Corned Beef and Cabbage Ingredients 1 large corned beef brisket 2 or 3 cans of cheap beer, e.g. MGD a couple of dried chiles, perhaps serranos 1 or 2 teaspoons coriander seeds 1 or 2 teaspoons mustard seeds a few dashes cinnamon a few dashes of allspice 3 or 4 large potatoes, scrubbed and chopped in quarters 5 or 6 carrots, coarsely sliced 3 or 4 turnips, scrubbed and sliced 1 large cabbage, coarsely chopped 1 lb mixed beans Directions: Buy a corned beef brisket at your local supermarket. In a pot, pour 12 ounces of beer. Add a bay leaf or two, a dried red chile or two, a teaspoon or two of coriander seeds, a teaspoon or two of mustard seeds, a few dashes of cinnamon, a few dashes of allspice, and all the juice from the corned beef pack. Put the corned beef on a steamer rack in the pot and add water to bring the liquid level up to the bottom of the rack. Cover the pot and put it on some heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Steam for several hours (it took me five hours for a 4 lb brisket) until the meat doesn't feel rubbery when you stick a fork in it. Add water or beer or both as needed to keep some liquid in the pot. [I usually steam the corned beef over night.] Remove the meat and slice. Remove the steamer rack. [I just leave the meat in at this point. It's in no condition to slice.] Leave all the other stuff in the pot and put in some potatoes and carrots and turnips or whatever. Add water [or MGD!] to cover and boil until the stuff is cooked. Remove all the vegetables and potatoes. [I leave the potatoes, carrots and turnips in.] Put the steamer rack back in and put in some cabbage wedges. Steam them for about five to ten minutes, depending on how crisp or soggy you like cabbage. [I use 15 minutes.] Serve. Get out some beans which you have thoughtfully left soaking overnight in water (I used white beans, red beans and black beans all mixed up). Drain them and put them in a pot. Cover them with the liquid that you have been using to cook the corned beef and cabbage and potatoes and vegetables. The liquid should be about an inch higher than the beans. Simmer for three or four hours or until the beans are as firm or as mushy as you like them. The beans will not be ready with the rest of the meal but, as the original poster noted, you can eat them reheated the next day when the flavors have had a chance to "marry".

6-8 potatoes, peeled          6 bacon strips       3-4 leeks        salt and pepper to taste           one cup grated Cheddar cheese

Makes 6 servings Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook the potatoes in boiling water until tender. Drain. In a skillet, fry bacon until crisp and drain well on paper towels. Trim leeks so that you have the white part and a small amount of green. Wash well, and slice thinly. Add leeks to skillet and sauté over medium heat until soft. Slice the boiled potatoes, and arrange half in the bottom of a pie plate. Season with salt and pepper. Layer with bacon, leeks and one half of the cheese. Cover with remaining with remaining potatoes and season again. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is browned and cheese is melted.

3 Cups flour 1/4 Cup sugar 3 tsp. baking powder 1/4 Cup butter, softened 1 1/3 Cup buttermilk zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon 1 tsp. baking soda 1 whole egg 1 egg, separated 1 Cup raisins 1/2 Cup currants 2 Tlb. caraway seeds

Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Soak currants for 3 min in tap water and drain well. Sift first 3 ingredients in large bowl. Work butter in with hands. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients except one egg yolk, then add to dry ingredients. Grease an oven proof skillet with vegetable shortening. Spread dough in pan and top with beaten egg yolk. Bake for 35-45 min or until nicely browned. Remove immediately from pan when finished baking.

Crust 1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers 1/3 cup melted butter Filling 12 oz. semi-sweet or bitter-sweet chocolate (chocolate chips work well) 24 large marshmallows pinch of salt 2/3 cups stout 1/3 cup evaporated milk 1 tsp. vanilla 1 T creme de cacao  (liqueur, light or dark will work)

Serves 6-8 Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Add melted butter to crushed graham crackers and mix until well blended.  Using fingers, press crust mixture into bottom and up the sides of a pie pan.  Bake crust for about 6 minutes until set. (You can alternatively use a ready made graham cracker crust.) Place chocolate, marshmallows and salt in a blender. Blend until well mixed and chocolate is finely ground. In two separate saucepans (in order to prevent curdling), heat stout and evaporated milk until very hot, but not boiling. Pour stout and milk into blender and blend for one minute. Add vanilla and creme de cacao and blend. Pour into the crust and refrigerate overnight. Garnish with whipped cream.