2004-03-19 12:17:02

We had a great St. Patty’s Day. Fran and I celebrated with friends, beer, and corned beef and cabbage, just like our potato-hugging ancestors did in the days of yore.

Fran started crocking the corned beef, cabbage, and carrots in the morning. Nine hours later, she added the potatoes and cabbage, and in magical crockpot fashion, just two hours later, it was perfectly done. How in the hell? Crockpots amaze me with their mystical cooking power. Fran also made Irish Soda Bread the night before. Now, fat dudes like me need to watch their carb intake, but I couldn’t keep my dirty paws off those tasty little slices. Here’s the recipe if you are interested in pure goodness.

Mitch and Hollywood came over for some good eats and green beer. It was Holly’s first time eating corned beef. She was a little nervous at first, but once she lost her corned beef virginity, she knew there was no going back to a sans-CB lifestyle. As we ate, we questioned what it is that makes the beef "corned." I did a little research and I found this:

Corning is a form of curing; it has nothing to do with corn. The name comes from Anglo-Saxon times before refrigeration. In those days, the meat was dry-cured in coarse "corns" of salt. Pellets of salt, some the size of kernels of corn, were rubbed into the beef to keep it from spoiling and to preserve it.

Today brining -- the use of salt water -- has replaced the dry salt cure, but the name "corned beef" is still used, rather than "brined" or "pickled" beef. Commonly used spices that give corned beef its distinctive flavor are peppercorns and bay leaf. Of course, these spices may vary regionally.

After dinner, we went over to Mex. Micah and Rebecca were already there. Micah was drinking green beer and donning a green visor, which he found in the hall of his apartment building. He’s not classy; he’s nasty. We also saw Lara and Kevin "Fats" M. Lara is writing the taste section for the Insider, a new publication in Rochester. She was gathering information to write a piece on Mex's signature drink, the margarita. You should check out her last article, A Monte Cristo to Count On, in the latest edition of the Insider or on their website. Cima, Amy, Kirsten, Ray, and Michael showed up a little later. Fran and I left around 11:30, because we take our jobs seriously and people rely on us.

This St. Patrick's Day marks the one-year anniversary of Fran's re-entry into the carnivorous diner's club. Let me tell you, it has been one delicious year.

-Pat