An Irish-American Dinner

I hope everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day this year!  I've actually met two people this year who had never eaten Corned Beef, which I have always considered an essential dish for any cook.  I then of course made sure they were both introduced to the meal, because that's one of my favorite things to do.  It is an Irish-American dish, and not truly authentic to Ireland, but I still love it!  For the past few years I've made the same version, but I decided that this year I needed to change it up!  

In a large pot I brought the beef to a boil and added in onions, studded with cloves, thyme, chiles de arbol, bay leaves, and dried mustard.  It smelled SO good, I was actually surprised how much you could smell coming off of the boil.  

As soon as the water boiled and the flavors were stirred in, I offed the heat, covered the pot with foil and it's lid, the into the 325 oven it went for 4 hours, or 1 hour/lb.

Prepping the veggies: carrots, yellow, red, and purple potatoes, turnips, and cabbage.  If you think that you don't like turnips, try them anyway.  They are a bit like a potato that wanted to be a carrot.

After 4 hours the meat came out of the water, and I cranked the heat up to bring the pot to a boil again.  I also tasted the broth for flavor, and it had a lot going on!  I could taste some of the spices and there was a good amount of salt from the beef.  Meanwhile, I turned the oven up to 375, and put the meat in on a baking sheet for about 15 minutes to try and get a nice crust.  If that doesn't work for you, you could always pop it under the broiler for a smidge.  Once you like the color, pull it and let it rest for 15 min before you cut it.

When the broth in the pot boiled again I cooked the potatoes for 5 minutes, then added in the turnips, carrots and cabbage, and simmered for 15 minutes.  

This....was my favorite part of the meal.  This ridiculous cell phone picture doesn't do it justice, so you just have to take my word for it!  It was a bit like a chimmichurri, but with the flavors of a gremolata, and it was WONDERFUL on the beef.  Chopped shallots, red wine vinegar, salt, parsley, whole grain mustard, and olive oil + sliced corned beef = no leftovers.  :/

Instead of a typical Irish soda bread, I made Irish Soda Muffins, and sprinkled them with green sugar.  See, I can decorate!

I put all of the vegetables on a nice warmed platter, then topped with the sliced beef.