Thinking about St. Patrick’s Day food? Here are a few ideas, including slow cooker corned beef

‘Tis nearly time for the wearing o’ the green. St. Patrick’s Day is nine days away.

Schools, marching clubs and Irish-American societies already have celebration plans in place, so why not for those wanting to enjoy an Irish dish or two?

While this column may be a week early, home cooks or hosts will have time to purchase the recipe ingredients and can enjoy the day rather than be so harried.

Corned beef is a meat that I can enjoy in any season. Give me a corned beef on rye with spicy mustard any old day. The spice packets make the meat so flavorful but remember this is a low and slow meat dish.

I like to cook potatoes, cabbage, carrots and onions along with the corned beef brisket in the slow cooker. I can dump all the ingredients in the bottom of the cooker and place the brisket on top with spices sprinkled on top. It’s a one-pot meal.

Of course, cabbage is one of my favorite vegetables. I will eat it anyway it is prepared from kimchee to colcannon to plain old steamed or boiled cabbage, to say nothing of cabbage rolls.

Next day, cooks can carve thin slices of corned beef and make Reubens; yum!

For St. Paddy’s Day, offer some delicious Irish soda bread with lemon curd for breakfast with tea or coffee. Soda bread is an easy fix, too. This is not a yeast bread, so the cook doesn’t have to wait for the dough to rise.

Lemon curd is amazingly easy to make and, again, take little time.

Readers, if you have any favorite Irish recipes please send them to me. We still have time to get them in next week’s column prior to St. Patrick’s Day.

Easy slow cooker corned beef, cabbage and potatoes

10 small red potatoes, quartered

1 onion peeled and cut into pieces

1/2 medium head of cabbage, remove large outside leaves, cut remainder into chunks

1 cup baby carrots

4 cups water

4 pounds corned beef brisket with spice packer

6 ounces your favorite beer

Place onions, carrots and potatoes in the bottom of slow cooker. Pour in water and place brisket on top. Pour beef over brisket, about 1/2 can.

Sprinkle with spices and set slow cooker on high.

Cook 8 hours on high, 1 hour before serving stir in cabbage pieces and recover slow cooker. – From www.tammileetips.com/

Irish soda bread

2 cups white flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter, chilled

1 cup raisins

1 1/2 cups butter milk or plain yogurt

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients.

Cut in the butter until it is pea-sized. Stir in the raisins and buttermilk or yogurt. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, knead 1 minute and shape into a disk.

Cut an X in the top and bake on a greased baking sheet for 45 to 50 minutes.

Makes one 8-inch-wide loaf.

Note: I love to serve this bread with lemon curd. So good. – Recipe from Family Fun magazine

Lemon curd

Makes 1 1/2 cups

3 large egg yolks, strained

Grated zest of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

6 tablespoons sugar or no-sugar sweetener

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into pieces

Place egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a small saucepan; whisk to combine. Set over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, making sure to stir sides and bottom of pan. Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat back of wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove saucepan from heat. Add butter, one piece at a time, stirring with the wooden spoon until consistency is smooth.

Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming; wrap tightly. Let cool; refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 1 hour. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Reuben sliders

For the sandwiches:

2 cups shredded cooked corn beef

1 1/2 cups sauerkraut, drained

3 tablespoons Thousand island dressing

6 slices Swiss cheese

12 Hawaiian rolls

For the topping

1/4 cup butter

1/4 teaspoon beef broth base (powder)

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Slice sweet rolls in the middle to create a top and bottom. Place the top to the side.

Place the bottom part of the sweet rolls to an oven safe pan. Spread the Thousand Island dressing over the top of the bottom of the sweet rolls.

Spread the sauerkraut over the dressing, then top with a layer of corned beef.

Place the Swiss cheese evenly over the corned beef and then place the tops of the sweet rolls on top to close the sandwich.

In a small pan over medium high heat, melt butter and add the remaining topping ingredients. Cook for a minute or until butter becomes a little brown.

Brush the top of the sweet rolls the butter mixture. Bae for 10 minutes until the cheese has melted and the top is a beautiful golden hue. – www.tastesoflizzyt.com/

Andrea Yeager can be reached at ayeager51@cableone.net/ and Cooks Exchange, 205 DeBuys Road, Gulfport, MS 39507.