Corned Beef Cabbage Rolls

Salty, fatty, tender corned beef. It's good by itself.

But add some potatoes, cabbage and mustard and the combination is plain delectable.

Wrap it in a cabbage roll and it's plain awesome.

I never thought that a St. Patrick's Day feast was one that I could eat with my hands, but by the end of dinner on Saturday night my fork and knife remained untouched.

The Lerner clan ate our corned beef and cabbage a week early and in an entirely new, delicious and portable way with corned beef, mashed potato and cabbage rolls.

I got the idea after watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives last week. They were in Annapolis, Maryland and visited a place called Galway Bay. The restaurant specializes in Irish food with a unique spin, like, turning a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner into something that resembles a sushi roll.

Now, some might call this blasphemous - and I was a little hesitant to stray from the Irish-American dinner I know so well (my maiden name is Clancy and my freckles number in the thousands) - but I think a new tradition has begun.

Meet the most hearty, dense and delicious way to get your St. Patty's Day feast in your belly...

Corned Beef Cabbage Rolls

3 lbs corned beef

3 lbs potatoes (any kind will do)

1/2 cup spicy mustard (or yellow if you prefer)

1 large head of cabbage

Boil your corned beef in pickling spices for three to four hours. Boil your potatoes until tender and mash with milk, butter, salt and pepper. Peel the leaves off of a head of cabbage gently and boil each leaf (a few at a time) for two to three minutes or until tender.

Make an assembly line.

Have the cabbage leaves ready.

And the cubed corned beef.

And have the mashed potatoes nearby.

And some mustard too.

In a large bowl combine about 1/4 cup of the mashed potatoes, about the same of the corned beef and about a tablespoon of the mustard. (I like to combine the mixture in small batches for each cabbage roll instead of making one large bowl of mashed potato and corned beef)

Place in the center of a cabbage leaf and roll.

Steam over boiling water for another five to seven minutes.

Serve with more mustard for dipping and a tasty beer. And Happy St. Patty's Day!

(You'll likely have some left-over corned beef which is delicious the next day in hash...)