Okay I’ll admit it. I’m a bad food blogger considering this post is about two and a half weeks late. But in my defense, this meal should not just be limited to St. Patrick’s Day. It’s just too damn good to be eaten one day out of the year. I mean succelent slices of a salty yet slightly sweet corned beef pairing beautifully with lemony roasted cabbage along with some buttered roasted red potatoes and glazed carrots? Really?! This should be eaten everyday, which is exactly what Jason and I did until we cleaned up house.

Now this was my first time cooking an actual St. Patrick’s Day meal. That’s why I love the food blogging world – it pushes me outside my horizons to try different things. I mean I’ve never even had a traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal. The thought of cabbage with corned beef just didn’t do anything for me, mainly because I hate cabbage. But seeing how all these food bloggers post about amazing St. Patrick’s Day meals, I knew I just had to give it a try.

The corned beef was incredibly easy to make, thanks to the wonderful Pam over at For the Love of Cooking. She uses simple ingredients and turns them into something fabulous. You’ll be amazed as to how her recipe of some honey, mustard and brown sugar baked in the oven for two hours could create a corned beef so amazingly tender and full of flavor in every bite. Now as the corned beef baked, I took those two hours to make everything else. I started on the roasted cabbage first, which was also a breeze to whip up. All it involved was some slicing, drizzling of olive oil and seasoning with salt and pepper. The carrots were done the same way except you can add in some more of the good stuff, like balsamic vinegar and nutmeg. Mmmmm. And finally, I just boiled some red potatoes and tossed them in butter and parsley. Simple enough, right? There’s definitely a lot going on here but each of these recipes are very low maintenance, and the two hour baking time window gives you ample time to complete your meal.

Once everything was baked, roasted, and tossed, it was finally time to eat. I wasn’t sure what to anticipate because like I said, I hated cabbage. But when I rolled up a piece of the cabbage with some corned beef, I was in heaven. All these thoughts just came screaming at me, like how could I have ever hated cabbage? And how come it took you this long to eat a traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal?! The cabbage was a wonderful balance to the saltiness from the corned beef, and the lemon gave it such a refreshing flavor, clearing your palate before you take your next bite. No wonder cabbage is always paired with corned beef. How could I have ever doubted that? And the carrots and potatoes just brought the meal to absolute perfection. Every bite I took involved all four things – corned beef rolled in cabbage, a piece of the potato, and a couple of carrots. It was hard to fit that all in one scoop but I made it work!

It definitely won’t be another year until I make this again. Oh and I’m sorry to say but I couldn’t make any corned beef leftover dishes as I had planned. This meal was too good to make something else out of it, so Jason and I ate this same meal for 4 days until we devoured every last piece of corned beef.

Baked Honey-Mustard Corned Beef (adapted from For the Love of Cooking):

Yields 6 servings

  • 3 pound corned beef
  • 1/4 cup of honey
  • 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

Soak the corned beef in a large bowl of cold water for about 1 hour to remove some of the salt and sodium. (Alternatively, you can boil it over high heat for 1 minute. Just be sure to pat the corned beef dry.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9×13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey and mustards.

Place the corned beef onto the prepared baking dish. Spread the honey-mustard mixture evenly over the corned beef. Sprinkle with brown sugar.

Place into the oven, covered, for 2 hours, or until desired doneness is achieved.

Remove the foil; place into the oven and broil for 2-3 minutes, or until the top is slightly charred.

Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing across the grain.

Printer-Friendly Version

Roasted Cabbage Wedges (adapted from Gimme Some Oven):

Yields 8 servings

  • 1 head green cabbage, cut into 8 wedges
  • Olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Lemon wedges, for serving

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the 8 cabbage wedges in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush both sides of each cabbage wedge with olive oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Place into the oven and roast for 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cabbage are slightly browned, then flip the wedges over and roast for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the cabbage is cooked through with a bit of chewiness remaining.

Serve immediately, garnished with lemon wedges, if desired.

Printer-Friendly Version

Oven-Roasted Carrots (adapted from The Perfect Pantry):

Yields 4 servings

  • 2 pounds carrots, trimmed and peeled
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Balsamic vinegar, to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Slice the carrots using the roll-cut technique, rotating the carrot 180 degrees after each cut. (This will expose a lot of surface area of the carrot.)

In a large bowl, combine the carrots, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, nutmeg, salt and pepper, to taste.

Place the carrots in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet.

Place into the oven and roast for 25 minutes, or until the carrots are cooked through and the edges have crisped.

Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

Printer-Friendly Version

Buttered Red Potatoes (adapted from Melissa d’Arabian)

Yields 4 servings

  • 1 pound red potatoes
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large pot of cold, salted water, bring the potatoes to a boil; cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 15 minutes; drain well and let cool enough to handle.

Cut each potato into quarters.

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, butter, parsley, salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve immediately.

Printer-Friendly Version

Serve corned beef with leftover pan juices, roasted cabbage, roasted carrots and red potatoes.