St. Patrick's Day doesn't have to mean a cauldron of fatty meat bubbling away on the stove for hours, with over-cooked cabbage stinking up the house. You know--the kind of dinner that scares away children. (Americans dreamed up this combo, anyway. Both of my parents were born and raised in Ireland, where they had never even heard of serving corned beef with cabbage.) Here's a rather chic way to combine that Irish trifecta of cabbage, potatoes, and bacon into one mouth-watering dish. It's hearty enough for some as an entree, though I found a broiled fillet of wild salmon to be the perfect protein accompaniment. The jury is still out on whether I would again top the gratin with the farmer cheese suggested in the recipe--I'm thinking an Irish farmstead blue cheese might be a snappier way to go. Whatever you decide, skip a traditional dessert and enjoy another American invention instead: Irish coffee.

St. Patrick's Day doesn't have to mean a cauldron of fatty meat bubbling away on the stove for hours, with over-cooked cabbage stinking up the house. You know--the kind of dinner that scares away children. (Americans dreamed up this combo, anyway. Both of my parents were born and raised in Ireland, where they had never even heard of serving corned beef with cabbage.) Here's a rather chic way to combine that Irish trifecta of cabbage, potatoes, and bacon into one mouth-watering dish. It's hearty enough for some as an entree, though I found a broiled fillet of wild salmon to be the perfect protein accompaniment. The jury is still out on whether I would again top the gratin with the farmer cheese suggested in the recipe--I'm thinking an Irish farmstead blue cheese might be a snappier way to go. Whatever you decide, skip a traditional dessert and enjoy another American invention instead: Irish coffee.