Corned Beef and Cabbage!

I'm not Irish. At least I don't think so.  Well, now that I say that...my mom said that in her dad's (my grandpa) heritage, there was one guy who came to the US from Ireland.  But that's not the point.  The point is that on St. Patrick's Day...everyone is Irish.  It's an excuse to drink beer and eat Irish food, all in the name of a holiday that we all claim as our own personal heritage day. 

I am no different, because I have done plenty of celebrating, none of it actually ON St. Patrick's Day.  Last weekend, JC and I went to the Dallas St. Patrick's Day parade in Lower Greenville.  We ended us missing the parade...but we got there for the fun part.  The after party...and oh dear lord...was it fun.  Definitely got a little "flavor" for Dallas.  It's something I've been missing since I moved here and so it made me feel a little more connected to this huge city I call home.

So, today is actually St. Patrick's Day and last night (in honor of my parent's last night visiting in TX), my mom made the annual Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner that my dad requests every St. Patrick's Day.  I can take no credit in this meal.  I worked at my office while my mom slaved in the kitchen.  Turns out...she actually didn't slave...because this little beauty...

Seemed to be really easy to make.  Recipe Time...

Ingredients:

2 Stalks of Celery
4 Carrots (or a bag of baby carrots)
1 Medium yellow onion
4-6 Red Potatoes (peeled)
1 head of cabbage (cut in large shreds)
1 12 ounce can of beer (we prefer Miller Light or Shiner Bock in our household)
1 big piece of Corned Beef with spice packet included (it contains coriander and other things)

Put celery, carrots, onions, cabbage and potatoes in the bottom of a crockpot.  Rinse the beef and sit on top of the veggies.  Add beer and spice packet and enough water to cover meat.  Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

Okay, want to hear how it really went?

So, my mom wasn't satisfied with how the crockpot was cooking the meat.  She didn't "trust" it, she said.  So, here is how the cooking steps were modified...

About halfway through crockpot cooking time, take it out and put it all in a roasting pan...cover with tin foil and put it into a 300 degree oven until you think it's done.  (Usually just test the meat and make sure it falls apart.)

It was SO good.  So, really, no method to the madness...whatever works, I guess.  To finish up our fine St. Patrick's Day meal, we had a true Iris traditional dessert.  Ready to see it?!? 

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake.  I hear it goes way back to Irish traditions in the 1600's.  Okay, just kidding.  But I'm all about making this MY holiday, so...why not? This cheesecake is homemade all the way by my mommy dearest.  Here it is in ALL it's glory:

Just beautiful.  Here's the recipe:  Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

In other news, I finally figured out how to get Mia to drink more water.  At the moment, she's all about apple juice...and that concerns me just a little.  So, the key to getting her to drink water...is to put ice cubes in it.  It's novel enough now to work.  And everybody knows...that novelty is what works in parenting...right?