Corned Beef Boiled Dinner and Irish Soda Bread
Happy St. Patrick's Day! I made this for dinner tonight, much to Gerry's delight. Both of these recipes come from the Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook, the corned beef somewhat modified, and the the soda bread not.
I'm on my second copy of this cookbook. I got the first copy as a wedding gift from my former husband's grandmother. I wore that copy out, and bought a second copy. It's a good, basic American cookbook that I especially like to use for baking and large cuts of meat. I use it every year for the Thanksgiving turkey! It breaks recipes down into relatively easy-to-follow steps, and includes calorie counts and illustrations. It also lends itself to innovation since it breaks the recipes down into steps and also lists variations. My Corned Beef is something of a hybrid between the New England Boiled Dinner and the Corned Beef with Cabbage, although the choice of vegetables is my own.
Corned Beef Boiled Dinner
3-4 lb. corned beef brisket, flat end, packaged with a spice packet
2 turnips
2 large parsnips
3 carrots
1 1/2 lb. small red potatoes
about 1/2 a head of cabbage
Place the corned beef and its spice packet in a large dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil. skim the gunk off the water and meat. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 3 1/2 hours.
Cut the turnips, parsnips, and carrots into chunks. The potatoes should be small enough to leave whole. Cut the cabbage into wedges.
Remove the meat from the pot and keep it in a warm spot. Add the vegetables, and cook for about 30-40 minutes or until tender, adding the meat back in once the vegetables have cooked down a bit.
Remove the meat and slice. Drain the vegetables. Put everything on a platter and serve.
Irish Soda Bread
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
3/4 t baking soda
6 T butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 T caraway seeds
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 2 qt round casserole with cooking spray. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter or margarine with a pastry blender or two forks until the the mixture resembles course crumbs. Add the raisins and caraway seeds.
Beat the two eggs slightly in a smaller bowl. Remove about 1 T and set aside. Add the buttermilk to the eggs and then mix into the flour mixture. Mix until the dough is just moistened.
Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead about 10 strokes to mix thoroughly. Shape into a ball, and place in the prepared casserole. On the top of the dough, cut a 4 inch cross about 1/4 inch thick. Brush with the reserved egg.
Bake for about 1 hour 20 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool slightly in the casserole. Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely, or onto a platter to serve warm.
I'm on my second copy of this cookbook. I got the first copy as a wedding gift from my former husband's grandmother. I wore that copy out, and bought a second copy. It's a good, basic American cookbook that I especially like to use for baking and large cuts of meat. I use it every year for the Thanksgiving turkey! It breaks recipes down into relatively easy-to-follow steps, and includes calorie counts and illustrations. It also lends itself to innovation since it breaks the recipes down into steps and also lists variations. My Corned Beef is something of a hybrid between the New England Boiled Dinner and the Corned Beef with Cabbage, although the choice of vegetables is my own.
Corned Beef Boiled Dinner
3-4 lb. corned beef brisket, flat end, packaged with a spice packet
2 turnips
2 large parsnips
3 carrots
1 1/2 lb. small red potatoes
about 1/2 a head of cabbage
Place the corned beef and its spice packet in a large dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil. skim the gunk off the water and meat. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 3 1/2 hours.
Cut the turnips, parsnips, and carrots into chunks. The potatoes should be small enough to leave whole. Cut the cabbage into wedges.
Remove the meat from the pot and keep it in a warm spot. Add the vegetables, and cook for about 30-40 minutes or until tender, adding the meat back in once the vegetables have cooked down a bit.
Remove the meat and slice. Drain the vegetables. Put everything on a platter and serve.
Irish Soda Bread
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
3/4 t baking soda
6 T butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 T caraway seeds
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 2 qt round casserole with cooking spray. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter or margarine with a pastry blender or two forks until the the mixture resembles course crumbs. Add the raisins and caraway seeds.
Beat the two eggs slightly in a smaller bowl. Remove about 1 T and set aside. Add the buttermilk to the eggs and then mix into the flour mixture. Mix until the dough is just moistened.
Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead about 10 strokes to mix thoroughly. Shape into a ball, and place in the prepared casserole. On the top of the dough, cut a 4 inch cross about 1/4 inch thick. Brush with the reserved egg.
Bake for about 1 hour 20 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool slightly in the casserole. Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely, or onto a platter to serve warm.
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