Hearty St. Patrick Day Recipes You Won’t Want to Miss

 

In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, Food Network has released 36 hearty St. Patrick’s Day foods that you won’t want to miss out on. From Irish Soda Bread to Shepherd’s Pie Potato Bowls you will not want to miss out on these recipes. Not only are they great to cook for friends and family on this beautiful St. Patrick’s Day but who wouldn’t want a delicious beef stew any other day of the year!? For now, though, we will share the infamous corn beef and cabbage recipe as given by The Food Network. We definitely tip our Irish hats off to this recipe.

Ingredients

For the brine:

  • 1 cup kosher salt
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons whole coriander
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons whole mustard seeds
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons whole allspice
  • 4 sprigs fresh marjoram
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 (2 1/2 to 3 pound) brisket
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion, halved
  • 6 carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 1 head celery including leaves, coarsely chopped
  • 1 head garlic, halved
  • 3 sprigs fresh marjoram
  • 1 small cabbage cut into 6 to 8 wedges
  • Herbed Root Vegetables, recipe follows

Directions

For the brine:

Combine all the brine ingredients, except the brisket, in a large non-reactive bowl. Add the brisket (you may have to cut it into 2 pieces) and rub the spice mix into the meat. Pour cold water over until the meat is covered. Weight the brisket down with a small plate so that it is completely submerged; cover and refrigerate. The meat can be brined overnight or as long as 10 days. The longer the brining the more pickled the meat.

Heat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, marjoram, and bay leaves and cook until starting to soften, about 10 minutes. Remove the meat from the brine and rinse it well. Set the meat on top of the vegetables and add water to just cover the meat. Bring to a boil skimming any foam that surfaces. Reduce the heat to a simmer, place the lid on the pot, and cook for 15 minutes. Add the cabbage pieces, cover, and put it into the oven; cook for 3 hours.

Remove the meat, cover it with foil, and let it rest for 20 minutes. Cut the fat off the corned beef, slice the meat against the grain, and serve it in shallow bowls with the cabbage wedges, some cooking liquid, and the Herbed Root Vegetables.

Herbed Root Vegetables:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 pound new potatoes, scrubbed

1 pound baby carrots, trimmed and scrubbed

1 pound baby turnips, trimmed and scrubbed

1 pound baby parsnips, trimmed and scrubbed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Herb Butter:

1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup mixed chopped fresh herbs like thyme, mint, chives, parsley, or chervil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the olive oil and butter into a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and toss to coat them well with the fat; season with salt and pepper. Add 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the Herb Butter by combining the soft butter and herbs together; season with some salt and pepper.

To serve, spread some Herb Butter in the bottom of a bowl. Add the hot vegetables and dot with more Herb Butter. Moisten with some of the cooking liquid and serve.

 

 

Best Places to Eat in New Orleans this Week

 

Nola.com has done their research for this week and listed the best places to eat in New Orleans for the weeks based on events that are taking place in the area. So whether you are a local ready to get out and enjoy some sunshine, or coming in from out of town, be sure to check out these places:

WEDNESDAY (March 14)

Kaizouku Izakaya pop-up — The name means “pirate bar” in Japanese, and the pop-up at CBD Social (709 St. Charles Ave.) will serve Japanese bar snacks like spicy tofu, steamed pork buns and roasted yams with miso butter. 5 p.m.–1 a.m.

THURSDAY (March 15)

Saartj: A Discussion of Race, Disparity and the Future — Tunde Wey talks at Propeller (4035 Washington Ave.) about his pop-up restaurant experiment, where he suggested white customers pay more for food based on wealth disparities among races. A panel discussion will follow. Free. 5:45–8 p.m.

Victory Is Served — SoFAB (1504 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.) teams up with the National WWII Museum for a talk on how the war affected Louisiana’s food industry. Free, but reservation required. 6–8 p.m. Visit natfab.org/events.

Gnocchi class with Herbsaint chef — Rebecca Wilcomb, chef de cuisine at Herbsaint and a 2017 James Beard Award winner, teaches a cooking class at the Second Harvest Community Kitchen (700 Edwards Ave.) on how to make gnocchi. The class, which benefits the food bank, includes a three-course meal. $50. 6–9 p.m. Visit no-hunger.org/events.

For the rest of the schedule, you can click here.

The Best (and Cheapest) Places to Go in Europe This Winter

 

Now is the time to start planning your winter trips and The Huffington Post has made it super easy for us! If you are wanting to plan a trip to Europe, they have laid out the best AND cheapest places to go! Not only does this article have a long list of the best activities that are easiest on your pocket but they also go into great detail as to why some of these places are exactly where you’ll want to be!

Where is your favorite place to visit in Europe?

Satellite Image Shows Rising Mississippi Pouring Sediment into the Gulf

According to a new article released on nola.com, “fresh water from the Ohio River Valley is flooding into the Mississippi River, causing it to rise and pick up speed. A new image taken by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) research satellite shows a fan of sediment leaving the bird’s foot delta as a result of the increased flow.”

“It’s cool to be able to have the wealth of data that we have in near real time,” Kolker said of the image. Louisiana State University‘s Earthscan Lab compiles satellite images of the state almost every day.

The article also states, “Before the Mississippi River was leveed off, flood waters from the river carried sediment into the marsh, rebuilding and stabilizing land along the coast. The state’s coastal master plan calls for two river diversions in Plaquemines Parish to reconnect the river with the degrading marsh.”

For more information on this photo and to read the entire article written by nola.com, click here.

Louisiana Department of Education Graduation Checklist

 

As we get close to the end of the school year for thousands of Louisiana seniors, the Louisiana Department of Education has a special section on their website that you can find here that will help seniors apply for financial aid. As stated on their website, “Most Louisiana high school graduates are eligible for some form of merit- or need-based financial aid. Students can apply for state and federal financial aid by submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which can be used at four-year universities, two-year community colleges, and technical training programs. The FAFSA is used to determine the amount of money a family is expected to contribute to the price of attending a postsecondary institution, and the results of the FAFSA are used in determining student grants, work study, and educational loan amounts.”

If you are a senior and interested in finding out if you are eligible for financial aid, be sure to take a look at all you need to know about applying right here.

Skillet Steak and Wilted Kale Salad

 

If you are on the lookout for some quick fix salads, Southern Living has these 24 quick fixes that are sure to satisfy all of your healthy cravings. The one that really stood out to us was this skillet steak and wilted kale salad. So not only is it on the healthy side, but you get some delicious red meat as well- not to mention it only takes twenty minutes to make and serves up to 4 people!

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch kale, stems removed
  • 2 (3/4-inch-thick) beef strip steaks
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large sweet onion, such as Vidalia, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon honey
How to Make It

Step 1

Preheat oven to 425°. Chop kale. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Cook steaks in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 3 minutes on each side. Place on a wire rack in a jelly-roll pan, and bake 6 minutes.

Step 2

Meanwhile, wipe skillet clean, and melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender.

Step 3

Remove steaks from oven, and loosely cover with foil to keep warm. Add kale to onion mixture, and cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until kale is wilted. Stir in vinegar and honey; season with salt and pepper. Serve with sliced steak.