Food is at the center of every holiday tradition that my family is part of. Whether that day is Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Father’s Day, every event is centered about the course of the day. Growing up we were always well fed but what we ate wasn’t always what you would consider mouth-watering. The Thanksgiving turkey was replaced with a Jennie-O turkey “loaf” and the ham at Easter was filling but not anything to write home about. Now that I am grown and have a family of my own, I make it a point to have food for our traditional family gatherings that people get excited to come back year after year for. Thanksgiving requires a golden brown, juicy turkey that would make the cover of any food magazine and taste even better. Christmas requires a prime rib seared to perfection on the outside and cooked to a perfect rareness on the inside. I take pride in the food that is served to our family on these occasions and now that I have a house and family of my own those festivities take place under my roof and watchful eye.
We all get excited for holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving but our favorite holiday gathering is St. Patrick’s Day. I am not Irish but my wife is and comes from a family that embraces their family lineage. St. Patrick’s Day was always celebrated by my wife’s family with a raucous party centered about a traditional Irish meal of corned-beef, cabbage, parsley potatoes, Cole-slaw, soda bread, lamb stew, and plenty of Guinness and Jameson. Every year the party took place and every year the week leading up to the party was consumed with the preparation of the event. My father-in-law was in charge of picking out the perfect cuts of meat while my mother-in-law made sure that all of the food was prepared just right. This event occurred for many years but with several moves and kids leaving home, the party lost a little bit of its flare.
When my wife and I got married we decided that we would get the tradition going again. Our inaugural year was our wedding reception where we cooked a meal for 200 of our friends and family. As was the case in the past, we spent the week leading up to the party scouring the butcher shops looking for the perfectly marbled cuts of corned-beef, buying a huge amount of potatoes and cabbage, and anticipating the happiness that our party would bring to everyone in attendance. The nights leading up to the party found every outlet in our house invaded by a crock-pot or two and a watchful eye on the electrical panel for popping breakers. After two full days of prepping with little to no sleep, our reception went off like a bang and is a party that people continue to talk about. That single event rejuvenated the St. Patrick’s Day tradition in our family and now every year finds us taking over the role previously held by my in-laws. This tradition, centered about the cuisine of the day, is one that we hold a special place for, and, hope to pass on to our children so that one day they will be able to experience the joy that we feel entertaining our family and friends.
