newjerseynewsroom.com

BY ALICIA CRUZ

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Being the wife of a Marine affords you opportunities to travel the world, meet people from all walks of life, and indulge in foods you might otherwise not ever try.

One of the first neighbors I met while my husband was deployed on a Med Float was a woman named Shannon. She was of Irish and Pakistani descent, and raised primarily in Ireland until she was 14. I wasn't much of a cook during my earlier years as a military wife, so quite often, the whiff of a home cooked meal that often traveled from Shannon’s kitchen to my front door, usually led me to her townhouse after work.

One St. Patrick’s Day weekend, as we sat discussing events planned for the base, I watched her dicing vegetables and onions and tossing them into a pot with bacon and cabbage while she browned pork chops in a skillet. It smelled delicious.

"Aren't you going to make your country's national dish for the holiday," I asked. "What's that, “she asked. “Corn beef and cabbage?"

Much to my surprise, I learned that day that the Irish rarely ate corned beef or beef, period, in Ireland. It was much too expensive at a time, so they often ate pork. Shannon explained that despite what many Americans thought about corned beef and cabbage corresponding with Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day, it didn't.

In Ireland, a traditional dish is a "cured" pork joint taken from the shoulder or the back of the pig. "My mum, following her mum, always used salted pork or a pork loin with cabbage and other vegetables, but not corned beef."

The Irish did not begin using beef with their cabbage until they immigrated to the United States where beef was much cheaper and readily available than in Ireland. For those who used beef in their recipes, they still cured the meat the same way they cured pork back home, using corn shaped kernels of salt, thus producing corned beef.

"If I took you home to Ireland, and we ate a local pub on St. Pat's Day,' Shannon explained, "the people you'd see eating corned beef and cabbage would be the tourists not the locals. We're not big on it at all."

So what do they eat? Well, according to Shannon, there really isn’t one particular dish but, "My mum would likely make a pork roast with cabbage, another vegetable and definitely potatoes,” Shannon said.

I sampled her pork chops and cabbage meal that day and it was delicious, but I could never really get mine to taste the way she made hers, so I stuck with a cabbage and corned beef recipe she left me just before she and Mike transferred to Iwakuni, Japan.

Therefore, in honor of my friend, and the St. Patrick's holiday, I'm donning the green and making "Shann's Cabbage and Corned Beef" this afternoon. No green beer for me, but when I'm done cooking, I'll eat, kick back with a cold Guinness, or an Appletini, as I toast "Beannachtam na Feile Padraig" before calling it a night.

SHANN'S CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE

• 2 1/2 pounds corned beef brisket
• 2 medium size onions – chopped
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 medium size head of cabbage -- chop into bulky wedges
• 4 medium size red potatoes – diced
• 4 slices of bacon
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of no salt sodium free salt
• 3 tablespoons of vinegar (or to taste)
• Enough water to cover your cabbage, potatoes and brisket

Place corned beef in a large pot (I use a 6 quart), cover with water and add the spice packet. As it begins boiling, reduce the heat to simmer (number 2 on an electric stove) for about 2-3 hours or until the corned beef is tender (falls away from your fork). Remove your meat but save the water for the cabbage.

Now, place your bacon slices in the pot and boil for about 25 minutes before adding chopped cabbage, vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic. If your liquid is too salty, add more water. Turn heat down to medium-low, cover the pot and allow liquid to simmer. Now add potatoes and let the mixture cook until cabbage is tender and potatoes are soft (not mushy). Keep your eye on the pot! Serve hot with rolls, sweet tea or a cold Guinness!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!