Seconds

For dinner this evening I'm finishing off the last of my traditional St. Paddy's Day corned beef and cabbage special.

I made it my way this year, cooked the beef in a crock for hours, boiled the potatoes, carrots and cabbage al dente in a separate pot, lots of salt and pepper, and finished in a swath of real butter--fantastic!

The chunk of corned beef I purchased was just the right size for a solo eater--two dinners and a couple of bonus lunches.

So damn good, I think I'll see if any is left at my Safeway and stock up tomorrow. I could eat the stuff for another month straight and not tire of it.

When I was in the restaurant trade, one of the places I worked had a very different recipe than my very simple approach. Oven-finished the beef in wine, added garlic and cloves.

I hate cloves.

I never liked the restaurant's recipe.   Didn't see the attraction. One year I under cooked the dinner and managed to piss off all the regulars as well as the establishment's owner and beef purveyor.

It became something of a joke, not to let me fuck up the traditional dinner the next year. Call in a real chef! Etc.

I worked in that place for eight years. I think I got it right most of the time, at least for my customers and their guests.

This year I did it my way, and that is how it should be, will be from here on out.


TS