Thread: Cook Anything Special Today (Besides C. Beef & Cabbage)?

"Judy Haffner" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
>
> Wondering if anyone is making special dishes today, besides of course,
> the traditional corned beef & cabbage? I'm actually surprised at how
> many people tell me they've never cared for it, and never cook it.

Why does that surprise you? It's disgusting and untasty, and not
particularly Irish. It's more something Irish-Americans immigrants would
prepare, though from what "tradition" I have no idea. The ingredients were
probably cheap and handy.

I made chicken lo mein for dinner.

On Sat, 17 Mar 2012 15:33:41 -0800, [email protected] (Judy Haffner)
wrote:

> Wondering if anyone is making special dishes today, besides of course,
> the traditional corned beef & cabbage?

I haven't made anything. This is the first time that I can remember
not making corned beef for the 17th. I don't eat it very often and
love hash made with the leftovers, so I always try to get twice as
much as I think I'm going to need. For lunch, I reheated a white bean
stew that I made a couple of days ago and we had an early dinner at a
Mexican restaurant. My nod to the 17th was wearing a shamrock
necklace that lights up (3 different modes, no less).

Now I'm on the lookout for a light-up necklace with pastel Easter eggs
for Easter.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 3/17/2012 1:33 PM, Judy Haffner wrote:
>
> Wondering if anyone is making special dishes today, besides of course,
> the traditional corned beef& cabbage? I'm actually surprised at how
> many people tell me they've never cared for it, and never fix it. We had
> it a few days ago, so had our fill of it, but are going out to eat
> tonight, where they have a special menu just for St. Patrick's Day. I am
> looking forward to their Shepherd's Pie, as have had it there before,
> and it's really good.
>
> Yesterday I made shamrock shaped cut out cookies and decorated them,
> before our one granddaughter left to go back to college, after being
> home on spring break this week. Tomorrow the family will be here in the
> afternoon, as always are on Sundays, so am making Pistachio Cinnamon
> Swirl Bread and also Pistachio Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for
> then.
>
> Hope everyone here is having a happy St. Patrick's Day and may the luck
> o' the Irish be yours!<
>
> Judy
>

I bought a corned beef plate lunch today. It was pretty good. The guy
behind the counter said that he made it as an afterthought. He said he
cooked it in the oven for 3 hours but it sure looked like it was boiled,
not roasted. Most times when I ask cooks how they prepare their foods, I
end up feeling like they're sandbagging me. That's the breaks.

Judy Haffner wrote:
>
> Wondering if anyone is making special dishes today, besides of course,
> the traditional corned beef & cabbage? I'm actually surprised at how
> many people tell me they've never cared for it, and never fix it. We had
> it a few days ago, so had our fill of it, but are going out to eat
> tonight, where they have a special menu just for St. Patrick's Day. I am
> looking forward to their Shepherd's Pie, as have had it there before,
> and it's really good.
>
> Yesterday I made shamrock shaped cut out cookies and decorated them,
> before our one granddaughter left to go back to college, after being
> home on spring break this week. Tomorrow the family will be here in the
> afternoon, as always are on Sundays, so am making Pistachio Cinnamon
> Swirl Bread and also Pistachio Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for
> then.
>
> Hope everyone here is having a happy St. Patrick's Day and may the luck
> o' the Irish be yours! <
>
> Judy

No corned beef and cabbage, at least not the boiled kind. I baked some
corned beef, then sliced it and went straight to reubens.

On 3/17/2012 10:01 PM, news wrote:
> "Judy Haffner"<[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]..
>>
>> Wondering if anyone is making special dishes today, besides of course,
>> the traditional corned beef& cabbage? I'm actually surprised at how
>> many people tell me they've never cared for it, and never cook it.
>
> Why does that surprise you? It's disgusting and untasty, and not
> particularly Irish. It's more something Irish-Americans immigrants would
> prepare, though from what "tradition" I have no idea. The ingredients were
> probably cheap and handy.
>
> I made chicken lo mein for dinner.
>
>

Even today it can make a very inexpensive tasty meal. The grocery
stores sell both corned beef brisket and cabbage very cheap on St
Paddy's day. Why not make it? Unless you just don't like it. I do.

News wrote:

>Why does that surprise you? It's
> disgusting and untasty, and not
> particularly Irish. It's more something
> Irish-Americans immigrants would
> prepare, though from what "tradition" I
> have no idea. The ingredients were
> probably cheap and handy.

You think corned beef and veggies are disgusting and untasty? Seems
strange to me that you would use such strong descriptive words to
describe the dish, that is very popular on St. Pat's Day. Some say they
don't "like it", but aren't so adamant about it.

You are right, it's not particularly Irish, and I don't think it even
originated there, nor do they celebrate the holiday by cooking it. That
is more an American "thing". There is nothing that cheap about corned
beef, although probably it was on sale in all stores this week, along
with the cabbage.

>I made chicken lo mein for dinner.

Well, that sounds good too...I really like that.

Judy

sf wrote:

>I haven't made anything. This is the first
> time that I can remember not making
> corned beef for the 17th. I don't eat it
> very often and love hash made with the
> leftovers, so I always try to get twice as
> much as I think I'm going to need. For
> lunch, I reheated a white bean stew that
> I made a couple of days ago and we had
> an early dinner at a Mexican restaurant.
> My nod to the 17th was wearing a
> shamrock necklace that lights up (3
> different modes, no less).

Hubby is usually the one that fixes the corned beef & cabbage, but he
couldn't wait, so we had it several days ago. I also like corned beef
hash.

Your lighted necklace sounds interesting! I have Christmas earrings
that light up. I did wear my dangly shamrock earrings today, and of
course was dressed all in green, as I sure didn't want to take a chance
on getting pinched! ;-)

Judy

On Sat, 17 Mar 2012 21:26:45 -0800, [email protected] (Judy Haffner) wrote:

>
>News wrote:
>
>>Why does that surprise you? It's
>> disgusting and untasty, and not
>> particularly Irish. It's more something
>> Irish-Americans immigrants would
>> prepare, though from what "tradition" I
>> have no idea. The ingredients were
>> probably cheap and handy.
>
>You think corned beef and veggies are disgusting and untasty? Seems
>strange to me that you would use such strong descriptive words to
>describe the dish, that is very popular on St. Pat's Day. Some say they
>don't "like it", but aren't so adamant about it.
>
>You are right, it's not particularly Irish, and I don't think it even
>originated there, nor do they celebrate the holiday by cooking it. That
>is more an American "thing". There is nothing that cheap about corned
>beef, although probably it was on sale in all stores this week, along
>with the cabbage.

While corned beef isn't cheap NOW, in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was.

Ships, without refrigeration, has brined meat (corned beef and others)
that were kept for the west-bound trips, then given away or sold cheaply
before heading back east (east-bound trips were MUCH shorter travel time).

Poor people took those meats offered, and they became part of the culture.
Mostly Irish and Jewish cultures.

I LOVE corned beef, and would choose it over pretty much anything except
prime rib for every meal, if I HAD to chose one meat!

[email protected] (Judy Haffner) wrote:
-snip-
>
>You are right, it's not particularly Irish, and I don't think it even
>originated there, nor do they celebrate the holiday by cooking it. That
>is more an American "thing".

That's what I'm celebrating; Irish-*Americans*. [when I get to it--
maybe Monday. . ] Had my Minehans and O'hanlons stayed in Ireland
they might never have met. nor my Lords and Sullivans. . . And
it's a pretty sure bet that my wife's Nelson would never have found
Maria Campbell of Scotland had he stayed in Ireland. . . nor Mr.
Collins found his bride whose family lived in NY.

>There is nothing that cheap about corned
>beef, although probably it was on sale in all stores this week, along
>with the cabbage.

Exactly-- I love to buy what's cheap-- and *last week* corned beef was
cheap.

>
>>I made chicken lo mein for dinner.

I'm going to make Irish sushi for today-- wasabi and carrot ginger
sauce ought to give it an Irish enough look, eh?

Jim

Jim Elbrecht wrote:
>
> [email protected] (Judy Haffner) wrote:
> >>I made chicken lo mein for dinner.
>
> I'm going to make Irish sushi for today-- wasabi and carrot ginger
> sauce ought to give it an Irish enough look, eh?

I'm going to make some spring rolls today. I made a batch last year and it
turned out good but I've lost my recipe. I looked at a few recipes via
googling and have the basic idea again.

I remember last year using rice, chicken, and a few other veggies (but not
cabbage) then added a chinese sauce to it.

The sauce was something like soy sauce, garlic, vinegar, sesame oil and a
nip of sugar.

So I'm starting from scratch again this time. I'm sure it will turn out fine
regardless.

One question: one lumpia recipe (from the phillipines) they say to use
ground beef.
Here's the recipe that I'm going to use as a guideline.

http://stylezink.hubpages.com/hub/Lu...pino-Egg-Rolls

Sounds a bit plain to me though? I'm not sure if ground beef will be all
that good? My chicken one's were good. I'm even thinking about using rice
vs meat here. And I am going to add some cabbage and probably that sauce
that I mentioned above.

Any opinions before I make this? It will be a few hours still so I'll check
before I start.

Regardless, I'll write down what I do and report back whether it was good or
not.

Gary

On 3/17/2012 11:38 PM, Cheryl wrote:
> On 3/17/2012 10:01 PM, news wrote:

>> Why does that surprise you? It's disgusting and untasty, and not
>> particularly Irish. It's more something Irish-Americans immigrants would
>> prepare, though from what "tradition" I have no idea. The ingredients
>> were
>> probably cheap and handy.
>>
>> I made chicken lo mein for dinner.
>>
>>
>
> Even today it can make a very inexpensive tasty meal. The grocery stores
> sell both corned beef brisket and cabbage very cheap on St Paddy's day.
> Why not make it? Unless you just don't like it. I do.

Mine came out really great yesterday, I do Dimitri's method of
finishing it off in the oven with mustard and brown sugar. The
brisket was perfect, I got if from Costco.

I always think I'll pick up some corned beef briskets for cheap
after St. Paddy's Day but it's never on sale around here!

nancy

On 3/18/2012 9:14 AM, Nancy Young wrote:
> On 3/17/2012 11:38 PM, Cheryl wrote:
>> On 3/17/2012 10:01 PM, news wrote:
>
>>> Why does that surprise you? It's disgusting and untasty, and not
>>> particularly Irish. It's more something Irish-Americans immigrants would
>>> prepare, though from what "tradition" I have no idea. The ingredients
>>> were
>>> probably cheap and handy.
>>>
>>> I made chicken lo mein for dinner.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Even today it can make a very inexpensive tasty meal. The grocery stores
>> sell both corned beef brisket and cabbage very cheap on St Paddy's day.
>> Why not make it? Unless you just don't like it. I do.
>
> Mine came out really great yesterday, I do Dimitri's method of
> finishing it off in the oven with mustard and brown sugar. The
> brisket was perfect, I got if from Costco.
>
> I always think I'll pick up some corned beef briskets for cheap
> after St. Paddy's Day but it's never on sale around here!
>
> nancy
>

One local regional market had it on sale last week for $0.99/lb and
green cabbage for $0.07/lb.

On 3/18/2012 9:46 AM, George wrote:
> On 3/18/2012 9:14 AM, Nancy Young wrote:

>> I always think I'll pick up some corned beef briskets for cheap
>> after St. Paddy's Day but it's never on sale around here!

> One local regional market had it on sale last week for $0.99/lb and
> green cabbage for $0.07/lb.

Geez, I never see anything like that in my local stores. I
would definitely grab some for the freezer.

nancy

George wrote:
>
> On 3/18/2012 9:14 AM, Nancy Young wrote:
> > On 3/17/2012 11:38 PM, Cheryl wrote:
> >> On 3/17/2012 10:01 PM, news wrote:
> >
> >>> Why does that surprise you? It's disgusting and untasty, and not
> >>> particularly Irish. It's more something Irish-Americans immigrants would
> >>> prepare, though from what "tradition" I have no idea. The ingredients
> >>> were
> >>> probably cheap and handy.
> >>>
> >>> I made chicken lo mein for dinner.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >> Even today it can make a very inexpensive tasty meal. The grocery stores
> >> sell both corned beef brisket and cabbage very cheap on St Paddy's day.
> >> Why not make it? Unless you just don't like it. I do.
> >
> > Mine came out really great yesterday, I do Dimitri's method of
> > finishing it off in the oven with mustard and brown sugar. The
> > brisket was perfect, I got if from Costco.
> >
> > I always think I'll pick up some corned beef briskets for cheap
> > after St. Paddy's Day but it's never on sale around here!
> >
> > nancy
> >
>
> One local regional market had it on sale last week for $0.99/lb and
> green cabbage for $0.07/lb.

Ummmm...cabbage for 7 cents a pound? Yeah right! I don't think so! :-O
I got a good deal yesterday at $0.33 per pound.

Gary

Gary

On Sun, 18 Mar 2012 09:14:42 -0400, Nancy Young wrote:

> I always think I'll pick up some corned beef briskets for cheap
> after St. Paddy's Day but it's never on sale around here!

Corned beef rarely goes on sale afterwards because it has a 2-3 month
shelf life. Look for it in May in stores that charged the customary
$4/lb rather than the ones that put it on sale (lowest price here was
$2.28/lb at Randall's/Safeway).

-sw

On Sun, 18 Mar 2012 09:46:42 -0400, George wrote:

> One local regional market had it on sale last week for $0.99/lb and
> green cabbage for $0.07/lb.

That's a huge loss leader considering market price for raw, unbrined
brisket is $2.18/lb right now.

-sw

On Sat, 17 Mar 2012 21:31:20 -0800, [email protected] (Judy Haffner)
wrote:

> I did wear my dangly shamrock earrings today, and of
> course was dressed all in green, as I sure didn't want to take a chance
> on getting pinched! ;-)

It was raining yesterday when I left the house and as luck would have
it, my all-weather coat is green. It's an olive green, but hey - any
shade of green counts on the 17th.

Hopefully I'll find a couple of corned beef roasts in the mark down
bin this week, so I can make some anyway. Better late than never!
Come to think of it - corned beef wasn't prominently displayed when I
shopped last week, so that must be why I didn't even think about it
until too late.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

Gary, I have never made spring rolls, but my oldest daughter makes
really good ones, and she got the recipe from a Japanese lady that she
worked with, and since she knows I love them, she makes me some for my
birthday, Mother's Day and sometimes Christmas every year, as I'd rather
have them than any gift she could buy me in a store.

This is the recipe, but I think she's "tweaked" it over the years too,
so this may not be exact, as to the ingredients she uses anymore, but is
basic anyway.

24 egg roll skins
fresh ground pork (not sausage, and doesn't say how much)
1 large carrot, grated
8 oz. Chinese cabbage, shredded (about 1/2 head)
2 bunches little green onions, chopped
1 can water chestnuts, finely chopped
3 tbsp. dry sherry wine
1-1/2 tbsp. grated pared fresh ginger root
1 tsp. sugar
1-1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 handful raisins (if desired) but I don't recall her ever using them?
1/4 c. cold water
1-1/2 tbsp. cornstarch

Brown pork and put in a mixing bowl. Using sharp knife (or food
processor) finely chop water chestnuts, onions and cabbage. Mix with
sherry wine, soy sauce, ginger, sugar and raisins, if using.

Mix sugar and water in a small bowl until blended. Place about 1/4 cup
of the pork mixture evenly across a corner of each wrapper. With pastry
brush, apply cornstarch mixture evenly over all edges of wrappers.
Carefully roll wrappers around filling, folding in corners. Fry in hot
peanut oil; drain.

Judy

Judy Haffner wrote:
>
> Gary, I have never made spring rolls, but my oldest daughter makes
> really good ones, and she got the recipe from a Japanese lady that she
> worked with, and since she knows I love them, she makes me some for my
> birthday, Mother's Day and sometimes Christmas every year, as I'd rather
> have them than any gift she could buy me in a store.
>
> This is the recipe, but I think she's "tweaked" it over the years too,

<snip>

Thank you so much, Judy! Mine turned out well yesterday even though I did
forget one important ingredient....ginger. Rather than run back to the
store, I just made them without. They are very good but that ginger would
have made them better.

I've saved your tried and true recipe and will do that exactly next time.

Gary