Still saving civilisation! Sorta!

I heard an Irish restaurant owner here being interviewed on television recently who said he’d never in his decades had corned beef-and-cabbage (a boiled dinner) until he came to New England.

Nor had my Corcaigh friend, to whom I’d sent over the pond one Christmas a maple leaf-shaped bottle of maple syrup. I asked him later how he liked it. He was gob-smacked. “It’s in the shower, saved for a big day — I thought it was cologne!”

The interviewed restaurateur said he serves boiled dinners and truer Irish dishes for a full week before himself’s Day. And husband is nothing if not tradition-al and would be a 100% customer for the boiled special, were he a paying dinner-goer.

He’s Irish on all sides from here to kingdom come, but he doesn’t care. (Honestly, I’d thought he was Iranian when I first saw his black hair and unruly beard.) He simply wanted to make corned beef and cabbage here this year (and others) because that’s what his NY pre-Boomer family did on St. Paddy’s Day.

Unfortunately, it’s the rare here-to-kingdom-come Irisher who knows how to make a boiled dinner. Only my French Mi’kmaq mom could do it.

i said, “The big day falls on a Friday this year.” He countered with, “Father said we’ve been granted a dispensation from abstaining.” I parried with, “Well, I’d planned on making alfredo pasta and, uh, non-Irish bread.” He hesitated. I made my move. “Plus, we forgot to have those stuffed clamshells last week with the fish; idk, maybe we can apply the dispensation to having dessert?”

So, there ye have it. An Irish boiled pasta dinner with Irish stuffed clamshells, non-caraway Irish bread and since we are holy observers at heart, no dessert. Probably.

Legend has it that on his deathbed, St. Patrick saw little flames lighting up more and more of Ireland until the land was covered in faith, again. Amen. And here, too, please.

I’m for wishing u a grand day. 😊☘️ Everyone, behave!

❤️❤️❤️

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