A Brunch Fit for a Saint

It’s OK to be a wannabe on St. Patrick’s Day. And even though I am Irish, the way my family celebrated St. Patrick’s Day during my childhood and after was the same as everyone else: Kelly green all over, corned beef and cabbage and, yes, lots to drink.

This year, however, I decided to go beyond green beer and find out what the holiday really means. I went straight to the source: my truly Irish sister-in-law, Hilda O’Dougherty. She suggested that I talk to her father, Joe. Joe called and told me what I now know as the truth about St. Patrick’s Day.

March 17 in Ireland is celebrated as the feast day of St. Patrick. It is a very religious holiday starting with Mass in the morning and a journey to a St. Patrick’s well, where you bottle holy water to take home for help when you need it throughout the year. Then the celebrating begins with parades and food and drink--but without a lot of green and no corned beef.

They do, however, eat meat on St. Patrick’s Day, even if the holiday falls in the middle of Lent when meat and alcohol are commonly given up. Thanks to St. Paddy, Joe reports, this is the one day you can have both. And the most commonly eaten meat of the day? Boiled bacon or ham, Joe says.

Still, it’s hard for me to break my Irish-American tradition. St. Patrick’s Day, to me, should include corned beef.

The holiday falls on a Sunday this year, so why not start early with brunch? The best part is that most of the menu can be prepared in advance, so all you need to do St. Patrick’s Day morning is assemble everything--something that will make your less-together friends green with envy (and isn’t that appropriate?).

So as Joe would say--he felt it was important to leave me with several of his favorite holiday toasts before I hung up the phone--good luck, God bless and up St. Patrick. (Uh, raise him up to heaven, that is.)

Menu

Poached Eggs in a Nest of Corned Beef Hash

Horseradish Sauce

Celtic Biscuits

Irish Coffee

Game Plan Day or night before: Prepare corned beef. Dice and boil potatoes. Reserve broth. Make the biscuit dough.

90 minutes before: Make horseradish sauce, refrigerate. Remove dough from refrigerator.

1 hour before: Roll dough and cut into shapes and place on baking sheets. Make hash and place on baking sheet. Press circles into hash.

30 minutes before: Bake biscuits.

5 minutes before: Break eggs into circles and place under broiler.

Just after eating corned beef: Make Irish coffees.

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STAPLES

Onions

Butter

Salt

Pepper

Baking soda

Baking powder

Unbleached flour

Milk

Coffee

Worcestershire sauce

Dijon mustard

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SHOPPING LIST

1 (5- to 6-pound) corned beef

1 dozen eggs

1 head cabbage

5 red boiling potatoes

1 green bell pepper

1 pint heavy cream

Prepared horseradish

Currants

Caraway seeds

Irish whiskey

POACHED EGGS IN A NEST OF CORNED BEEF HASH

1 (5- to 6-pound) corned beef brisket

5 red boiling potatoes

1/4 cup butter

1 large onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

8 eggs

8 leaves cabbage

Place corned beef in large kettle and cover with cold water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer (do not boil), 3 hours or about 30 minutes per pound.

Remove corned beef and set aside. Strain broth and return to kettle.

Dice potatoes into 1/4-inch pieces. Boil potatoes in corned beef broth until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving broth, and set aside. Reserve broth.

Remove fat and cut corned beef into 1/4-inch cubes.

Melt butter in skillet. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add potatoes to mixture and toss until coated. Gently stir in corned beef and toss until completely mixed. If mixture becomes dry, add a little broth.

Spread hash over bottom of large baking sheet. With top of coffee cup, make 8 circles in hash. Remove hash from center of circle, pushing toward edges of border to create nest. Gently break egg into each nest. Place under broiler until eggs are set, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add water to remaining broth to fill kettle, heat until boiling. Drop cabbage leaves into boiling broth 1 at time. Blanch cabbage quickly, just until tender and crisp. Drain on paper towel and place on plate. Place 1 egg-corned beef nest onto blanched cabbage leaf. Repeat with remaining cabbage and nests.

Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

604 calories; 404 mg sodium; 343 mg cholesterol; 43 grams fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 40 grams protein; 1.16 grams fiber.

HORSERADISH SAUCE

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Dash Worcestershire sauce

Salt, pepper

Whip cream in bowl until it forms soft peaks.

Combine mustard, horseradish and Worcestershire sauce in another bowl. Fold into whipped cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 1/2 cup.

Each tablespoon contains about:

55 calories; 92 mg sodium; 21 mg cholesterol; 6 grams fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.04 gram fiber.

CELTIC BISCUITS

4 1/2 cups unbleached flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons sugar

1 cup cold butter

1 cup currants

1/4 cup Irish whiskey

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons milk

Stir flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar together in large bowl. Cut butter into small pieces and add to flour. Using pastry blender, blend mixture until grainy.

Place currants and Irish whiskey in small pan and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Add soaked currants, caraway seeds and 1 1/4 cups milk to flour mixture and mix with your hands until dough holds together.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Can be refrigerated overnight.

Roll out dough on floured board to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut with clover-shaped biscuit cutter and place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Brush remaining milk over top of biscuits. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

Makes 24 biscuits.

Each biscuit contains about:

168 calories; 121 mg sodium; 22 mg cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.26 gram fiber.

IRISH COFFEE

1/2 pint heavy cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups Irish whiskey

1 quart hot strong coffee

Fill 8 (6-ounce) coffee glasses or mugs with warm water. Let stand 2 minutes.

Whip cream in bowl until slightly thickened.

Discard water. Spoon 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar and 1 jigger (3 tablespoons) Irish whiskey into bottom of glass. Fill with hot coffee. Float cream on top of coffee by pouring cream over back side of a spoon.

Makes 8 drinks.

Each drink contains about:

226 calories; 14 mg sodium; 41 mg cholesterol; 11 grams fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0 fiber.