Comforting Irish

Wow.. talk about a month for comforting foods! I think, other than the scallops, we've ate pretty much nothing BUT comforting foods so far this November. November is a kick-ass month! =) One of my most favorite dinners in alla world is my Mom's Irish Boil. Her side of the family is predominantly Irish, but I don't recall many Irish recipes made by her other than two different types of "boils". Without doing much research, as I am a lazy bugger, I'm guessing that these two recipes are take-offs of what many Irish mother's would make for their family that was relatively cheap, convenient and used what was probably staples in their households. I'm sure the meat has changed from those boiling pots in Ireland to the boiling pots here in the US, but the concept is probably the same. The first type of boil is basically one or two small cottage hams, a head of cabbage and a bunch of potatoes seasoned and covered in water - then brought to a boil and simmered for hours until the meat and cabbage were tender. Delicious. The boil she made yesterday was the one she called her Irish Boil. It consists of either bone in or boneless western style pork ribs, several potatoes, a couple cans each of green beans and sweet corn. All seasoned with nothing but salt and pepper, then covered in water and boiled. A few hours later, the ribs are melt in your mouth tender, the potatoes have soaked up the juice of the ribs and the vegetables are not mushy at all. A big bowl, a fork and a piece of good, crusty bread is all that's needed for a delicious and filling dinner that is the perfect ending to a cold day. Beware! This type of dinner is NOT camera friendly. Do not be turned off by the looks.. as the taste is truly magnificent. =) Mom's Irish Boil 3 lbs. western style pork ribs 7-8 russet potatoes, peeled 2 cans cut green beans (fresh can always be used) 2 cans sweet corn salt and pepper to taste enough water to cover all ingredients by at least an inch or two In a large soup pan, over medium-high heat, brown the ribs that have been seasoned with salt and pepper. Once browned, add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a medium-low and simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally and checking to make sure water has not evaporated too much. If it has, just add more. Depending on how fatty your pork ribs are, you may need to skim the fat off the top - but we usually don't see that too often. That's it.. simple, but tasty! :D