Whether you just stepped off a boat from Dublin or don’t have an ounce or Irish blood in you, you’ll most likely be doing some kind of celebrating when St. Patrick’s Day rolls around next week. I’m not much into the whole green beer thing, but I must confess that this Italian girl loves a good corned beef and cabbage feast. But, as you might have noticed, I can rarely leave a good thing be. So, I’ve put together a tricked out version of the original for you adventurous souls out there.
It all starts with the slow cooker. I gathered together all of the ingredients for a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner and prepared it in my crock pot. After that, I separated the components and made three separate dishes with them. My corned beef was baked with a delicious, spicy apricot-mustard glaze. With some of the cabbage, onion and potatoes, I made Colcannon enhanced by the judicious use of some nice, thick BACON. Then, I used the rest of the cabbage and sauteed it with onion, cider vinegar and yes, MORE BACON!
This article appears in Mar 3-9, 2010.