Happy St Patrick's Day!

As someone who's totally not Irish in any way, I don't really feel anything special about St. Pat's day, except that it means two things. One, my birthday is in a little over 2 weeks (it was supposed to be today), and two, it's corned beef season!!! I love corned beef. It's my favorite food. When I was younger, I used to always ask for corned beef for my special birthday dinner. Technically, I made New England boiled dinner, which is easy easy easy, and good. Not terribly nutritious, but it could be worse. I could have deep fried it.

New England boiled dinner


3-4 lb corned beef
1 onion, quartered
2 heads garlic, peeled
2 bay leaves
1 t peppercorns
1 T pickling spices (or the packet that came with your corned beef)
4-6 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1" pieces
4-6 red potatoes, halved
1 head of cabbage, cored and cut into eighths

Combine corned beef, onion, garlic, bay, peppercorns, and spices in a large pot. Cover with cold water, bring to a lot boil, cover with a lid, and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook about 3 hours, until it's not too hard to stick a fork into the meat. Add the carrots and potatoes and a little more water if you need to (you shouldn't), cover back up, and cook 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, add the cabbage, cover, and cook another 15 minutes. Done! Serve meat sliced, with vegetables and broth.