Saturday, March 17, 2012

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY




The last of the decorations for St. Patrick's day have been added to the display on the buffet in the dining room. I couldn't resist these little lasses and if you'd seen what they looked like before I got my hands on them you would have thought I was crackers for wanting to lay out the whopping 25 cents apiece I paid for them.  They were hideous and in a marked down bin at one of my favorite stores. I could imagine how they would look after I had repainted them.



The complete display. Since green is the main color of my living room and dining room using green to decorate doesn't have the same impact as the colors I'd use for decorating at Easter or Halloween or any other holidays except for Christmas but then I use a lot more red.

March 17 or St. Patrick's day has been celebrated by the Irish as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. The people would feast on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.


My mother-in-law would make what she called, Irish Stew and this dish has become a favorite with my family and the meal I will be serving today. I don't think she would have minded me sharing the recipe with you.

Ruth's Irish Stew
1     corned beef brisket [5 1/2 pound]
2     large onions, quartered
12-15 small white [Irish] potatoes
2     heads cabbage, cored and cut into wedges
Rinse the beef brisket under cold water, and place in a large pot. I use my largest stock pot.
Add enough water to cover the roast by about 5-6 inches.
Peel and quarter the onions, and place them in the pot with the roast.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low so that the water is at a gentle boil, cover, and cook for 3-4 hours.
Remove the lid from pot and place the cabbage over the roast and onions and the potatoes on top of the cabbage. 
Cook on medium heat for another 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
Remove the beef from the kettle and slice.  Place the sliced beef on a platter and add the cabbage and potatoes.

For dessert we have some delicious cookies baked for us yesterday by my two kitchen helpers.

Enjoy your day~

~Happy St. Patrick's Day~

16 comments:

The Bear's Blog said...

Hi Miss Maddyrose,

Your two kitchen helpers? That's it? No credit for Bellamine & Wendy? Just "helpers"? Oh, my blarney. Giggle.

Very bee-u-tee-ful decorations. You are so talented.

So, you celebrate St. Patrick's Day at the North Pole? Is it snowing? Is the snow green, hahahahha....

Heaps of Hugs
Prudence

♥●• İzdihër •●♥ said...

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Carole Burant said...

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you and yours:-) I just love your decor and what you did with those darling figurines. Isn't it amazing how something can be transformed to look beautiful?!!

Thank you so much for sharing your MIL's Irish Stew recipe, it certainly does sound delicious.

Misty & Tiffany are looking over my shoulder at those cookies and saying they wish they could grab some through the computer! hehe Your two little helpers did a terrific job:-) xoxo

Katy Cameron said...

You definitely had a good eye for what those figures could become, they round off your display nicely :o)

Enjoy your very non-traditional Irish stew (sorry, the American idea of Irish food is based on what the immigrants made, which is what was available in America, not what they would have had at home. Corned beef in the UK and Ireland is actually beef that's been cooked, shredded, mashed and then mixed with a jelly to hold it into a block shape, and we eat that on our sandwiches ;o) )

~Sara said...

Looks like good eating at your house. Happy St.Patty's Day. ~Sara

Susan At Glen Oaks Primitives said...

Hi, Maddy:
Your display looks beautiful. I didn't realize that what you have a recipe for, Ruth's Irish Stew,
is what my mother made every St. Patrick's Day, she called it a
boiled dinner (probably because she's Italian and didn't know, my dad was Irish so it was for him).
Hugs,
Susan

Heather said...

i came just in time to see your beautiful st. patricks day wishes, here! YAY!
hope you enjoyed your day maddy rose!
hugs!!!!

Crystal Cook said...

Maddy this is SO fun! I love seeing your decorations, the cookies and reading your recipe. Your place must be a wonderful home at any time, but especially around the holidays, any holiday. Can't wait to see what you do for Easter. :)))

Ascension said...

Espero que hayas disfrutado de un feliz Dia de San Patricio.
besitos ascension

Maggie said...

Yummm... I want some Irish stew. I always called it boiled dinner, too. Or just "Corned Beef and Cabbage". The cookies look really good, are there any left?
I love what you did to those figurines, you should have taken a photo of them before you painted them. Your St. Patrick's Day decorations look beautiful.
Hugs

orchid0324 said...

Dearest Maddy,
Oh, what a wonderful St. Patrick's Day decoration and food ♡♡♡
The ladies with musical instruments must be feeling really happy being revived and proudly displayed in your house♬♬♬
Ruth's Irish Stew sounds really delectable never will have chance to try... and your helpers cookies♪♪♪
So sorry for my belated comment and I truly hope you had a nice Saturday and will have nice new week, my dear friend,
Love you always, xoxo Miyako*

Kays Kids said...

Well I'm terrible, you would not have found one decoration for St. Pat's day. I love the figures you painted.
Hugs

Marijke van Ooijen said...

Dear Maddy Rose,

Ohhh..this post is so lovely...
And those cookies looks amazing...
Those figures are BEAUTIFUL!

Love from Marijke

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

I hope you had a great St. Patties day sweetie.

Now, I don't suppose ya have any of those great lookin' cookies left???

God bless ya and have yourself a fantastic week!!! :o)

Kristin Dudish said...

Mmmmm... Your cookies look delicious! (The only thing that would make them better would be some "mole asses"! Hahaha!!!)

xo
Kristin

Jan said...

Ummmm, cookies! Pretty cookies at that! Your painted figurines are very cute too. You really like to decorate, don't you! You make up for people like myself who do no decorating.