"irish cooking" news and stories

• Still tweaking your Easter Sunday menu? The Times offers up its recipe archives.
• "People don't just throw away an entire food culture after centuries." But with Irish cooking, they came pretty close.
• Which one's greener: the field tomato shipped from Mexico, or the greenhouse one grown in-state? We know which one is redder...
• At Recette in the West Village, hyperboles abound. (How often is head cheese compared to Johnny Depp?)
• Last time, 20 bottles of Loire wines; this time, 20 bottles of Riojas. Life is tough for wine panelists.

Happy Corned Beef and Cabbage Day!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, today's culinary holiday is devoted to this traditionally Irish dish -- or, at least a dish that has been attributed as such stateside, even if its popularity in Ireland has been challenged. Named for the British terminology of "corn," in reference to the meat's increased granular texture, corned beef is typically cured in brine, which amps up its saltiness and flavor.

The bloggers of TheBittenWord.com tackled a Martha Stewart recipe for their St. Patrick's Day feast (pictured above), noting that, despite the two-week brining time, the recipe is remarkably simple, yielding "perfectly tender and juicy [beef], with a great balance of aromatic spices from the brine and the salt." Try the recipe yourself -- it may just become a meat-and-potatoes staple to your recipe repertoire.

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We here at Slashfood aren't the only food blog that's celebrating St. Patrick's Day. Here's a peek at other food blogs that are taking a big bite of green from around the food blogosphere:

• The Culinary Fool puts together a traditional Irish pub plate, the Ploughman's Platter
• World on a Plate investigates the new sophistication of Irish cuisine
• Chicago Foodies explain how to order a "Black and Tan" depending on where you are
• Andrea's Recipe Box has one for Irish Soda Bread
• Beef brisket gets slow cooked with Guinness at Taste Everything Once
• Off the Broiler seeks out the elusive Shamrock Shake
• She's not a Domestic Diva, but she can make colcannon
• Albion Cooks Irish Chocolate Whiskey Cakes
• Rani and Raja also do an Irish Soda Bread
• Kiplog's food blog directs us to a few places in and around Chicago to celebrate