Menus, March 12, 2013

Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy that sustained him through temporary periods of joy

W.B. Yeats

Perhaps you've missed the onslaught of the green in your local....everywhere. I have not. Saint Patrick's day approacheth, when anyone with a quarter of an Irish chromosome puts on a funny green Tshirt and has an ironically fun day parading and partying in honor of a humble saint . I am myself in no way Irish, but am instead descended from Norsemen and Vikings; my apologies all you Irishers,

my people killed your people

But wait! None of this negates the love I bear for the fruits of that fair isle- who else is there in the whole wide world who can be miserable as beautifully as an Irishman?! My admiration for Yeats (who  never once, no matter how often I've misquoted him, has returned from the dead and asked me to renounce my crush on him) is well documented, and you can add to that a love of Irish music, folklore, scenery, art, textiles and of course, books. And then there's the legendary luck of the Irish, about which I admit a little confusion. I mean really, what says lucky more than, you know,

a history of oppression, impoverishment and  exile?

                                       

and what's  luckier than a ride on an
open air  seatbelt  free dirigible?

So this week, while you're either participating in or avoiding your local St.Paddyfest, I'll be partying with one or more of  these Irishmen:

(swoon) Yeats                                George Bernard Shaw                Oscar Wilde                                      Bram Stoker

Well, not partying exactly. Because you're right- a party with these guys would be....kinda dead.

except maybe still fun. 

And I will, of course, be cooking!
Here's what's on the schedule this week:

Wednesday: Spiced Chicken with Apples and Butternut squash

An new old favorite gets at least one last showing before summer, and since this weekend is springlike in Texas, summer could happen in the next few days. I'll be roasting enough chicken for a chicken salad later in the week.






                                                                             
Thursday: Rodrigo Style Fish and salad
  I happen to have some Tilapia standing idly in the freezer. Well. not standing exactly. It's just sort of laying there. Anyway, time to put it to work. I'll be putting this together with a simple salad of lettuce, avocado and queso fresco with a dressing made of lime juice, honey, olive oil and cilantro.

                                                                  

Friday: Curried Chicken Salad

Leftover chicken from Wednesday gets the leftover transformation treatment tonight. The addition of mango chutney into the dressing of this salad is what boosts it from ok to amazing. It's a VERY versatile idea, and tastes great with the addition of slivered toasted almonds or coconut or even bits of fresh mango. I'll be serving this in pita bread, with a little salad on the side.









                                              Saturday: Corned beef with Carrots and Colcannon

Here's the start of a weekend of playing with Irish food! The corned beef is easy peasy, and on sale everywhere this week. If you've only ever tried corned beef sliced from the deli, you're in for a treat.
Just take the corned beef out of the bag around lunch time and simmer it for a few hours in some sort of interesting cooking liquid. The recipe calls for beer, but I've had some pretty tasty luck with apple juice too. Really. Try it- cheap, easy and tasty-  

I'm planning on the colcannon because I like saying the word, (colcannon,colcannon, colcannon. Fun, isn't it?) I love potatoes and cabbage, it's a fun new Irish thing to try, and because Martha Stewart's St. Patrick's day section was so pretty and inspiring.

Sunday: Corned Beef Hash
There may not be any leftover corned beef, but if there is, it'll turn into this classic brunch.  The sweet smell of this sort of breakfast drifting through the house gets everyone up on the right side of the bed.  You can make things even easier by prepping the potatoes and beef the night before- just cover the diced potatoes with water to keep them from going gray and pop them in the fridge.
Or make easier easier still by using a bag of frozen diced potatoes.

If there are leftovers of the leftovers, we'll be having corned beef sandwiches and salad for dinner. Thin sliced corned beef and swiss cheese, sauerkraut and dressing either grilled or warmed under the broiler. A bajillion thanks to my friend Andrew for teaching me the magic trick of  stirring Thousand Island dressing into drained sauerkraut- for some reason, it makes the whole thing less likely to go soupy/soggy.





Do you know what I found out when I asked the internet why the Irish are considered lucky? That perhaps 19th century non-Irish coined the phrase as a way of dismissing the success of an Irishman as mere luck instead of the result of brains, resourcefulness and hard work.
Interesting.
And yet I've read enough Irish writing and listened to enough Irish music to wish you the luck of the Irish anyway.
I wish you the hope of a people who understand that beauty often lies deep beneath sorrow.
I wish you a wild freedom that defies norms and restrictions.
I wish you the vision of a people who live easily with things unseen.
I wish you the stubborn resilience of a people who carry passion and learning and love and art with them into exile.
Because to wish you brave, and free, full of passion and curiousity no matter where you go and no matter how oppressive your circumstances is to wish you

very, very lucky indeed.