Growing up, we had plenty of corned beef and cabbage. It was one of Mom’s favorites; she made it once a month or so in a big iron Dutch oven. (There were no slow cookers then, so no Slow Cooker Corned Beef & Cabbage).

These days we only get homemade corned beef and cabbage when we make it ourselves. Unlike Mom, we couldn’t hang around the kitchen and watch the pot. But we finally got a slow cooker!

Fortunately, McCormick sent us a slow cooker recipe. We toss the ingredients into the cooker, turn it on and come back in eight hours. Slow cooking lacks the glamour of aroma wafting from the big iron pot, but it does the job.

The recipe for Slow Cooker Corned Beef & Cabbage is below.
 
 
WHAT IS CORNED BEEF?

Corning refers to curing or pickling the meat in a seasoned brine. The word refers to the “corns” or grains of rock salt (today, kosher salt) that is mixed with water to make the brine.

Typically, brisket is used to make corned beef; the dish has many regional variations and seasonings. Smoking corned beef, and adding extra spices, produce pastrami.

Corned beef was a staple in middle-European Jewish cuisine. Irish immigrants learned about corned beef on New York’s Lower East Side from their Jewish neighbors, and adopted it as a cheaper alternative to Irish bacon. Bacon and cabbage is a popular Irish dish. (Irish bacon is a lean, smoked pork loin similar to Canadian bacon. Here are the different types of bacon.)

Cattle in Ireland were not used for meat but for dairy products. Pork, an inexpensive meat in Ireland, was a dinner table staple.

But in the U.S., pork was much more expensive than the American staple meat, beef; and brisket, which required several hours of cooking to tenderize, was an affordable cut. Irish-Americans substituted corned beef for the bacon, and Corned Beef & Cabbage was born.

Trivia: The first St. Patrick’s Day parade originated in New York City, in 1762.
 
 
RECIPE #1: SLOW COOKER CORNED BEEF & CABBAGE

Conventional Corned Beef & Cabbage simmers for about three hours on the stove top. Here’s a classic recipe with a twist: a touch of Guinness.

But toss the ingredients into a slow cooker and come back in eight hours to dish out perfectly cooked corned beef and cabbage. Prep time is 10 minutes, cook time is 8 hours.
 
Slow Cooker Trivia: The original slow cooker was the Crock-Pot, introduced in 1971 by the Rival Company. It was developed as an electric bean cooker, and was originally called the Beanery. Earlier, the Rival Company had introduced the electric can opener. Thanks, Rival!

Ingredients For 12 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the potatoes, carrots, and onion in a 6-quart slow cooker; place the brisket on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle with pickling spice and minced garlic. Add enough water (about 8 cups) to just cover the meat. Add the lid. For best results, do not remove the cover during cooking, except to add the cabbage in Step 2.

2. COOK for 7 hours on HIGH, then add the cabbage and cook for 1 to 2 hours on HIGH or until cabbage is tender but still crisp (not soggy).

3. REMOVE the corned beef to a serving platter and slice thinly across the grain. Serve with the vegetables.
 
 
RECIPE #2: PICKLING SPICE

If you don’t have pickling spice, you can make your own with this recipe from Taste of Home:

 
Preparation
 
1. COMBINE all ingredients. Store in an airtight jar in a cool dark place (i.e., not next to the stove or oven).

[1] Slow cooker Corned Beef & Cabbage (photo © McCormick).

[2] Uncooked brisket from Double R Ranch (photo © Williams Sonoma).

[3] If you don’t have a pickling spice mixture, you can make your own from spices you do have. A recipe is below (photo © Taste Of Home).

[4] Toss everything into the slow cooker and come back at dinner time (photo © Rival Products).

[5] A succulent corned beef emerges.

[6] Leftovers make a delicious “Irish Reuben” sandwich (photo © DiBruno Bros).

RECIPE: CARAWAY CHEESE SPREAD

This cheese spread from McCormick is so easy to prepare—it takes just five minutes when you start with a prepared Cheddar cheese spread. Make it ahead of time, refrigerate, and let it warm up on the counter for a few minutes prior to serving.
 
Ingredients For 1-1/4 Cups (10 Servings)

 
For Serving

Caraway Cheese Spread from McCormick. You can make it in 5 minutes.

†Here’s how to blend your own seasoned salt.

 
Preparation

1. MIX the cheese spread and seasonings in medium bowl. Cover.

2. REFRIGERATE at least 2 hours to blend flavors.

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with this cocktail that features Irish whiskey, Guinness Extra Stout and licorice flavor notes from caraway seeds. It uses homemade caraway simple syrup—easy to make in 10 minutes.
 
Ingredients Per Drink

 
For The Caraway Simple Syrup (Enough For 6 Cocktails)

 
For The Caraway Stout Cocktail

1. MAKE the simple syrup: Coarsely crush the caraway seeds (see footnote†). Bring the sugar, water and caraway seeds to boil in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and let stand 1 hour. Strain the caraway seeds and refrigerate the syrup until ready to serve.

2. MIX the cocktails: Combine the caraway simple syrup and the whiskey in tall glass. Pour the beer into glass. Serve immediately.

 
____________________
‡How to crush caraway seeds: Coarsely crush seeds with a mortar and pestle. Or, place seeds in a small resealable plastic bag. Close tightly. Pound with a rolling pin, mallet or heavy skillet until coarsely crushed.

Irish Soda Bread is irresistible any time. But St. Patrick’s Day provides an extra excuse to bake up a batch and treat family and friends.

Soda bread is a chemically-leavened quick bread made with baking soda* (the compound sodium bicarbonate, also called bicarbonate of soda) instead of yeast. Baking soda produces a lighter, airy crumb. The term “quick bread” means fast rising. Read more about the different types of bread in our Bread Glossary.

Irish Soda Bread History: Irish Soda Bread dates back to around 1840, when bicarbonate of soda was introduced to Ireland. It reacted better with the soft wheat grown in Ireland’s climate, and replaced yeast as the leavening agent.

When should you serve Irish soda bread? Anytime! As a slightly sweet bread, it’s a breakfast and tea time favorite; but it also disappears quickly in the bread basket at lunch and dinner.

> A recipe for Irish Soda Bread With Cheddar is below.

> The history of bread.

> The different types of bread: a photo glossary.
 
 
RECIPE #1: IRISH SODA BREAD WITH RAISINS

Irish Soda Bread is one of the easiest breads to make. This recipe from McCormick requires just 10 minutes of prep time. Cook time is 50 minutes. The loaf yields 12 slices.

Muffin variation: Divide the dough among 12 greased muffin cups. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Ingredients

[2] Dried Zante currants are also dried grapes, but a much smaller variety than those used for raisins (photo © Broke And Beautiful: Check out her grandma’s Irish Soda Bread Recipe).

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan.

2. MIX the flour, sugar, caraway seed, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in large bowl. Stir in the raisins. Mix the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla in medium bowl; stir into the dry ingredients. Spread the dough in prepared pan.

3. BAKE 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

_______________________________

*The difference between baking soda and baking powder.

†Substitutes for buttermilk: (a) 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice plus enough milk to measure 1 cup. Stir, then let stand for 5 minutes. (b) 1 cup of plain yogurt or 1-3/4 teaspoons cream of tartar, plus 1 cup of milk.
 
________________________________
 

[4] Cayenne, ground red pepper (photo courtesy Silk Road Spices).

RECIPE #2: SAVORY IRISH SODA BREAD WITH CHEDDAR

This savory version of Irish Soda Bread from McCormick adds Irish Cheddar cheese and garlic powder instead of raisins and cinnamon. It yields 12 slices.

Prep time is 10 minutes, cook time is 40 minutes.

Muffin variation: Divide the dough among 12 greased muffin cups. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
 
Ingredients

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan.

2. MIX the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and seasonings in large bowl. Stir in the cheese and set aside.

3. MIX the eggs and buttermilk in a medium bowl. Add to the dry ingredients; stir until well blended. Spread the dough in the prepared cake pan.

4. BAKE for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.
 
_______________________________

‡Cayenne, ground red pepper, is the ripened, dried pod of the Capsicum frutescens, one of the two main species of chile peppers (the other is Capsicum annuum). It is the same chile that is made into crushed chile flakes. Members of the species include piri piri (African Bird’s Eye, Malagueta, Tabasco and less-known (in the U.S.) chiles.
 
 

There’s a surprise in this Bundt cake: a rainbow of colors. For St. Patrick’s Day, garnish the cake platter with gold foil chocolate coins—the ones in the pot at the end of the rainbow. (We filled the center of the Bundt with the coins.)

In this recipe from McCormick, prep time is 30 minutes, cook time is 35 minutes. The cake yields 12 servings.

RAINBOW BUNDT CAKE

Ingredients

 
For The Whipped Cream

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan.

2. PREPARE the cake mix per package directions, stirring in the orange extract. Divide the batter evenly among 4 bowls. Tint each bowl a different color. Stir 50 drops (about 1/2 teaspoon) of red, green or blue food color into each of 3 of the bowls. Stir 25 drops (about 1/4 teaspoon) of yellow food color into the last bowl.

3. POUR the red batter, followed by the yellow, green and blue batters, into the Bundt pan. Pour each color batter gently into the pan so that each batter is layered over, instead of mixed into, the previous one.

4. BAKE for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert cake onto wire rack. Cool completely. Meanwhile…

5. MIX the confectioners’ sugar, water and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake. Prior to serving…

6. MAKE the whipped cream. Combine the ingredients in a medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Rainbow Bundt and food color from McCormick. The chocolate coins from SweetGourmet.

What does “Bundt” mean? Who invented the shape of the cake?

Check out the history of the Bundt cake (scroll down below the recipe for the Apple Streusel Bundt).
 
 
_________________________________
*If using liqueur in the whipped cream, reduce the vanilla extract to 1/2 teaspoon.

[1] Homemade green ketchup made from green tomatoes. Here’s the recipe from This Mama Cooks (photo © This Mama Cooks).

[2] The gone-but-not-forgotten green ketchup from Heinz (photo © The Kraft Heinz Company).

Ketchup has many uses beyond eating, including polishing silverware and removing the green tinge in bleached blonde hair (no kidding—check out these non-food uses for ketchup).

But given all its food uses, why not make a big batch of green ketchup for St. Patrick’s Day meals and gifting?
 
 
THE RECENT HISTORY OF GREEN KETCHUP

Housewives have been making green tomato sauce since…well, probably since there were green tomatoes.

But back in 2000, ketchup giant H.J. Heinz decided to bring red ketchup flavor to green ketchup*. Targeted to kids, their Blastin’ Green ketchup, created as a promotion in tandem with the first Shrek movie, was a smash. It engendered additional colors for the E-Z Squirt line: Awesome Orange, Funky Purple, Passion Pink, Stellar Blue and Totally Teal.

Alas for its fans, although 25 million units were sold, the novelty lost steam and the colors were discontinued in 2006.

There was a brief revival in 2012. Heinz created green ketchup packets for a Burger King St. Patrick’s Day promotion; but that idea didn’t fly past 2012. [Source]

Don’t be daunted by the lack of green ketchup on store shelves. You can make your own green ketchup with green tomatoes. There are many recipes online, from sweet to spicy.

This green ketchup recipe from ThisMamaCooks.com is made with the low glycemic, better-than-sugar sweetener, agave nectar (a.k.a. agave syrup).

It’s easy to flavor your homemade ketchup, with variations such as Cranberry, Curry, Horseradish and Hot Chile (Chipotle, Jalapeño, Sriracha, etc.)
 
 
USES FOR GREEN KETCHUP

Green ketchup has the same uses as red ketchup, of course. And if you only use ketchup with burgers and fries, or with breakfast eggs, you’re not giving it its full props.

Use your green ketchup to make green condiments for St. Patrick’s Day.

In fact, it was brown and the precursor of modern Worcestershire sauce.

The first known recipe for ketchup in English was published in 1727 by one Eliza Smith (you can still buy it). Part of a volume entitled Compleat Housewife; or, Accomplished Gentlewoman’s Companion, the condiment was spelled as “kachop,” a transliteration of the Asian fish sauce after which it was fashioned.

Ingredients included anchovies, shallots, white wine vinegar, two types of white wine, mace, ginger, cloves, whole peppers, a whole nutmeg, lemon peel and horseradish.

Check out the history of ketchup.

 
___________________
*Making ketchup in colors required re-engineering of the ketchup product. The red color had to be stripped out and food coloring was added. The flavor was tweaked to taste like the original. [Source]