St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, the saint's religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the 5th century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years.
On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast--on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.
On St Patrick's Day, the typical meal is corned beef and cabbage, served with boiled potatoes. In Reno, any number of casino restaurants serve this meal-the Silver Legacy, the Grand Sierra Resort and Circus Circus. Not only can you get corned beef and cabbage, you can also try calcannon (an Irish potato dish), Guinness flavored dishes, Irish Lamb Stew and Irish soda bread.
All the ingredients for corned beef and cabbage can be purchased at Raleys in the produce department as a sort of "kit" that gives you all the ingredients you need to make corned beef and cabbage with boiled potatoes. You can pick up corned beef in the meat department. Raley's also offers many recipes and more on their website www.raleys.com.
The best Irish soda bread recipe I have found comes from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. You can find her recipe for soda bread here on the Food Network website.
Enjoy St Patrick's Day, no matter what your nationality may be. Bon Appetit, Reno!
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