St. Patrick's Day In My Corner Of Southeast Texas!

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I think I landed in Texas when I was about three years old. Don't remember much about that time. My family used to tell me the stories though.

My mother says I was conceived in Hawaii. My father was a Marine pilot from Ohio or thereabouts. My mother was from good old southeast Texas. I never paid attention to where or how they met. Before I was born, my mother and father moved to Miami Beach, Florida. My father was a Sullivan from Irish decent. Nothing doing but that the first born was to be a Patrick or Patricia. A girl, Ta Da!

At some point we migrated to one of the Carolinas where my brother was born.

My father was either wanting his old family name preserved in his children or he had a really perverse streak of humor. Both my brother and I have the middle name (or initial as it is) of 'O. Trying to get it to O'Sullivan you see.

Divorce happened and my mother, brother and I ended up in Texas with my grandparents.

I really never heard many stories about my father. That is one thing different from today's divorced couples. I didn't see him, no one spoke bad of him, nor did they speak of him much at all.

The stories I had heard was that he had a horrid sense of direction in his driving abilities. I have inherited that trait! I heard that he loved to clown around. I married a jokester too one time. And I heard that he and his brother (who and where I don't know) would dye their hair green and drink green beer on St. Patrick's Day. I haven't tried the dye thing and don't think I ever will on purpose.

In my southeast Texas family's schedule, St. Patrick's Day wasn't a really big celebration. We did have corned beef, potatoes of some kind, cornbread or potato rolls (which I love) but no green hair or beer of any color. That last part has changed now that I'm old enough and have my own household.

So let me dig in my recipe boxes and give you some of the St. Patrick's Day recipes from the past that I use still in the present. Remember, I have gathered these from absolutely everywhere, written them on index cards and have almost no notations of when or where or from whom I received them.

Irish Stew - everyone on the www or cookbooks will have articles on this. Believe it or not, I don't even have an index card named this! I don't think my family ever really called it stew. We called the dish goulash. Goulash was a winter dish without necessarily being tied to a holiday.

Reuben Casserole: 6 servings
32 oz of canned sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 c mayonnaise
12 oz can corned beef, flaked with fork
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 T mustard
1 c shredded Swiss cheese
3 slices Pumpernickel bread, cut into small cubes
1 tomato, cut into wedges

Spread sauerkraut in the bottom of a 2 qt rectangular baking dish and sprinkle with caraway seeds. Crumble corned beef and sprinkle over the top of casserole.

Mix mayonnaise with mustard and curry powder; spread on the top. Sprinkle bread cubes and cheese over the top.

Cover and heat on medium heat or power in oven or microwave until warm through and cheese is melted. Arrange tomato wedges on top; cover and return to heat source until steaming.

Irish Soda Bread: I tend to favor yeast breads over those with soda, thus I am not overly fond of this type bread and do not make it. Sorry, but that's the way I cook!

Potato Ice Box Rolls: I just have to have this as one of my St. Patrick's Day recipes!
1 c milk, scalded
1 c hot mashed potatoes
1/2 c shortening
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp salt
1 yeast cake
1/2 c lukewarm water
2 eggs, beaten
5 to 6 c flour

Mix scalded milk, potatoes, shortening, sugar and salt. Let stand until lukewarm. Soften yeast in water; add to beaten eggs. Add egg mixture to lukewarm milk and potato mixture; add 1 1/2 c flour and beat well. Let this sponge mixture stand, covered, in a warm place for 1 hour or until full of bubbles. Stir in 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 c flour, making dough fairly stiff. Kneed until smooth. Return to greased bowl; grease top of dough and chill in refrigerator.

Shape into rolls. Place in greased pans and allow to rise. Bake at 325 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

Potato Pancakes: Start your morning in an Irish frame of mind!!
1 egg
1 c cold mashed potatoes
1/2 c milk
2 T oil
2 c Bisquick or like baking mix
Syrup or Jelly

Beat egg, potatoes, milk and oil until smooth. Stir in baking mix. Drop by Tablespoons onto hot griddle. Serve hot with syrup and your favorite sides.

Irish Coffee: Never had this in our household while I was growing up. I don't make it now. I like my coffee hot and black and my whiskey with a little water and ice.

Speaking of whiskey, Irish Whiskey is a distinct tradition. You'd have to investigate through others as to the brand names, qualities, etc. I'm a Jack Daniels Black Label gal. So there.

I have a friend that was experimenting with making homemade Irish cream as in Bailey's. She had promised to give me her perfected recipe once quite right. Either she abandoned her efforts, forgot me or never got it to that 'quite right' stage. I have found a recipe on the big www though and you can too. I have not tried to make it though. (Those that know Sandy Winn, give her a hard time for me! Hey Sandy, I've put you on the www twice now!)

Corned Beef and Cabbage: Another believe it or not - I don't have an index card on this one either. Guess I just make it like I want. That being said, I will tell you how I usually do this, sometimes with minor variations.

Corned beef roast
1 medium onion, chopped medium size
Salt and pepper to taste
1 medium cabbage, cut in wedges
2 large Irish potatoes, cubed in large chunks
Beef broth

In casserole dish place corned beef roast generously rubbed with salt and pepper. Pour at least a 1/2 inch of broth into the pan without disturbing the seasonings on the roast. Arrange potatoes, onion and cabbage around and on top of the roast. Cover. Cook a little longer than the corned beef wrapper dictates. The potatoes need to be tender. Let your guests decide whether they want to incorporate mustard, horseradish sauce or cider vinegar with their meat. Make it available in any case. Um, um good.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Salad: This is really good. If you're not expecting to have a crowd over for the holiday, it's a perfect meal. Perfect too with the leftovers from the big meal.
3 medium potatoes, cooked and sliced 1/4 inch thick.
1/4 c sliced green onions
1/2 c dill pickles, chopped
2 c shredded cabbage
12 oz can corned beef, diced or 2 c diced leftover corned beef
Oil and vinegar salad dressing or make your own (see below)
Cider vinegar

Place potatoes in bottom of a wide shallow bowl. Lightly sprinkle with salt, pepper and a dab of vinegar. Add green onions, pickles, cabbage and corned beef. Add dressing to your taste and toss. Allow those eating to determine whether they'd like to add a dab of mustard or horseradish sauce to their salad.

This is good with the potato rolls, Pumpernickel or rye bread and hot vegetable soup.

Make your own dressing: In a jar type container with lid, add 1 T Dijon-style mustard, 1/4 c vegetable oil, 3 T cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. With lid on the container, shake to blend and use immediately or refrigerate but only for a couple of days.

Horseradish Sauce: There are many very different variations of this type recipe depending on your taste, ranging from hot sour to hot sweet. I prefer the off the shelf type myself and will add a dab of this or that to it if I choose.

I really hope you enjoy feasting on, if not just reading, my family's versions of Irish fare.

Happy St. Patrick's Day and may the luck be with you always.

Patt Barrington, nee Patricia O' Sullivan

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