Irish Beef Stew
March 17, 2009 by Andrea
Filed under Holidays, Soups & Stews
Beef stew is one of my favorite comfort foods, both for the wonderful flavor and the ease of preparation. I saw this recipe at Epicurious a couple years ago and then saw Elise’s notes on how they used some red wine and Guinness Stout in place of some of the beef stock, an idea that definitely appealed to me. For my own touches, I added a pound of beef soup bones for extra flavor, used Yukon Gold potatoes instead of russet, and of course used fresh thyme from our garden. Though it’s not strictly traditional, this recipe has become a St. Patrick’s Day tradition for our family, a stew we look forward to every year. Read more
St. Patrick’s Day Ideas
If you are planning a little St. Patrick’s Day celebration, here’s a few ideas for you.
Guinness Milk Chocolate Ice Cream
St. Patrick’s Day Ideas From Around the Blogs
Simply Recipes – Irish Beef Stew
Kitchen Parade – Caraway Corned Beef
Guinness Milk Chocolate Ice Cream
“I would have never guessed,” Michael said after sampling the custard for the Guinness chocolate ice cream.
It wasn’t an ice cream flavor that immediately came to mind for me, either, but I wanted to make some easy and tasty treats for St. Patrick’s Day using Guinness, and the recipe jumped out at me from the pages of my favorite ice cream book, The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz.
The flavor is rich with a slight hint of yeast. I noticed the yeast aroma was strong when I opened the container with the unfrozen custard, but it wasn’t as noticeable after churning. After churning and freezing, the ice cream had a soft serve consistency, probably due to the alcohol which doesn’t freeze as quickly as water or dairy products. It was melting as fast as I could shoot with my camera.
David mentions a variation with oatmeal praline that would add a delicious crunch to the soft ice cream, and we would enjoy a scoop on top of Guinness Gingerbread.
More Ice Cream Recipes
Read more
Guinness Gingerbread
I realize this is not a traditional St. Patrick’s Day recipe by any means, but it is a tasty way to use Guinness Stout, the king of Irish stouts, in your baking. Guinness and chocolate are a perfect pair, and they work especially well with the spicy ginger, pepper, and smoky cinnamon. The gingerbread only takes a few minutes to mix up, so it’s a quick and easy dessert to serve at a St. Patrick’s Day celebration or any time of year.
The gingerbread was a hit at our house and Michael even said it was the best gingerbread he’d ever tasted as he went back for seconds. The flavor and moistness kept us coming back for more.
More Recipes For St. Patrick’s Day
Irish Freckle Bread
Until recently, I haven’t spent much cooking time delving into my Irish and Scottish heritage. I learned to make Irish soda bread a few years ago and I have found a great recipe for Irish beef stew, and I love Scottish baking treats such as shortbread and scones, but that’s really been the extent of it. While I don’t plan to ever make haggis or become a whisky aficionado, I do want to expand my cooking horizons. So this year Mom and I decided to try some other Irish foods, in particular Irish Freckle Bread. Mom did the research and found a recipe, and I made it for our St. Patrick’s Day dinner last week. I’m a little late posting, but I’m still getting caught up after being on vacation!
This is a potato bread, an enriched dough with a soft texture, and the “freckles” come from raisin, currants, chopped dates, cranberries, or anything similar that you can add. The loaf is made by rolling the dough into eight balls, then letting it rise and bake in a 10-inch springform pan. When I first put the dough balls into the pan, I though there was no way I needed a pan that large, but I let it go to see what would happen. Boy, am I glad I did! The dough rose a bit during the rising time, but it ballooned in the oven and went over the top of the pan, forming a beautiful crown. Read more
An Irish Celebration
It’s that time of year when those of us with at least a little Irish blood running through our veins like to celebrate our heritage with a few traditional foods and beverages. My side of the family has a primarily Irish and Scottish background, and we do like wear green on St. Patrick’s Day. We’re going to visit my parents next week during Spring Break, so we’ll have a chance to celebrate with family this year.
For breakfast I’ll make some Irish Soda Bread (photo above) and then for dinner we’ll enjoy an Irish stew my mother is planning to make. We particularly love this Irish Beef Stew recipe I found on Epicurious. It’s been mentioned all over the food blogs in the last few years, so I won’t repost it here, though I will say that I use Yukon Gold potatoes rather than russets and I like to toss in a few meat bones to give it more beefy flavor. Adding the Guinness or a good porter beer is a must! If you decide to make it in a slow cooker, make sure you saute the meat and vegetables first because it really does add wonderful flavor. After sauteeing the vegetables I like to deglaze the pan with a little bit of the broth and add it all to the pot.
For beverages, I’ll enjoy some Irish Cream and Michael may have a Guinness. Though Baileys Irish Cream is the most popular in the United States, my personal favorite brand is Carolans, and I like it to drink it with milk, though other cocktails are also quite yummy! It also makes a delicious brownie ice cream sundae, just top a brownie with a scoop of ice cream and pour Carolans on top.
