A bunch of cooking was had on the cold and damp Sunday. The elusive yellow orb in the sky made an appearance late in the afternoon. We did a little prep for later in the week and since everyone is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, we thought we should at least eat the food the weekend before. Just a little bit of corned beef and cabbage and instead of potatoes, we made soda bread. We short cut and just bought a pre-brined brisket. For the corned beef:
- 2-3 lb pre-brined brisket
- 5 carrots, peeled and cut into 3 inch bits
- head of cabbage cored and cut into quarters
Rinse the brisket fully with cold water. Then place in a pot and add enough water to cover by at least an inch. Put on stove to simmer for about 2 1/2-3 hours or until fork tender. When you think its done, add the carrots and cook for about 15 minutes. Remove the meat to rest and add the cabbage. Cook for another 15 minutes. Slice the corned beef thinly and serve with the carrots and cabbage.
For the Irish soda bread:
- 3 1/2 C. flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 C. buttermilk
Mix dry ingredients together and make a well in the center. Add the buttermilk and quickly blend together. Pour out onto the counter and knead it a few times just to bring it all together. Treat it a bit like biscuit dough so that it doesn’t get tough. Put dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and push so that it is about 2 inches high and brush on melted butter (we used about 1/2 stick). Put in 450 preheat oven for 15 minutes and then turn down to 400 and bake another 30 minutes or until golden brown and sounds hollow when you knock it.
Working Dad Cooks 