A fabulous, low-key St. Paddy's Day

Growing up we always celebrated St. Patrick's Day, primarily because it was also my maternal grandfather's birthday. He and my grandmother were both Irish and would always have the family over to celebrate the day. My grandfather died in 2000, but it is crazy to think that yesterday would have been his 90th birthday!

So ever since I can remember we always had a traditional Irish meal for St. Patrick's Day... Corned beef, cabbage and Irish soda bread. Wanting to carry on the tradition, last night I made my first corned beef. My mom always made the corned beef by boiling it in a pot for several hours and then adding in the potatoes and the cabbage. While I have enjoyed corned beef this way for years, I wanted to try something different.

After searching around Google for inspiration, I decided that I was going to bake my corned beef. Let's just say I will NEVER boil corned beef. It was delicious! First, I rinsed the corned beef  and placed it fat side up on a piece of foil big enough to wrap it in. Then I smeared Hot & Sweet Mustard all over the top of the meat and sprinkled a handful of brown sugar over that. I wrapped it all in the foil to keep the juices in and then stuck it in the oven on 350. My corned beef was around 2.5 pounds and I cooked it about an hour and forty minutes.
Tim and I both love roasted cabbage wedges and will often have that as a side dish. So I made the cabbage that way. (Cut into 8 edges, seasoned with garlic, lemon and olive oil, roast at 450).  And I cooked the potatoes in the corned beef seasoning that came with the meat.
We skipped the Irish Soda Bread this year, but a wonderful meal nonetheless.

Oh, And I have to share this picture of the Harrigan clan in their St. Paddy's day collars!

Seriously, how cute are they?