St. Patrick's day decor and beginning the Corned Beef!

It's holiday time again! The St. Patrick's decor is up and I have a beef brisket corning for the upcoming celebration.

Here is the dining room, all ready for partying! Some fun burlap banners and green twinkle lights.

My table just has a strip of burlap off of a roll at Walmart, this much cost about 75 cents. I made all the polka dot mushrooms from cast-off clay when my son Will was doing pottery. He let me glaze them and then he fired them for me. I think they look like Alice in Wonderland 'shrooms ;).

I don't have any leprechauns, but I do have these adorable trolls/gnomes from a time when the garden section was 50% off at Hobby Lobby. Not sure why they were in the garden section...may a fairyland terrarium decor? Anyhoo, I love them and their little furry tails. They are ever bit as impish as leprechauns anyway.

I did not put up my tree with it's ornaments this year, see HERE. After Valentine's Day I noticed that the lights in the top half had gone out! Is it just me, or do they make light strands to last two years at the most nowadays?! It is so aggravating. Every holiday I get out a string that is dead or half lit. So instead of the tree, I just made a tableau of green or tartan items to give the right feel. The little circular book with the plaid cover on one of the shelves is a recipe booklet for sweet potatoes :)

Some of my vintage St Patrick postcards...

I love the antique linen on my Victrola. It is has appliqued and embroidered shamrocks. Mr Owl has a jaunty bow tie, and the Celtic cross is one that the boys made when they were younger. The shamrock and swag are from the Dollar Tree.

Why not layer linens? I liked the airy green doily over the sheer shamrock cloth. The 1950's pixie is one my moma found for me. He likes to recline in a bowl of gold coins.

As usual, Squeaky is in all his green glory.

There are other touches throughout the house, but one that I rarely get a picture of is the door. It is the door off of the kitchen, and the one everyone comes to. No one ever goes to the front door, but I kinda like that. How better to be welcomed than into a kitchen?

As you know by now, our idea of a party is family mixed with lots of food. And the food for this celebration is quite special, even more so because it is only served once a year. For St Patrick's day we have homemade corned beef, and the national dish of Ireland- colcannon. Colcannon is basically a mashed potato and fried cabbage dish that I top with cheese and bake up in the oven. I have never had even the pickiest eater not like it! Here I am weighing my beef brisket. I need at least 14 pounds to feed our group.

Here are the ingredients for the brine- Salt Peter, kosher salt, paprika, chopped garlic, and lots of pickling spice mixed into 4 quarts of water. Did the name Salt Peter give you pause? The amount I have was given to me by my mother-in-law, as I have been unable to procure any. It is traditionally added to the meat to keep a pink coloration instead of turning a greyish tone. Why is it hard for me to get? It is a main component in making gunpowder! And The Man keeps pretty careful tabs on stuff like that...

I pour the brine over the meat in my biggest enamelware stock pot. The I double bag a 10 pound weight and set it on top to keep the meat beneath the liquid. Then you turn it every other day for 14 days. On the 15th day you remove the meat, wash off the spices, brush it in a special marinade, then let it sit overnight. The 16th day you wrap it in multiple layers of foil and cook it low and slow for 8 hours. Then you refrigerate again.

On the 17th day, the day of your celebration, you cut the meat into as thin a slices as possible. Then you rewrap it and reheat the meat. While it is cooking, you finish the colcannon and rolls and desserts (preferably green!). FINALLY, after 17 days of preparation, it is time to settle down and dig into a traditional Irish meal with all of your green-clad loved ones! Is it worth it? Yes, it is. Just, someday I'm going to make a giant brisket so we can actually have some leftovers. So, Dear Reader, come back to see my post of our St. Patrick's Day meal. And please let me know if you would like any recipes!