importers of Guinness and whiskey. I'm going to have a Guinness, you go be cynical somewhere else.
And please avoid references to offensive stereotypes about the Irish.
St Pat's has been celebrated in North America since colonial times (Boston 1737, New York 1756, Montreal 1759).
Here in San Francisco the annual parade dates to 1852 and I’ve marched in most of the last 30 of those. [In this photo from the 2007 parade, that's me with the sousaphone at left.] And again today; I probably won’t be home from the parade yet when this posts.
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In honor of the parade, we need some fine Irish-American music. The LTWCMB (the group pictured above) has tried several times to learn this song, always to murder it in performance. After playing it in two different keys, during the parade in front of an audience, we have wisely stopped trying.
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There is really only one Irish-American dish:
Corned Beef and Cabbage. And that has little connection to Ireland, it's really New England cooking, where it's referred to as "boiled dinner".
Although not a traditional Irish meal, it has been an integral part of Irish-American culture and is often related to Irish holidays such as Saint Patrick's Day.
This cultural connection was a recurring joke in the long-running comic strip Bringing Up Father. If you’re under 50 you probably don't remember it. The protagonist Jiggs is a working class Irish immigrant who has achieved success and wealth but
...still wants to keep his old pals, eat corned beef and cabbage... and hang out at the tavern, much to the consternation of his social-climbing wife, Maggie.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
(aka New England Boiled Dinner)
serves 6+, total time about 3 hrs
Over at Food Network Alton Brown tells you how to "corn" the fresh brisket yourself - but you needed to start a week ago, sorry. Most US consumers will get it in a plastic bag at the supermarket. The packer may have included spices, if so don't add any more.
* 2 to 2 1/2 pound Corned Beef Brisket or Round
* 12 oz beer
* 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon ground allspice
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 tsp mustard seed
* 1 tsp coriander seed
* 4 carrots, cut into 2-inch lengths
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 3 large potatoes, peeled if you prefer, cut in wedges
* 3 stalks celery, cut into 2-inch lengths
* 1 head cabbage (approximately 2 pounds), core discarded, cut in wedges
Quantities of everything should be rounded up as desired to ensure plenty of leftovers. If I'm going to cook something that takes 3 hours I want more than one meal out of it! Use the leftover corned beef and potatoes to make Hash, see story and recipe below.
Place the corned beef and spices in a 6-quart or larger pot along with the beer and enough water to cover (2 quarts or so). Cover, bring to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to low and cook at a low simmer for 2 hours.
After 2 hours add the carrots, onions, potatoes and celery. Return to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, add the cabbage and cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes and cabbage are tender. Discard the bay leaves. Slice the meat thinly across the grain.
The essential condiments are horseradish and/or mustard for the meat, and red wine vinegar for the cabbage. I’ve been told the use of vinegar with cabbage here isn’t authentic. My mom liked it that way but her heritage was German not Irish.
Drink beer; lager or pale ale would go well, or of course dry Irish-style Stout. The saltiness of corned beef is a bad match for any kind of wine.
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Leftover corned beef can of course be made into excellent sandwiches. I recommend rye or sourdough bread, plenty of mustard, and no other additives. Kosher dill pickles and beer on the side.
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The other great thing to do with leftover corned beef is make hash. I won’t repeat the recipe here (follow the link), but I will repeat part of the story of my favorite political recipe, Nixon's Farewell Breakfast, from Henry Haller's "White House Family Cookbook".
When Haller arrived for work at 6 a.m., he found President Nixon, clad in pajamas, standing near the kitchen door… He ordered a special breakfast for himself, more substantial than his usual morning meal of wheat germ and coffee. The president asked a butler to serve what was to be his final White House meal in his favorite room, the Lincoln Sitting Room.
When the president finished eating his poached egg and hash, Alexander Haig entered the room, bearing a sheet of paper with a single typed sentence: 'I hereby resign the Office of the President of the United States.' President Nixon signed his resignation, to be delivered at 11:35 a.m. to the American public and the rest of the world."
Thinking of the departure of Nixon always makes me feel good :)
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Another great Irish-American tradition was invented in San Francisco:
Irish Coffee
1.5 oz Irish whiskey
4 oz hot coffee
1 oz lightly whipped cream
Check out the official instructions, with pictures.
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If you feel like trying some real Irish food, this website has lots of Irish recipes including Beef in Guinness, Champ (mashed potatoes with scallions) and Colcannon (Champ plus cabbage).
Erin go Bragh!
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