An Excuse for Corned Beef

We don't go all out for St. Patrick's Day...it usually goes unnoticed.  But occassionally I will use it as an excuse to cook corned beef.  So today we are celebrating St. Patty's Day early with corned beef (it is done and waiting to be cooked a little longer in the oven with a brown sugar glaze), Jackie potatoes (named after a childhood friend's mother), and Red Cabbage Salad with Warm Pancetta-Balsamic Dressing....a twist on the typical corned beef, potatoes, and cabbage.

I think that the salad is beautiful.

By the way, it is a beautiful day in the neighborhood.  I did a little yard work early this afternoon and now I am heading to the front porch to soak up the last hour and a half of daylight.  Right now I am loving the switch to daylight-saving time, but ask me again in the morning when it will be dark for my 7 a.m. walk.