Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!
I'm a little ashamed to admit that I know very little about St. Patrick aside from the fact that he's the patron saint of Ireland. Can I use the fact that I'm not Irish as a decent excuse? After doing a little research (and I do mean a little), I discovered a legend about a man who banished snakes from Ireland, and a more believable story about a priest who used a shamrock to describe the holy trinity. Apparently March 17 is the widely accepted date of St. Patrick's death, and its celebration began as a day of feast to remember his his influence. So the whole corned beef and cabbage obsession makes sense... and while I'm sure St. Patrick wasn't a drinker himself, it's well-known that the Irish can't have a celebration without a
Another interesting tidbit I discovered is that corned beef is actually not a traditional Irish dish. Corned beef's popularity actually originated during the Irish immigration to America, and it's now served in Ireland more as tourist-friendly fare. The original Irish dish most-likely consisted of bacon or ham and cabbage, rather than beef. So, since I'm not a huge fan of super-salty corned beef, I decided I'd try this recipe for Pork Chops and Cabbage and Apple Slaw in honor of St. Patrick instead.
Up to this point, I had never actually tried the pork and apple combination. It seemed like such a popular pairing, though, that I knew I had to try it... and now that I have tried it I must say, I very much approve! The sour-sweetness of the Granny Smith apple was a surprisingly lovely complement to the juicy, savory pork chop. I think next time, though, for ease of preparation, I'll just buy a bag of pre-shredded cabbage and carrots, as shredding the carrots by hand proved to be both time consuming and a major pain. But it was worth it! So here's to you, St. Patrick... thanks for bringing Christianity to Ireland, and for giving us another excuse to celebrate. :)
