Guinness Beef Stew à la Pat

Guinness Beef Stew with
Mashed Potatoes
and Newfangled Colcannon 

A few years ago, on a chilly autumn day, I visited Dublin and took the train to Howth with a walk on the East Pier in mind. The wind was fierce, and I soon found myself in a pub before a roaring peat fire with a glass of wine and a gorgeous bowl of Guinness Beef Stew. Alas, the cook wouldn't give me the recipe!

We'll see about that, sez I. When I returned to New Hampshire, I concocted a tasty stew on a par with the one I'd enjoyed in Howth, and I'm happy to share the recipe. Sorry I can't offer a roaring peat fire!

GUINNESS BEEF STEW à la PAT

4 lbs. beef stew meat, trimmed                  1 13-oz. can of beef broth

3 Tbs. vegetable oil                                       3 cans of Guinness Stout

A dollop of bacon fat (optional)                 3 tsps. Worcestershire sauce

5-6 Tbs. flour                                                 2 tsps. dried thyme

One large onion, chopped                           1½ Tbs. brown sugar

1½ lbs. sliced mushrooms                          A few bay leaves

4-5 cloves of garlic, minced                        Salt and pepper to taste 

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1. Heat the oil and bacon fat, if you're using it, in a deep frying pan. Brown the meat in batches, sprinkling with flour as it cooks. Remove meat to a stew pot.

2. Add chopped onions to the frying pan. Cook until soft. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they release their moisture and start to brown. Add minced garlic and sprinkle on any remaining flour.

3. Add mushrooms to meat with beef broth, Guinness Stout (*or Draught), and remaining ingredients. Stir well and simmer uncovered for about two hours, or until meat is tender and sauce thickens. (I like to make it a day ahead to let it "stew" and skim the fat off the top.)

Serving suggestions: mashed potatoes, brown soda bread, colcannon, or a salad. Serves six to eight, and leftovers are great.

Petite Marmite

The name Petite Marmite, a hearty French soup perfect for a chilly winter evening, refers to the pot in which the soup is cooked rather than the ingredients. Consequently, recipes for Petite Marmite abound. After making this dish for years, I’ve come up with this delicious version. Time consuming, yes, but well worth the effort—and save any leftover broth for other recipes!

PETITE MARMITE

For the Broth:
1-2 lbs. beef soup bones with meat
2-lb. piece beef, such as bottom round, trimmed of fat and tied
3 chicken breast halves, bone-in
2 quarts beef broth
1 quart chicken broth
2-3 leeks, thickly sliced and washed well
1 large onion, unpeeled and quartered (skin will color the broth)
2 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
1 tsp. salt

For the Bouquet Garni:
2 medium bay leaves
4 parsley sprigs
½ tsp. whole black peppercorns
¼ tsp. whole cloves
¼ tsp. fennel seeds
A few sprigs of fresh thyme, or 1 tsp. dried

To Finish:
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut in 1-inch pieces
1 white turnip, peeled, quartered, and sliced
4 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tsp. salt
Fresh chopped parsley

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1. Preheat oven to 450°. Brown bones for about 25 minutes. Turn and brown another 20 minutes.

2. Place bones and tied beef in a soup pot. Cover with broth and bring to a boil. Skim as necessary.

3. Add leeks, onion, celery, and salt to broth. Return to boil, then lower to simmer

4. Make a bouquet garni of bay leaves, peppercorns, cloves, parsley, and thyme. Add to broth. Simmer for 2 hours. Add chicken breast halves and simmer another ½ hour.

5. Strain broth, discarding bouquet garni, bones, and vegetables. (At this point, soup may be cooled and refrigerated overnight in order to remove fat.) Remove chicken and reserve.

6. When ready to serve, defat broth. Return broth and beef to simmer. Add carrots, turnip, and potatoes and another tsp. salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer another 35 minutes.

7. Bone and skin chicken. Trim well and cut into bite-sized pieces. Add to soup after vegetables have been cooking 35 minutes. Simmer about 10 minutes to heat chicken and finish cooking vegetables. Remove pot from heat. Remove beef and slice into serving pieces.

8. To serve, place meats and vegetables in bowls and cover with hot broth. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and serve with crispy French bread. 4 generous servings.

Marinade for Flank Steak

For the better part of a decade, I was a stay-at-home Mom. I learned a great deal about cooking then, a lot of it from turning on PBS to watch Julia Child on weekday afternoons. At last, she did something even I could handle: marinating a flank steak. I can still hear her explaining how the olive oil in this recipe acts as a liaison for the other ingredients.

Because the recipe is so simple, I wondered how good it could be. Still, I gave it a try, and I’m glad I did. We’ve tried many flank steak marinades over the years, but we’ve never found one better.

I’ve tweaked this recipe a bit by increasing the amounts and marinating time, but it’s essentially Mrs. Child’s.

MARINADE for FLANK STEAK

1 large shallot, chopped
4 Tbs. olive oil
3 Tbs. soy sauce
3 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. dried thyme
A few drops hot sauce

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1. Trim a 1½ to 2-lb. flank steak and score lightly on each side.

2. Combine marinade ingredients and marinate steak at least 1 hour. Overnight is better.

3. Grill to desired doneness. Slice thinly, at an angle, and serve with preferred side dishes.

Spinach and Beef Lasagna

Contributed by Dawn Marie Hamilton

Many years ago, my sister, Lynn, introduced her lasagna recipe to our family. Since then, hardly a family gathering has gone by without one of the Hamilton girls making 'the lasagna'. I added spinach recently at my husband's request. We really like the new recipe…

Ingredients

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/4 cup water

8-ounces lasagna noodles (12 noodles), cooked
1 pound part skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup finely ground parmesan cheese

16-ounce part skim ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten

1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

1. Pour oil into a frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, brown beef. Drain off excess fat. Stir in garlic, salt, parsley, oregano, basil, sugar, tomato sauce, tomato paste and water. Bring to boil then simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, slice ¾ of mozzarella cheese into 27 pieces and set aside, cube remaining ¼ of mozzarella cheese to mix into ricotta in step 3.

3. Mix ricotta, cubed mozzarella cheese (step 2), egg, spinach, salt and pepper.

Add sauce and repeat layers.

4. Spoon a small amount of sauce into bottom of lasagna pan. Layer 4 noodles, 1/3 ricotta mixture, 1/3 parmesian, 9 slices of mozzarella, sauce. Repeat for 3 layers. Cover pan with aluminum foil.

5. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 5 more minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.

Enjoy!!

Chili Two Ways

"This is to thank you for all the special meals you make for me," said one of the talented writers in our Monday night writing group, and she handed me a brand new cookbook. She caught me off-guard—I truly enjoy hunting down vegetarian recipes that everyone in the group enjoys, and my husband enjoys them too.

The cookbook is The Flexitarian Table by Peter Berley, a neat collection of recipes that can be adjusted to please all the vegetarians and meat lovers in your life. A great idea, and inspiring to read, even though I've been cooking like this for a while now. Below is my own Chili Con Carne recipe in both its original form and with suggested changes to adapt it into a vegan delight.

CHILI TWO WAYS

3 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 large vidalia onion, peeled
4-5 garlic cloves, peeled
2 jalapeño chili peppers, seeded
1 red bell pepper, seeded
2 Tbs. chili powder
4 Tbs. ground cumin
2 lbs. lean ground beef OR 4-6 portobello mushrooms, chopped in processor
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
3 15-oz. cans mixed kidney beans, rinsed well and drained
               (increase to 5 cans if using mushrooms instead of beef)
2 tsps. dried oregano
1 13-oz. can beef OR vegetable broth
1½ cups dry red wine

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1. Heat oil in non-stick skillet. Prepare and process vegetables and sauté until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in chili powder and ground cumin. Cook for one minute and transfer to 8-qt. stock pot.

2. Brown ground beef or mushrooms in the same skillet, breaking up meat and adding 1 tsp. salt, about 5 minutes. Transfer beef/mushrooms with slotted spoon to stock pot, leaving fat behind. Stir tomato sauce, tomatoes, oregano, and beans into stock pot. Add beef/vegetable broth and wine. Simmer about 2 hours.

3. Serve with chopped scallions, tortilla strips, sour cream/tofu sour cream, and grated Monterey Jack or similar cheese/veggie cheese. Plenty for 6-8.

Black Bean Chili

Contributed by Dawn Marie Hamilton

Last year, after my chili entry finaled in a local charity chili cook-off, I shared the recipe at my writer's group blog 'Voices From The Heart'. The mention of using chocolate in a chili recipe seeded the idea in my mind. After tasting a wonderful chocolate flavored mole sauce at a restaurant, I decided to experiment with my chili recipe. Here's the results.


Ingredients:

1 cup onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
2/3 cup catsup
½ cup water
½ cup celery, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
3 cans (15.5 ounces each) black beans, rinsed
3 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon chili powder
2-3 chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, minced
1 teaspoon adobe sauce
2 squares (2 ounces) 70% Cacao Extra Bittersweet Chocolate
Shredded Mexican blend cheese
(Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla and Asadero Cheese)


1. Sauté onion in olive oil. Add beef and brown lightly. Drain off excess fat. Add catsup, water, celery, lemon juice, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and dry mustard. Simmer covered for 30 minutes

2. Add black beans, diced tomatoes with liquid, chili powder, chipotles, adobe sauce and chocolate. Simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

Serve chili over brown rice with generous sprinkling of cheese. Tortilla chips on side. Enjoy!

Meatloaf -- Home Style Comfort Food

Contributed by Dawn Marie Hamilton

A local restaurant has a 'Cozy Comfort Foods' section on their menu. Meatloaf is front and center. There are probably a million and one (okay, maybe I exaggerate, but still) ways to prepare meatloaf. I use a variation on my mother's recipe.

Ingredients:

1½ pounds lean ground beef
1 large egg
1½ cups wheat cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1 cup (no salt added) diced tomatoes

1. Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Shape into a loaf and place into a 5 by 9-inch loaf pan.

2. Bake for about 40 minutes in a 400-degree pre-heated oven. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.

I serve meatloaf with brown rice and a vegetable, but potatoes are also a tasty side.