Tomorrow is Saint Patrick's Day! I love Irish culture! And God knows I love Corned Beef and Cabbage! I only get to eat it once a year and that happens either tonight or tomorrow (depends on how busy I am) and I am ready!
We'll probably go out this year, like we did last year. For years I always made it at home, but after a few experiences with toughness, I gave up- preferring to have professionals do it.
Part of the proper serving of Corned Beef and Cabbage, is to carve it the right way. Remember, when cutting the corned beef, always cut against the grain. Make sure you cut cross-ways into the beef. It's very important! Never cut with the grain or your slices will be too tough and stringy. Corned beef can taste like a wad of rubber bands if you don't cut it properly.
Tomorrow we will have my favorite Irish group on the show- Cele De (pronounced Kay-Lee Day). They will make their annual traditional appearance in the studio for some live music. If you haven't heard these kids, you gotta check 'em out tomorrow on the show! They'll be doing some classic rock tunes in an Irish folky way. They also do original material. I guarantee that you'll love it.
My second novel Shade Of Pale is about the Irish myth of the Banshee. It's a straight-up horror novel. I sent it to the publisher (Tor/Forge Books) on Saint Patrick's Day, and it got published! Was the karmic connectionat work here? Who knows? All I can say is that the book was published and well reviewed. I hope to make it into a movie one of these days.
The only time I ever saw the Banshee in a movie was in an old Disney movie named Darby O'Gill and the Little People when I was a kid. It scared the crap out of me at the time. Later, when I was looking for a great book idea, and I was going over all the classic monsters out there- I thought- hey, why not the Banshee? I had to make up my own mythos- much like Bram Stoker did with the Vampire Dracula- he made up all that stuff about garlic and mirrors and crosses. So, I made the Banshee the avenging angelof womanhood. Read it and tell me what you think.
And don't forget to wear green.
I love how you cover multiple topics in one post like that.
ReplyDeleteCorned beef is one of my favorite things and I have it several times a year, not just on St. Patty's Day. We rarely go out to have it though, it always comes out great at home.
My friend Chris is a chef at River City Brewing Company in the Downtown Plaza in Sacramento and they do a very nice job with it, as well as Streets of London pub on J St.
I checked out Cele De and I love the version of "Don't Stop Believin" posted on their MySpace! I love good Irish music, I've got a little bit of Irish in me and a friend of my dad's used to be in an Irish band that played in San Jose.
-SharkByte