Let’s Eat: Serve up a shamrockin’ St. Patrick’s Day meal

By Heidi Sutton

This recipe for corned beef and cabbage is a great pick for St. Patrick’s Day. Use your slow cooker to simmer this traditional one-pot Irish meal and you and your family will be sitting down to a delicious meal 8 hours later. Serve with a savory Irish cheese soda bread and leave room for mint chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

INGREDIENTS:

8 small red potatoes

2 cups baby carrots

1 small onion, quartered

1 corned beef brisket (4 pounds), rinsed and trimmed

2 tablespoons mixed pickling spice

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 head cabbage, cored and cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS: 

Place potatoes, carrots and onion in slow cooker. Place corned beef brisket over vegetables. Sprinkle with pickling spice and minced garlic. Add enough water (about 8 cups) to just cover meat. Cover. Cook 7 hours on high. Add cabbage. Cover. Cook 1 to 2 hours on high or until cabbage is tender-crisp. Remove corned beef brisket to serving platter. Slice thinly across grain. Serve with vegetables and Irish soda bread.

Savory Irish Cheese Soda Bread

YIELD: Makes 1 loaf

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons caraway seed

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

1/2 cup shredded Irish Cheddar cheese

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

DIRECTIONS: 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and seasonings in large bowl. Stir in cheese. Set aside. Mix eggs and buttermilk in medium bowl. Add to dry ingredients; stir until well blended. Spread in lightly grease 9-inch round cake pan. Bake 30–40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

YIELD: Makes 36 cookies

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1–1 1/2 teaspoons green food color

1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS: 

Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, food color and peppermint extract; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by heaping tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 10–12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.