Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Is Surname Doolittle Irish or English or …

I always thought it was English until the kids gave me a family crest indicating an Irish heritage, then some web sites I checked said it was both.  I suppose it could have just come from anywhere where a lazy person got tagged with the name “do little”.  I choose to think it’s at least a little bit Irish so I can legitimately participate in St. Patrick’s Day.

In keeping with our any-excuse-for-a-party mentality, we invited a few friends over for a traditional meal of corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes all cooked in the same pan.  We found some Irish music on Direct TV and washed the food down with the traditional Guinness beer and green Marg O’Rita’s along with a green muscadine wine/champagne mixture.

Most of us remembered to wear green – Bev didn’t and color blind Joe said he didn’t know if he was wearing green or not – note he isn’t in the shot :-).

L-R: Friend Kathy, Joe and Carol's daughter Kortney, SIL Pat, Big Dude, and Carol.

Before eating, we were entertained by the latest addition to the family - Madison's eight week old Maltese (no name yet).

Like meatloaf, our favorite part of corned beef is the leftovers (hash, Reuben’s, etc) so Bev bought an 8# piece of meat that contained some of the well trimmed deckle (to make it that big) – I don’t recall ever seeing this brand before, it came from Costco.

I covered the meat with water and one bottle of Guinness, added the spice pack, and cooked it slowly in the oven.  When it was within an hour of being done, I added the veggies which dropped the temp so much, it took about 1½ hours at a higher oven temp to cook them.

We added everything to a platter, but the Red Lobster cheese biscuits, and we all served ourselves.

Prior to the main course, Bev served a spinach/strawberry salad using a recipe from Food.com.


After we took this shot, neighbors Pat and Steve came in from a Cades Cove bike ride and joined us for dinner.

Later in the evening, we had coconut cream pie from the Old Mill Pottery House Cafe & Grille in Pigeon Forge.  We think the nearby Old Mill Restaurant is just so-so (tourists food) but we like the baked goods from the Pottery House (bread especially).

The meal was a big hit and I would use the Mosey's brand of corned beef again.  Tune in later for the left overs.

Photos best if enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

3/17/13 event date

14 comments:

  1. Looks like a great time was had by all. I see hash for breakfast in your future...
    Sam

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  2. Nice cooking, Larry. Sounds like there is a party at your place often. Mosey's is an excellent brand of corned beef. Have used it before.

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  3. Sounds like the perfect meal for a perfect party!!

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  4. It looks as if you had a great St. Patrick's day celebration.

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  5. You always have the best parties! I expect corn beef hash in our our future?

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  6. Looks like a fun night with great friends, food, and drinks.

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  7. Larry, That is one great looking St. Patrick's Day dinner!! Red Lobster cheese biscuits too... Another dog! A Maltese for Madison...the menagerie is growing. Right now, the puppy looks like a cotton ball with legs... See you soon and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave and Laurie

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  8. Looks like a wonderful party. The food looked delicious and so does the company... Glad you had a fabulous St. Patrick's Day...

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  9. You don't need to be Irish to celebrate St. Paddy's Day. In fact, a couple of years back I saw an interview in our local paper with a woman from Ireland, and she seemed to be almost scolding Americans for our celebration, stating that in Ireland it's a religious day, and not a day for a party. So, I'm all for the American-Irish version, myself. I served a similar dinner, although I put my veggies in a separate pan, so they didn't slow down the cooking.

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  10. Oh, and the puppy is adorable. It's nice that Madison is giving you an excuse for a new friend for Coco and Sweetie.

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  11. I used Mosey's too. Great party you guys. Wish we lived closer.

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  12. Everybody is a little bit Irish on St. Patrick's Day, or at least its fun to think so. We love corned beef and I wised up this year and put an extra one in the freezer for sandwiches in the summer. Looking forward to your recipes for leftovers.

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  13. OMG If I would have been there I would have grabbed up that little puppy and not put him/her down. Do we have a name yet? That puppy is the hit of this post, and my next favorite thing is your name for the green drink. Marg O'Rita. Love it.

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  14. Did Bev get pinched a lot? :) Looks like y'all had a mighty fine Irish meal.

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