Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Do you like turkey? Truthfully, I could leave it…forever. The only time I really eat it is during Thanksgiving, more out of obligation than actual desire. Well, that’s kinda the way I feel about corned beef and cabbage. Yet I feel like I’m breaking a long-standing tradition if I don’t make it for St. Paddy’s Day dinner.

This year I compromised. Instead of the standard fare, we had Reuben sandwiches with mashed potato salad and creamed spinach. This isn’t an extravagant dinner, but a humble plate of sandwich and sides can still be satisfying (and it tastes really good with beer). It’s all in the details.

For the Reubens, I like to make my own dressing, which is basically Thousand Island. I use this dressing with my Gardenburgers, fries and of course, salads. Most people have the necessary ingredients on hand, and all you have to do is mix it all together.

Thousand Island Dressing:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 4 tbs ketchup
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbs Italian parsley, chopped fine
• 2 tsp relish
• 1 tbs prepared horseradish

I like to grill my sandwich open-faced in the oven. Sauerkraut and meat on one side; Swiss cheese on the other. Four minutes on a preheated cast iron griddle at 425º should do it. Top with the dressing after it comes out.

Potato salad is one of those things many Americans learned to make from their parents. My mom never made potato salad so I didn’t grow up eating it. I don’t like it too sour, too sweet, or too creamy. I also don’t like it cold.

Mashed Potato Salad:

• 1 ½ lbs potatoes (peeled or with skins)
• 4 tbs sour cream
• 4 tbs mayonnaise
• 1 tbs (or more) fresh chopped herbs, such as cilantro, Italian parsley, basil, dill
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Optional ingredients: ½ cup thinly sliced celery or fennel, 1 small garlic minced garlic clove, 1-2 chopped hard-boiled eggs, 4 strips chopped strips of cooked bacon or the like, 2 chopped scallions or ½ of a sweet onion finely chopped, boiled green beans or the like cut into small pieces. Anything else you can think of??

Mix the sour cream and mayo together in a bowl and set aside. Depending on whether you add any optional items or how creamy you like the potato salad, you might not need all the dressing (or more!). Boil the potatoes until they are just tender; drain and roughly mash (or leave in chunks). Add (or don’t add) any optional ingredients, then about half the dressing to start. Mix and add more dressing if you like. Add the herbs and salt and pepper to taste. It’s that easy. Serve warm or at room temp (even cold if you like).

Creamed spinach is just all around good. Sometimes I use fresh spinach, but if my local store has the tired looking stuff I saw today, I gladly substitute frozen spinach.

Creamed Spinach:

• 16oz chopped frozen spinach
• half a shallot, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbs grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

In a pan on medium heat, add about 1 tbs olive oil and sauté the shallot and garlic until soft. Add the spinach and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the cream and cook for about 4 minutes, making sure it doesn’t burn. The spinach should not be soupy but not completely dry either. Turn the heat to low and add the cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

For dessert, we had this brownie Sunday. It’s made with Guinness Stout, and I got the recipe here. I should say, I’m not sure it turned out the way it was supposed to. I take full responsibility for that. I added 1 cup flour and ½ cup cocoa because I didn’t have enough cocoa. It also took almost 40 minutes to bake. The brownie is quite dense, but no matter, the result is still tasty. Especially with vanilla bean ice cream and toasted coconut.