Celebrations can vary but our celebration consist of food, family, and fun. My mom always hosts the family at her home for the traditional boiled dinner. What is a boiled dinner you may ask? It's corned beef (brisket) and cabbage. The corned beef is boiled in a pot with lots of veggies including: cabbage (of course!), carrots, turnips, and lots of potatoes! You can find two kinds of beef; grey or red. The red happens to be my favorite and the way my mother prepares it is just absolutely delicious! After boiling it she takes one of the Reds (yes she makes 4-6 corned beefs!) and adds a mixture of brown sugar and maple syrup and then bakes it or you could even just throw it under a broiler for a few minutes. The end result is this amazing crust ontop that just melts so well with the flavor of the beef and melts in your mouth. Not to say the grey or the plain ol boiled red ones aren't good but this one is just my personal fav! We don't reserve this meal just for this holiday as most do. My mom will make this a few times a year. Especially when my grandmother was still with us it was a meal she often requested.
We also have other traditional items such as Irish soda bread, and pastries and then we have a family staple called pickle dip. There is not a family party that doesn't have a bowl of this on the table. I will include the recipe at the end of this post.
It is a big deal here in Boston. Particularly south Boston or "southie". That is a densely populated Irish area and that is where the annual Saint Patrick's day parade is held. You will be sure to find a sea of drunk people dressed in green lining the streets. This is the perfect day to "eat, drink, and be merry!"
I personally do not drink and get into all those festivities of being drunk but it's fun to watch! We typically just spend the day as a family eating and laughing. Sometimes my grandmother would bust out into an Irish jig or sing her favorite song "when Irish eyes are smiling" those are the memories that will stick with me always. It's sad to say the celebration is not the same without her but that's why we continue celebrating, in her honor.
Do you celebrate? What are some things you and your family do to celebrate?
Pickle dip Recipe is as follows:
1package of softened(room temp) cream cheese
3 or 4 pickle spears chopped up
1/4-1/2 cup of pickle juice
Optional : a pinch of onion powder or celery salt
Take your softened cream cheese and add the pickles mix together until combined
Add a little juice at a time to get it to the consistency you would like
Serve with chips and enjoy!
Note: cut the picks as fine as you like there is no right or wrong way. I like them a little bigger in the dip and my mom likes them finely chopped. Everything is to taste. Add more pickles or less pickles. I even garnish the top with some :)
Thanks to my brother john for sharing some of his photos of his dinner too!
