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Well, here we are in a new year and another new decade. Time is certainly flying and in no time at all we will go from “roses are red” to “sure and b’gorrah” as we celebrate two saints’ days, Valentine and Patrick.
  The Valley’s hills have already taken on a lovely green cloak, trees and plants are burgeoning with new grown and the buds will have begun to swell. Spring in the Santa Ynez Valley can be magnificent.  Whole hillsides covered with a wild mixture of purple lupine and orange California poppies give the landscape a decidedly Monet-ish look.
With January in full swing, my thoughts are turning to cookies and corned beef in honor of the above mentioned special days.
  February is the month for sweethearts and lovers and a great time to cook up a treat for the special person in your life.  I have a few suggestions to cover by Valentine’s and St. Patrick’s Days, but first a little information.
  Although celebrated each year on February 14, the origin of Valentine’s Day is unknown.  Some historians say that the celebration goes back to ancient Rome.  The great bard Shakespeare penned these words for Hamlet, Act IV, Scene V:
    Tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s day.
    All the morning betime,
    And I a maid at your window,
    To be your Valentine.
  Most people believe that the day was named for a man named Valentine who lived over 1700 years ago.  He was a priest in Rome when Christianity was a new religion and he was put to death for his beliefs and teaching the “new faith.”  Later, just when I don’t know, he was made a Saint.
  Valentine greetings have been popular since the middle ages.  Since few could read or write, early “valentine greetings” were said or sang by lovers to their sweethearts.  Written valentines began about the year 1400 and the oldest one on record was made in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, a Frenchman who was captured by the English and imprisoned in the tower of London.  Some of the valentine poems he wrote during his incarceration are on display in the British Museum in London.
  It wasn’t until 1847 that Valentine’s Day became popular in the United States.  After receiving a lacy valentine greeting from England, Esther Howland decided to make her own to sell in her father’s Worcester, Massachusetts shop.
  Her cards were a success and demands became so great for her originals that she started a business, one which earned her close to $100,000 per year.  THAT was a lot of money in those days.
  Today approximately 900 million Valentine’s cards are sent throughout the United States and Canada. Making your own Valentine’s Day cards are still popular.  It’s mostly children, though; we adults somehow prefer the store-bought variety.
 
  Or, you could use the following and make “edible” valentines to share with family and friends.  These cookies may be decorated with sayings or designs, either iced or plain they are great.

VALENTINE'S DAY COOKIES

1-1/3 cup shortening (can be part butter)
1-1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
Few drops red food coloring
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups sifted flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

Use an electric mixer and thoroughly cream sugar and shortening.  Add eggs and continue creaming until mixture is light and fluffy.  Add food coloring and vanilla.  Sift dry ingredients together and add alternately with milk.  Chill dough in refrigerator for at least one hour or overnight if possible.  Divide dough into quarters, keeping remaining in refrigerator and roll out one piece, to about 1/3 inch thickness, on a well floured surface.  Cut into desired shapes, place on a greased cookie sheet, sprinkle with sugar and bake for eight to ten minutes at 375 degrees.  Repeat with remaining dough.  When cool these may be decorated with homemade butter cream frosting or purchased decorating icing and gels.

2 cups whipping cream
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split
Small pinch salt
4 egg yolks

  Beat until sugar has been dissolved then slowly whisk cooled cream into egg mixture (if not cool, yolks will “scramble”).  When thoroughly mixed, strain through a fine sieve.  Divide mixture between four shallow baking dishes (about one half cup each), set into a 9” by 13”
rectangular baking dish and place in oven.  Pour enough cold water into baking pan to come about halfway up sides of dishes.  Bake until custards are set, about 30 to 35 minutes and check for doneness by inserting knife blade into center…if knife comes out clean, custard is done…if not, cook two or three more minutes then check again.  When done, remove from oven and set aside to cool.  Cover cooled custards with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least four hours or overnight.  Dab tops with paper towel to remove all moisture and sprinkle remaining three tablespoons sugar evenly over custards.  Use a kitchen blowtorch to caramelize.  Hold torch at an angle (flame should barely touch surface) and slowly move over sugar to caramelize evenly.  Garnish, if desired, with fresh berries and sprig of mint.
NOTE:  these may be made ahead, caramelizing and all.  However, I recommend allowing them to come to room temperature before serving.

    
  In March, on the 17th, there’s Saint Patrick’s Day.  Named for an English/Irish bishop, Saint Patrick’s Day has been celebrated in Ireland for centuries.  Born in western England early in the fourth century A.D., Saint Patrick was captured by Irish raiders at the age of 16.  He was carried off to slavery, but escaped after six years and entered a monastery in England.
  Eventually he became a bishop and returned to Ireland as a missionary where he dedicated himself to converting the Irish to Christianity. In Ireland today, parades and celebrations mark the anniversary of his death in 492. 
Saint Patrick’s Day has been recognized in America since 1737 and is one of our earliest holidays.  The day was declared by a group of Irish Protestants who met in Boston in honor of Saint Patrick.  (They also founded a group called the Charitable Irish Society.)
  Traditional Irish symbols mark Saint Patrick’s Day.  Cards, cakes, clothing and all sorts of items are decorated by an assortment of shamrocks, shillelaghs, good luck charms, leprechauns and harps.  Green is the color of the day (you can get pinched if caught not wearing it) and EVERYONE claims to be “a little bit” Irish at least for one day.
  And what could be a more traditional St. Patrick’s Day feast than corned beef?

BAKED CORNED BEEF
 
Packaged corned beef brisket
1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
Washed and scrubbed potatoes, cut up
Washed and scrubbed carrots, cut up
Cabbage

Heat oil in a large roaster and sauté onions until limp.  Add garlic and continue cooking for another five minutes.  Don’t let garlic burn.  Rinse corned beef in a strainer and reserve spices.  Place corned beef on top of the onion/garlic mixture fat side up.  Sprinkle with the brown sugar; cover roaster and place in a preheated 450 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake until meat is tender.  About 20 minutes per pound total cooking time.  (To “crisp up” the fat, remove roaster lid during last 15 minutes.)  Using a large kettle, cook potatoes and carrots with reserved spices in just enough water to cover. Add cabbage to potatoes and carrots during last ten minutes.

4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1/4 cup sugar, optional
1/8 teaspoon cardamom or coriander, optional
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 egg
1-3/4 cups buttermilk