Calling all corned beef and cabbage fans. We’ve got a wide range of St. Patrick’s Day recipes for all types of home cooks, from traditionalists looking to try their hand at colcannon, an Irish classic, to more adventurous chefs who want to transform those ingredients with new forms.

Read on for three great St. Patrick’s Day recipes, and don’t forget to check out our guide for how to make “quick” corned beef.

Corned Beef Sandwiches

This St. Paddy’s Day, try a corned beef sandwich served with a secret sauce and egg on a pretzel bun. Cookbook author Sonya Keister swears by the egg, sauerkraut and secret sauce combo. (Courtesy Patrick el Mouzawak)

Tired of the same old corned beef and cabbage St. Patrick’s Day menu? This year, try putting corned beef into a sandwich paired with a secret sauce instead. This recipe comes from Sonya Keister, food blogger and author of “Chef’s Table: Concepts and Recipes for Gathering” (Keister, $40).

Keister initially wanted to develop this as a slider recipe for Super Bowl and similar sports-watching parties, but with a runny egg component, decided it worked better as a full-size sandwich. “The runny egg oozing into the creamy sauce offset by the sauerkraut and tiny kick from the secret sauce is just so delicious,” she says. “Trust me.”

INGREDIENTS

Secret sauce:

3/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons ketchup

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1½ teaspoons Calabrian chili pepper paste

1 tablespoon creamy horseradish

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

Corned beef sandwiches:

6 full-size pretzel buns

Dijon mustard

1½ pounds corned beef, thinly sliced

1 pound Swiss cheese

Olive oil

6 eggs

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Salt, pepper

Sauerkraut to taste

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, Calabrian chile pepper paste, horseradish and salt to taste, whisking until smooth. Set aside.
Slather each pretzel bun with a little Dijon mustard on one side and secret sauce on the other. Place on baking sheet.
Top the bottom half of each pretzel roll with several slices of corned beef and top with Swiss cheese. Place another slice of Swiss cheese on the other half of the pretzel bun. Broil sandwiches — open face — until the cheese is melted on both halves, watching closely to make sure you don’t overdo it.
Working in batches, heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet and cook 1 egg per sandwich until set, but still a little runny in the middle. Sprinkle with Parmesan, season with salt and pepper, then transfer each egg to a sandwich. Finish with sauerkraut, more secret sauce and the bun top. Serve as is or slice in half for smaller portions.

Makes 6 full-size or 12 appetizer-size sandwiches

— Courtesy Sonya Keister, “Chef’s Table: Concepts and Recipes for Gathering” (Keister, $40)

Colcannon

Colcannon (mashed potatoes and cabbage) garnished with Irish white cheddar cheese. (Photos by Nick Koon/Orange County Register)

“Colcannon is a delicious rustic dish of mashed potatoes moistened with milk and butter and mixed with cabbage and onions,” writes award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas. “It’s a St. Patrick’s Day favorite served with corned beef.”

Out of the oven, Thomas likes to put the casserole on a large heatproof platter and surround the colcannon with roasted carrots for color and added flavor. “For the colcannon I use an oval gratin dish that is 15 inches long and 9 inches wide in the center,” Thomas says.

“If time permits, I look for Irish white cheddar cheese,” Thomas continues. “Often, sharp Bally Cashel Irish white cheddar cheese is available at Trader Joe’s. If you can’t find it use a domestic brand, or Havarti cheese. The dish can be prepared 2 hours in advance and refrigerated unbaked; increase baking time by 4 or 5 minutes.”

INGREDIENTS

Butter for greasing heat-proof oval gratin dish

½ small head green cabbage, thinly sliced and chopped into 1-inch lengths

5 large baking potatoes, such as Russets, peeled and cut into chunks

5 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

1 bunch green onions, trimmed and sliced (include about ½ of dark green stalks)

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup grated (4 ounces) white Cheddar cheese or Havarti cheese

Optional garnish: finely chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

Grease an oven-proof oval gratin pan with butter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook cabbage in large pot of boiling, salted water until tender, about 2 minutes. Scoop out cabbage (reserve cooking liquid) and drain in colander. Give the colander a good shake to remove excess water.
Cook potatoes in same pot in the cabbage water until tender. Drain and mash in a ricer or electric mixer (not a food processor), adding the pieces of butter. Stir in drained cabbage and green onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spread mixture on prepared dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven until heated through and cheese bubbles, about 25 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings

— Cathy Thomas (@CathyThomas Cooks.com)

Irish Inspired Frittata

Irish Inspired Frittata. (Linda Gassenheimer/TNS)

“When St. Patrick’s Day comes around, I start to think about an Irish-inspired dinner,” writes Linda Gassenheimer. “Here’s a quick festive one that includes sausage, potatoes, eggs and the secret ingredient that brings out the flavors – beer.”

INGREDIENTS

½ pound red or yellow potato cubes (about 2 cups)

4 whole eggs

½ cup skim milk

¼ cup chopped chives

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 sausage links, (about 3 ounces each)

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup sliced white and pale green parts of leek

½ cup beer

2 slices Irish soda bread (or other bread)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the broiler.
Wash potatoes do not and cut into ½-inch pieces. Place in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high 2 minutes. Set aside.
Whisk eggs and milk together and add chives salt and pepper to taste.
Cut sausage links into ¼-inch slices.
Heat oil in a large skillet and add the sausage slices, leek and potatoes. Saute 4 to 5 minutes.
Add beer and cook to reduce.
Add egg mixture lower heat to medium and cook 10 minutes until the mixture starts to set. Place under broiler about 6 inches from the heat. Broil 2 minutes to brown top. Watch to see if it browns and doesn’t burn.
Serve with Irish soda bread or any bread.

Yield 2 servings

— Linda Gassenheimer, Tribune News Service

Contributing: Kate Bradshaw, Bay Area News Group; Linda Gassenheimer, Tribune News Service; Cathy Thomas, Southern California News Group

After a dozen years in the Twin Cities, Uber and Lyft have announced they’ll roll their ride-hailing services out of Minneapolis on May 1 after the Minneapolis City Council voted to mandate the equivalent of wage increases for drivers.

What does that mean for St. Paul and the rest of the Twin Cities metro?

Some have called threats of their departure mere saber-rattling, but Uber on Friday indicated it would exit the surrounding cities and counties, as well as Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

“This ordinance will impact the entire Minneapolis metropolitan area, including St. Paul, the surrounding suburbs and the airport,” said Hayley Prim, a senior policy manager for Uber, in an email Friday. “The ordinance is drafted so as to impact any trip that crosses over Minneapolis city limits, which means we will be forced to leave the areas surrounding the city as well.”

Implications

The implications go beyond having to hail a taxi instead of dialing up an Uber on date night.

For some, the two companies have become essential providers. With funding from a Minnesota Department of Human Services grant, Dakota County Social Services partners with Lyft to transport clients of its case management services to and from employment, including wheelchair users and others with special needs.

A message to Lyft seeking comment was not immediately returned on Friday.

And cabs can be difficult to come by. Backed by venture capital, the two ride-hailing companies were able to undersell the market when they rolled into the Twin Cities in 2012. They offered lower rates than traditional cabbies, which are now in short supply in Minneapolis and St. Paul compared to a decade prior.

Still, ride-hailing reservation costs have since gone up. Cab companies are still around, but scaling up to fill the void if the ridesharing companies pull the plug could take time.

“I don’t think they’re leaving,” said Jay Jamal, production manager with Gold and Green Taxi Cab, which maintains some 30-35 drivers in Eagan and Minneapolis. “They’re making more money here than in other states in the Midwest except Chicago. It’s fake news. But we’ve gotten more customers in the past six months because their reservation fees are higher than people expected.”

Turned off by low wages and other company policies, some drivers have quit Uber and Lyft and returned to traditional cab companies, which have relied on online platforms like Curb — gocurb.com — to stay competitive, as well as contracts with school districts and social service providers.

Three scenarios — and precedents

Business advocates are not taking threats of the two companies’ departures lightly and have called for state lawmakers to intervene.

“This means the end of Lyft and Uber not just in Minneapolis, but potentially across all of Minnesota,” said Jonathan Weinhagen, president and chief executive officer of the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, in a social media post following Thursday’s vote of the Minneapolis City Council. “It’s time for the governor and Minnesota legislature to step in and keep this important transportation option available across our entire state.”

Some city residents were instantly incredulous.

“Does it though? Want to bet lunch that you’ll be able to take an Uber in Minneapolis in May?” responded logistics consultant Mike Norton, who has been active in Minneapolis politics.

Both scenarios — that the nation’s major ride-sharing companies will stay or leave — have national precedent. A third option would entail remaining in the Twin Cities while somehow avoiding Minneapolis, which might sound improbable on the face of it. Still, even a temporary boycott of the city — or cities — stretching through a major convention or sporting event could chill voters.

The app-based ride-hailing platforms still operate in Seattle and New York, which both raised wages for drivers, but those are busier markets than the Twin Cities. The companies called it quits in Austin, Texas in 2016 after voters approved new regulations for their services, but they then returned the following year after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law statewide measures that overrode those local ordinances.

‘Nothing to fill that gap’

A spokesman for St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter on Thursday evening said the mayor had spent the day with Vice President Kamala Harris and would have no immediate comment. St. Paul City Council President Mitra Jalali also said she was still evaluating details and would have no immediate comment.

May isn’t the busiest time for sporting events, though the Minnesota Twins, St. Paul Saints and Minnesota United are all scheduled to host home games that month.

Truer tests of life without ride-sharing could come when Janet Jackson plays the Xcel Energy Center on June 18 and the Breakaway Music Festival rolls into St. Paul’s Allianz Field for two days later that month. The inaugural Minnesota Yacht Club Musical Festival lands on Harriet Island for two days in July and the Basilica Block Club Party comes to Boom Island in Minneapolis for two days in August.

Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who issued his first-ever veto last year of a bill that would have boosted pay for Uber and Lyft drivers, told the Associated Press this week that their departure would have have negative impacts on the disabled and others who rely regularly on their services, “and there’s nothing to fill that gap.”

He said he hoped the Legislature would seek a compromise that includes fair pay for drivers and dissuades the companies from leaving.

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By JOSH BOAK (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lori Shelton can’t fathom ever having the money to buy a home — and that’s a major reason why so many voters feel down on the economy ahead of this year’s presidential election.

Shelton, 67, drives an Uber to help pay rent in Aurora, Colorado. An advance on her pay covered her apartment’s security deposit. But it also cut into her next paycheck, leaving her bank account dangerously low when the rent was due — a cycle that never seems to end.

“I’m always one step behind,” said Shelton, her voice choking up. “It’s a nightmare, it’s a freaking nightmare right now.”

The United States is slogging through a housing affordability crisis that was decades in the making. At the root of this problem: America failed to build enough homes for its growing population. The shortage strikes at the heart of the American dream of homeownership — dampening President Joe Biden’s assurances that the U.S. economy is strong and underscoring the degree to which Republican Donald Trump, the former president and presumptive GOP nominee for 2024, has largely overlooked the shortage.

The lack of housing has caused a record number of renters to devote an excessive amount of income to housing, according to a Harvard University analysis. Not enough homes are for sale or being built, keeping prices elevated. Average mortgage rates have more than doubled and further worsened affordability.

In fact, the Census Bureau reported that homeownership fell slightly at the end of last year in an otherwise solid economy. If it wasn’t for shelter costs, inflation — Biden’s most pronounced economic problem — would be running at a healthy and stable 1.8%. Instead, it’s hovering around 3.2%.

Administration officials are confident that shelter inflation will soon cool, but the damage across several years is apparent to advocates and economists.

“I’ve been doing housing work for 30 years — the housing affordability challenge is the worst I’ve ever seen in my career,” said Shaun Donovan, a former secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Obama years who now leads the nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners.

Donovan noted that this is an increasingly bipartisan challenge that could bring the political parties together. Expensive housing was once the domain of Democratic areas such as New York City and San Francisco. It’s now moved into Republican states as places such as Boise, Idaho, grapple with higher prices.

“It is a first-tier issue almost everywhere,” he said. “And that is changing the national politics around it in a way that I think is quite different than I’ve ever seen.”

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said that the outcome of the November election could ultimately depend on the path of 30-year mortgage rates.

Rates currently average about 6.74%. If they dropped closer to 6%, the odds of a Biden victory would increase. But rates moving near 8% might enable Trump to prevail, Zandi said.

“Given the current housing affordability crisis, higher rates will make owning a home completely out of reach for nearly all potential first-time homebuyers,” he said. “Since homeownership is a key part of the American dream, if it appears unattainable, this will deeply impact voters’ sense of the economy.”

Biden, a Democrat, acknowledged the pain many are feeling in his State of the Union address earlier this month and in his budget proposal released on Monday.

The president wants to fund the building and preservation of 2 million housing units — a meaningful sum, but not enough to solve the shortage. He also proposed a tax credit worth up to $10,000 to homebuyers. Over the past three years, he has increased rental assistance to 100,000 households.

“The bottom line is we have to build, build, build,” Biden said Monday in a speech to the National League of Cities. “That’s how we bring down housing costs for good.”

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Rapidly climbing home prices were also a festering problem under Trump, who first achieved celebrity status as a real estate developer. While president, Trump called for limiting construction in the suburbs. He claimed during the 2020 election that Biden’s policies to spur building and affordability would “destroy your neighborhood.”

During the 2018 to 2020 years of Trump’s presidency, the country’s housing shortage surged 52% to 3.8 million units, according to the mortgage company Freddie Mac.

The Associated Press contacted Trump’s campaign for his policy plans but did not get a response. The America First Policy Institute, a think tank promoting Trump’s vision, said the key is to cut government borrowing to reduce mortgage rates. The former president has pledged to reduce deficits, but an analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget shows that his policies in office will have likely added more than $8 trillion to the national debt.

“The best way for us to improve access to homeownership for young people is to get interest rates back down, not to provide subsidies that cause housing unaffordability to worsen,” said Mike Faulkender, chief economist at the institute.

Lower rates might play well with voters, but most economists say they would at best offer temporary financial relief. Purchase prices would likely adjust upward in response to greater demand from falling rates.

Construction, the more enduring solution, would take years to achieve and require new rules by states and cities. The administration is trying to incentivize zoning changes, but the major choices are outside the White House’s control.

“Even as incomes are going up and the economy is doing well and inflation is coming down, people can’t buy homes,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at the brokerage Redfin. “That’s like the biggest problem for Biden because it’s not one that he can solve.”

The general rule of thumb is that people should pay no more than 30% of their income on rent or a mortgage. A typical household looking to buy a home would have to devote 41% of its income to mortgage payments, according to Redfin.

There are far-reaching economic risks because of this. High housing costs can lead people to cut back spending elsewhere. Advocates said it enables landlords to neglect their properties since there is always a ready tenant.

Evictions can worsen health and educational outcomes for children and exact an even wider cost on society, said Zach Neumann, a Denver-based lawyer who provides more than $30 million annually in rental assistance through the nonprofit Community Economic Defense Project.

The cumulative costs of evicting poorer renters are “$20,000 to $30,000 a year when you include shelter nights and emergency room visits,” Neumann said. “It’s really overwhelming when you think about the total numbers and these folks are fighting to have a roof over their heads.”

While there is bipartisan agreement on the need for more housing, there has yet to be a significant plan that has passed the House and Senate. Biden has proposed housing aid throughout his administration that never materialized.

“Had Congress passed some of the investments that the president has called for since the beginning of the administration, had they done that three years ago, as he was advocating, we’d have affordable units coming online right now,” said Daniel Hornung, deputy director of the White House National Economic Council.

But Mark Calabria, who was director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency during the Trump administration, said that many of the federal tools to increase housing such as the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit could further push up demand without adding enough construction.

“My worry would be we’ve done a number of things that increased demand when the problem is supply,” said Calabria, now an adviser with the libertarian Cato Institute.

But for renters such as Lori Shelton in Colorado, the debate about how to add housing supply is cold comfort when she owes rent now. She’s previously dealt with the threat of eviction and late fees. She gets some rent money from her son, but she has also relied at times on her church to cover the $2,399 a month.

“I don’t think the majority of us have that savings account,” she said. “If you spend that much on your rent and your groceries and your car and your bills, you don’t have much for a fallback.”