Being of a "multicultural" heritage (wink, wink) I have the great privilege of celebrating two wonderful holidays. The German/Hungarian/ect. half gets to celebrate for an entire month in October. Oktoberfest is fun, I definitely have been known to eat a few brats during this month and listen to some polka. There is however one ethic holiday which I absolutely love, St. Paddy's Day. Sometimes I think that my Irish half has a little more predominance in my genetic make up due to my numerous freckles, ability to burn even when the weather is cloudy, and my great love of potatoes in any form. Since I wasn't going to make it home for St.Paddy's day I decided that the time had come to make my very first authentic corned beef and cabbage meal.

I followed my mothers recipes and managed to only have to call home 4 times for advice. Preparation of the corned beef went well and I made my best batch of soda bread yet. The only part that gave me a little trouble was cutting up the rutabaga, but with the help of the rubber mallet from my car repair kit (a Christmas present courtesy of my Irish father) I was able to cut uniform chunks that then boiled wonderfully.

I am happy to report that it was almost as good as the way my mother makes this traditional meal.