St. Patrick's Day 2015

A best friend is like a four-leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have.  ~Author Unknown

St. Patrick's "Day" Is Always Fun!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015

St. Patrick's Day 2017

Monday the 16th began our celebration. We cooked corned beef and cabbage with potatoes and carrots plus Irish soda bread, asparagus, kale chips, and green cookies? (We are getting too old for ice cream!)

Sue made mustard-cheese sauce this year!

Did You Know? - Although the exact beginnings of corned beef are unknown, it most likely came about when people began preserving meat through salt-curing. Evidence of its legacy is apparent in numerous cultures, including Ancient Europe and the Middle East.

The word corn derives from Old English, and is used to describe any small hard particles or grains. In the case of "corned beef", the word may refer to the coarse granular salts used to cure the beef.

The word corned may also refer to the corns of potassium nitrate, also known as saltpetre (and one of the main ingredients in gunpowder), which were formerly used to preserve the meat.

So Let's Get Cooking...

It has been our tradition for years... Sue, the vegetarian, makes the best corned beet in the world.  She begins with excellent ingredients directly from Bristol Farms and our own garden and then puts her secret ingredient into it... LOVE!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Herbs directly from the garden!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
These were born about five minutes ago!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Something new.... Kale!

Did You Know? - Kale or borecole (Brassica oleracea Acephala Group) is a vegetable with green or purple leaves, in which the central leaves do not form a head. It is considered to be closer to wild cabbage than most domesticated forms of vegetables.
The species Brassica oleracea contains a wide variety of vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and brussels sprouts.

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
After coating the kale with olive oil infused with black truffles plus
salt and white pepper, it is baked at 350 degrees for 10 minutes!
One word -- DELICIOUS!!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Roasted asparagus are essential

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Carrots to be sure

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
A mix of Bristol Farms and our own home grown potatoes

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Sue worked most of the day preparing this fantastic meal...
(She wondered the next day why her legs were hurting)

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Greg dived right in!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
A simple table for a simple meal... Did we say simple??

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Sue checks the meat...

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Perfect! The entire house smelled of corned beef
Really special as the place was Sue's Mom's

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Corned Beef circa 1898... Ewww

Did You Know? - Although it ceased to be an important commodity in the 19th century Atlantic trade due in part to the abolition of slavery, corned beef production and its canned form remained important as a food source during World War II. Much of the canned corned beef came from Fray Bentos in Uruguay, with over 16 million cans exported in 1943. Even now, significant amounts of the global canned corned beef supply comes from South America.

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
The cabbage was magnificent... Picked this morning from our own garden!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Melt in your mouth potatoes!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Irish soda bread and Irish butter (Kerrygold)

Did You Know? - Soda bread (Irish: arán sóide, Scots: fardel, Serbian: česnica/чесница) is a variety of quick bread traditionally made in a variety of cuisines in which sodium bicarbonate (otherwise known as baking soda) is used as a leavening agent instead of the more common yeast. The ingredients of traditional soda bread are flour, bread soda, salt, and buttermilk. The buttermilk in the dough contains lactic acid, which reacts with the baking soda to form tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide. Other ingredients can be added such as butter, egg, raisins or nuts.

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
A beautiful table for special friends

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Carri had a place but alas, no Carri tonight

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Tookies!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Friendship is a special thing!

It's Now Officially Saint Patrick's Day!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
We played golf with James before heading for Malarkey's for dinner
The ducks and geese did not get corned beef

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Before leaving the ranch we did Happy Hour with
James, Channel, Mike and Charlotte

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Normally it is kind of quiet.... Not tonight... The place was full!

St. Patrick's Day 2017

St. Patrick's Day 2017 St. Patrick's Day 2017
We shared the Corned Beef and Cabbage plus the Corned Beef Rueben
We tried several of the drinks! Happy St. Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Loved the shirts!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Our "reserved table" was taken at 2:00 and the folks stayed...
That was fine... We had another great table!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Paul's Hawaiian Irish shirt was a hit!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Interesting

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Cynda was our bartender/waitress... A beautiful girl
(...and our regular on Monday's)

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Sue and Carri discussing the events that are about to unfold

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
We were worried about the sunset this evening

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
The bagpipers were fantastic

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Sue dies a quality-control test

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Nancy and Paul trying all the drinks!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
That will put a smile on your face

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
The Long Beach Fire Department Bagpipe Band!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Fine music!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
The place was crowded!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Green beer is on its way

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
What??? An empty glass?

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
We slowed him down and sent the picture to Amy!
Amy always says "Ducks are smart"

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Paul had to send this one back to Amy!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Ah ha... The sunset arrives right on schedule at 7:01

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
It was beautiful

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015 Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015 Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Yes... They are texting each other... It was loud inside

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Carri's smart phone is disguised as a wine glass

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Love Greg's hairdo

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Touch typing?

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
We know how to party!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
"Smile... They will not guess what we are up too!"

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Greg hears the faint call of the Irish line dance

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Right turn...

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Left turn...

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
On the way out Greg finds another dancer!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
The man knows how to boogie

Sue (The Party-Girl) Said "Let's Go To Patty's Place"... Excellent Idea

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
While having a wee drink we spotted this picture

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
View from the bar

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Sue made the fatal mistake of asking Paul if he was hungry!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
A selfie...

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
We were doing well!

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Thanks to our new friends... He knew the iPhone camera

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015
Sue was showing her Irish... She was caught with the flash on

Saint Patrick's Day Celebrations 2015