Massachusetts - The Bay State, State flower: The Mayflower

1. New England Clam Chowder
2. New England Boiled Dinner
3. Harvard Beets Salad
4. Parket House Rolls
5. Boston Cream Pie

New England Boiled Dinner - Serves 6

4 lbs corned beef
2 lbs green cabbage, cored and quartered
12 to 16 new potatoes about 1-½" diameter, peeled
6 small carrots scraped
12 small white onions about 1" diameter, peeled, and trimmed
6 medium beets
2 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped

Place the corned beef in a 5 to 6 quart pot and cover with enough cold water to rise at least 2 inches above the top of the meat. Bring to a boil, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface.

Half cover the pot, turn heat to its lowest point (liquid should barely simmer) and cook the beef 4 to 6 hours or until tender. If necessary, add more hot water to the pot from time to time to keep the meat constantly covered.

Cook cabbage separately in boiling salted water for about 15 minutes. The potatoes, carrots and onions may be cooked together in a separate pot of salted boiling water. The beets, however, require different treatment. Scrub them thoroughly then cutoff their tops leaving 1 inch of stem. Cover them with boiling water and bring to a boil. Simmer the beets from 1 to 1-½ hours or until they are tender. Let them cool a bit and then slip off their skins.

To serve the dinner in the traditional way, slice the corn beef and arrange it along the center of a large heated platter. Surround the meat with the vegetables and sprinkle them with chopped parsley. Horseradish, mustard and a variety of pickles make excellent accompaniments to this hearty meal.

Note: In New England the veggies, other than the beets, are often added to the simmering corned beef during the last half hour or so of cooking. For some tastes, however, the briny flavor imparted to the vegetables by the corned beef detracts from their natural flavors.

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