American-Style St. Patrick's Day Corned Beef

Happy St. Patrick's Day! For making corned beef without the hassle, I buy the finest quality, approximately 3-4 pounds (drained from liquid in package, but leaving the curing spices on the slab) and place in my slower cooker -- to which I've added half an onion, several carrots and stalks of celery.  I pour 1-2 Guinness beers over and add water to come up to 1" below the interior top edge of the cooker.  Place the lid on, turn to high and let cook for 8 full hours. 

I like this fool-proof method to cooking a moist corned beef rather than having it simmering away on a flame for hours on the cook top.  Once it is done, if to be served immediately, I preheat the oven to 350 degrees, remove the cooked meat with tongs carefully from the slow cooker, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and slather the top (also as per the Silver Palate Cookbook) of the cooked meat with a mixture of 1 c. dark orange marmalade, 4 T. prepared Dijon-style mustard and 4 T. brown sugar.  Bake for 30 minutes until the glaze is bubbly hot.  Serve the meat immediately or let cool and then slice.

Accompaniments to our family's corned beef include:

pan sauteed (with a healthy knob of Irish butter) sliced Savoy Cabbage; roasted baby potatoes; rutabaga puree; and horseradish cream sauce for the meat (and another generous piece of soda bread and a selection of Irish beers).

So cheers to one and all, and enjoy your St. Paddy's night!

Dress: Betsey Johnson (vintage)
Lips: Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in American Doll
Brows: Anastasia Beverly Hills DIPBROW® Pomade in Auburn