Friday Feature St. Patrick’s Day History and Meal
If you have been looking at the calendar this week you already know that March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day. Sometimes called St. Paddy’s Day, a day when everyone adopts some form of Irish spirit.
If you actually have, some Irish background in your heritage, lucky you! For those who don’t, we plan on sharing a few things we’ve learned about the day which started out as a religious feast day and has become a day celebrated around the world. Often with large amounts of green beer and whisky shooters.
St. Patrick’s Day observes of the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland and its national apostle. The holiday has evolved into a celebration of Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, drinking and a whole lot of green.
Saint Patrick lived during the fifth century. Born in Roman Britain he was captured by slave traders at the age of 16 and brought to Ireland to be a shepherd. Six years later he escaped. While imprisoned, though, he had become a devout Christian. Claiming to have had visions from God, telling him to go back to Ireland and spread the gospel, he spent the next twenty years preaching and teaching in Ireland. By establishing schools, churches and monasteries throughout the country he is credited with bringing Christianity to the Irish people.
Following Patrick’s death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became entrenched in Irish culture. For example, he drove the snakes out of Ireland and used the shamrock to explain the Trinity.
His explanation of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock 
is probably the most well known within Christianity. The literal translation of shamrock is “seamrog” and means “summer plant.” The plant grows lush in Irish fields during the spring and summer.
To many nothing says St. Patrick’s Day like a delicious feast of corned beef and cabbage. The following is a traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal, from a dear friend and cookbook author Sloane Taylor, that most North Americans will enjoy.
Corned Beef
1 5lb. corned beef brisket*
2 med. onions, peeled and quartered
4 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
3 bottles of beer, not Lite
water to cover
Preheat oven to 300 F°.
Place beef in a Dutch oven. Add remaining ingredients, including spice packet that comes with the beef.
Bring to a boil on stovetop. Place in oven and roast for 3 hours or until meat is fork tender.
*Don’t stint on the beef. It cooks down to approximately half. I learned this lesson the hard way.
Here’s a tip from my butcher Raoul. Always buy corned beef flat cut. It has less fat than the point. Therefore you get more meat for your money.
Vegetables6 med. red potatoes, peeled and quartered
6 carrots, scraped and cut into 2″ pieces
1 celery stalk, cut into 2″ pieces
1 med. green cabbage, cut into 8 wedges
1 cup corned beef cooking liquid
water
You can prep all the veggies and store in a large container covered by cold water until you’re ready to cook them. Refrigerate so vegetables remain crisp.
Place veggies in a large pot. Stir in corned beef cooking liquid. Add water to cover vegetables by 2 inches. Cover pot. Set cooking temp at medium. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat so the pot doesn’t cook over, but maintain a soft boil. Cook about 30 minutes or until veggies are fork tender.
{For more recipes from Sloane Taylor visit her website .}After you’ve enjoyed your green beer and corned beef, settle into a comfy chair and check out our books on our book page, under the menu at the top of the page or on our Amazon Author Page
