Top O’ the Morning to Ya ☘

:shamrock: :shamrock: :shamrock: :shamrock: Have an awesome day! :shamrock: :shamrock: :shamrock: :shamrock:

Enjoy your corned beef and green beer (if you partake).

Around 11 ish, I’ll be putting on a corned beef with some potatoes, carrots and cabbage at the ready :smiley:

I’m almost more excited for a Reuben sandwich tomorrow :wink:

I baked Soda bread yesterday from scratch. It’s delish. :heart:

What’s on your menu??

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As the Resident Irish… we don’t do any of that.
I’m mostly alcohol-free these days - but might have a tipple later.

Dinner will probably be my chicken/bacon/chorizo pasta carbonara.

Other than that - I don’t venture out on this day - too many drunken idiots.
Yes, we gave out stink about that SNL skit the other day - but today that skit becomes a reality.

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Sounds delish - I’ve never cooked corned beef. :joy:

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I haven’t watched SNL is so long, I have no clue what goes on these days.

I don’t go out either … you haven’t seen drunken idiots until St. Patrick’s day rolls around :wink: I sooo do not enjoy being around that. I’m much happier at home and celebrating my partial Irish heritage with a good meal.

The way I make corned beef is to slow cook it for a few hours then add peeled potatoes, a couple good size carrots and a good sized onion sliced into chunks and quarter a small cabbage and add it to the brew. Then cook long enough until all is tender.
Then it’s served with butter for the veg and a sprinkle of vinegar. It brings out the flavor delightfully. Oh and of course a slice of soda bread :slight_smile:

If you have cabbage and potatoes you could make Colcannon. Easy enough, take some left over potato and cabbage and mash them together with some butter and milk (real butter and real milk - not spreads or skimmed milk etc)

I make stew all the time - I guess you can call it Irish Stew

I would slow cook the beef for about 8 hours (in a slow cooker).
This is stewed in home made soup, so I would make the soup from scratch using oxtail - as I don’t like buying packets of anything - too much salt in them.

Then for the last 4 hours I add peeled spuds, carrots, parsnips, shallots.
Then the last 30 minutes I would add some peas.

Another one is Coddle
Many people like this as you add pork sausages which don’t brown when you stew them - so they are pale - but they are very delicious in a coddle.

And ya gottsa make Dumplings! Very easy to do, self raising flour, water, salt, pepper.

Another good use for left over potatoes is Boxty.
Very easy to make and healthy and delicious.

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An old Irish rhyme is: “Boxty on the griddle; boxty on the pan. If you can’t make boxty, you’ll never get a man!”

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I’ve made that many times over the years. It’s one of my favorites :slight_smile:

I’m going to have to try Coddle and Boxty :smiley:

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I and my wife are going to be honeymooning in Northern Ireland between the 16th and 28th of April this year. She’s went to Ireland (Republic of) a few years back. Her dream is to be there on St Patrick’s Day sometime.

Edit: I should probably mention I’ve never travelled internationally in my life, so it’s going to be… interesting.

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I went to my mom’s house for a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner last night. She opted to cook it yesterday knowing that my wife, who could take it or leave it, works late on Thursday nights.

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Congratulations!! :heart::heart:

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You all haven’t met drunken idiots if you haven’t spent St. Patrick’s Day in Boston, MA.
March 17 is also Evacuation Day, a holiday celebrated in Boston with school closings and free parking meters. This year it is on a Friday!

So, add a 3-day weekend into the mix capped with a huge parade on Sunday and you have the makings of one city-wide hangover on Monday, LOL!

Silly me, I went into Boston yesterday, but early enough in the day that the college students were still out walking to the pubs they were going to crawl… Lots o’ sparkly green clothing and headwear out there!

I don’t cook anything special for St. Patricks day. But there is a Steampunk concert I’m watching tonight online and we’re having caramel corn. :slight_smile:

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Thanks Kat. We’re still in panic-mode (aka - planning trip/making hotel bookings/etc)

I am not especially eager to spend 2 weeks trying to override muscle memory while driving right hand on the left side of the road.

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It’s ok - you’ll fit right in up the North.

@Smurf2, Irish history is far from my strongest subject, so pardon if I ask anything that touches a nerve, but are there still ‘neighborly tensions’ between the Republic and Northern Ireland? Hoping to learn more about all that while we’re there.

For some, there is, not so much these days. But you’ll always have certain types of claiming.

The border is open so you can drive freely from North to South. It’s just we use Euros down here.

There are very few issues these days.

This should cast a rather hilarious backdrop, even to the present situation.

@WheresMyCoffee

Interstingly enough, this was a suggested video on YT today.

accurate enough.

Some counties/towns close to the border take both sterling and euro.

In Belfast they have the Titantic exhibit which is worth going to.
You have the Giants Causeway - amazing to see.
Game of Thrones was filmed in around some parts.

Lots of interesting sites and things to do.

We’re planning on hitting Giants Causeway, along with various paths/walks/hikes along the northern coast. Booked the Gobbin’s cliff path as well, close to Belfast. We might have to try and squeeze in the Titanic museum while we’re in Belfast.

My wife and I aren’t especially great fans of GoT, but there are a couple filming locations that we’ll probably stop at - Dark Hedges and one I found just last night along the eastern coast drive, a small cave by the seaside.

My wife is a great fan of Derry Girls though, so of course we have to spend at least a couple days in Derry/Londonderry touring those filming locations.

Pity didn’t hear you were coming sooner - there’s a famous chef who has a lovely restaurant in Cavan - it’s absoltuely amazing - waiting list is 2 years though ha ha.

I’m on it for the last year and a bit.