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Savory Sight: St. Patrick's Day Dinner

YumSugar — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:21:58 -0700

I was checking out TeamSugar when I came across this post from member Phasekitty. She went all out and planned a fantastic-looking St. Patrick's Day dinner. She baked up some Irish Soda Bread, ate Guinness Beef Stew, and topped off the evening with a yummy green peppermint pie! It all looks so delicious, I wish I was there!

If you want to read more about her festive evening, and get links to all the recipes then, read more.

Submitted by TeamSugar member Phasekitty

This past weekend I decided I wanted to make a home cooked St. Paddy's Day dinner, so I pulled some Yum recipes together that had been hanging out in my favorites for a while, invited a few friends over, and busted out the crock pot.

Yum's Irish Soda Bread
Posted last year as part of the 52 Weeks of Baking, I preferred this recipe to the one posted this year which had raisins and caraway seeds in it. I like to keep things simple, and my boyfriend, the bread lover, wants nothing in the way of him and his bread. But if you're not into working and kneading bread dough, the new recipe is probably better for you. The one I used is described in the post as "hard to mess up" and it couldn't have been more true. There was no time listed as to how long to bake it, just "bake until golden brown," so I just popped it in and cleaned up. Then I checked it, decided it wasn't done and hopped in the shower. I was dressed and applying makeup before I realized -"Oh shoot, the bread!" I ran to the oven and bam - it was perfect. So if asked for a bake time, I'd have to say close to an hour, but you could probably just eyeball it like I did . . . and then forget about it and it'll still be okay

Also in these pictures, black and tans, my bf's favorite. Luckily we had a bartender in attendance and he did something weird by tipping the glass and using an upside down spoon to get them to look good. Normally I would have just poured it on top, but I suppose that wouldn't have worked as well.

My bf's bartender friend, Javier, also brought over that Chimay Ale from Trader Joe's. He described it as a "beer wine," but it tasted more like a "beer champagne" to me as it was very bubbly. The boys loved it, but I stuck with my typical Chardonnay.

Yum's Guiness Beef Stew
Posted last year, I'd been dying to try this recipe out for a while. I considered Yum's Irish stew recipes posted this year, but my boyfriend recently developed a love for Guiness, so I thought I'd give this one a whirl instead. It was delicious. I'm more used to a traditional beef stew, but this one had such unique and distinct flavors from the Guiness that it blew it away. Everyone loved it and it paired perfectly with the soda bread.

We forgot to take pictures of the stew right away and before we knew it, it was gobbled up. These are our leftovers - there was actually a lot more broth last night, but I didn't proportion it out very well, I guess. It was still very yummy just like this, though

Yum's St. Patrick's Day Peppermint Pie
I had this recipe printed and ready to make last year, but just never got around to it. I figured it would be the perfect way to top off my Irish dinner, but it just didn't turn out as well as it could have. First of all I think I could have used a lot more chocolate wafers for the crust, and I even added more than was required after seeing it didn't quite line my pie pan. Second, I filled the pan a little too much because I still had filling left over and I was convinced it would all fit in, but instead it spilled over onto the sides and looked very unpretty. Finally, the recipe calls for it to chill for at least 4 hours, but mine was in the fridge for about 5 or 6 hours and was still very melty. I took a look at our leftovers in the fridge this morning and it was a little bit better after being in there all night, but not by much. Perhaps my whipping cream wasn't whipped enough. I've always had issues with whipping cream. Anyway, it was a shame that I ended an awesome dinner with a lackluster dessert, but everyone still ate a piece (it was a minty, chocolatey, but still a yummy, mess) and we were so stuffed from bread and stew that it didn't matter much.

All in all our Irish dinner went pretty well! Now I just have to figure out what I'm doing for Easter dinner next Sunday!

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Monday's Leftovers: Guinness Stew

YumSugar — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 08:53:19 -0700

Yesterday I provided the recipe for a hearty Guinness Beef Stew and today I'm wondering what to do with the leftovers. I've come up with a bunch of different ideas (hollow out a small loaf of bread and serve it inside a bread bowl, get some large tortillas and create a irish stew wrap, serve it over pasta or rice, heat it back up with a little bit of cornstarch to thicken it up and serve it in a sandwich), however what I really want to do is just heat up the stew and eat it again! And, since the flavors have had some time to hang out and meld more, I know the stew is going to take even better today.

In case you missed the recipe, I'm putting it up again, but this time with step-by-step picture instructions. To check it out, read more

Guinness Beef Stew
From Cook's Country March 2007

3.5 lbs boneless beef chuck stew meat
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups Guinness Draught (not the extra stout)
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp dried thyme
1 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 bay leaves
5 carrots, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 lb parsnips, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 1/2 lb baby red potatoes, scrubbed clean cut into 1" chunks
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp minced parsley (fresh)

Pat beef dry with paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Heat 2 tsp oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.
Cook half of beef until browned on all-sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker insert and repeat with additional 2 tsp oil and remaining beef.
Add remaining 2 tsp oil, onions, and 1/4 tsp salt to skillet and cook until onions are lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Add broth and 1 1/4 cups stout.
Add sugar, thyme, chocolate and bay leaves.
Bring to boil using wooden spoon to scrape up browned bits.
Transfer to slow cooker insert.
Add carrots, parsnips, and potatoes to slow cooker insert.
Cover and cook on low until meat is tender, 9-10 hours (or cook on hight for 6-7 hours).Our slow-cooker was ridiculously full and I was pretty sure it was going to overflow. So to be safe, I placed it inside of a baking sheet. Turned out to be a good idea... !
Set slow cooker to high.
Whisk flour and remaining 1/4 cup beer until smooth.
Stir mixture into slow cooker. Cook, covered, until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.
Remove bay leafs from stew. Stir in parsley, season with salt and pepper. Serve!

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Sunday Dinner: Guinness Beef Stew

YumSugar — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 01:53:19 -0800

St. Patrick's day is coming up and I thought it would be fun to celebrate with (aka: a nice excuse to make) a hearty Guinness Stew. I had been looking through several different recipes when the latest issue of Cook's Country arrived in my mailbox and what do you know, there on page 8 was a recipe for a well-tested Guinness Beef Stew. Since they usually have pretty good recipes, I have decided that I'm going to give theirs a try. This recipe is an all-day affair (although the work required is pretty minimal), so why not go out and get your supplies and join me?! I'll take pictures of my endeavor and post them up here later this evening (assuming there's no kitchen fiascos...). To check out the recipe, read more

Guinness Beef Stew
From Cook's Country March 2007

4 lbs boneless beef chuck stew meat
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups Guinees Draught (not the extra stout)
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp dried thyme
1 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 bay leaves
5 carrots, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 lb parsnips, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 1/2 lb baby red potatoes, scrubbed clean
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp minced parsley (fresh)

Pat beef dry with paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tsp oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook half of beef until browned on all-sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker insert and repeat with additional 2 tsp oil and remaining beef.

Add remaining 2 tsp oil, onions, and 1/4 tsp salt to skillet and cook until onions are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add broth, 1 1/4 cups stout, sugar, thyme, chocolate and bay leaves - bring to boil using wooden spoon to scrape up browned bits. Transfer to slow cooker insert.

Add carrots, parsnips, and potatoes to slow cooker insert. Cover and cook on low until meat is tender, 9-10 hours (or cook on hight for 6-7 hours). Set slow cooker to high. Whisk flour and remaining 1/4 cup beer until smooth, then stir mixture into slow cooker. Cook, covered, until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Stir in parsley, season with salt and pepper, and discard bay leaf. Serve!

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6 Scrumptious Uses For Stout Beer

YumSugar — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:50:59 -0700

Planning a boisterous bash for St. Patrick's Day? Chances are, you'll have plenty of Guinness - the famous Irish brew - on hand. Deliciously creamy, slightly sweet, and a tad bitter all at the same time, Guinness makes for a great drink on its own. But did you know the stout also packs a punch of flavor to many different types of dishes? Read on to find out what you can cook with yours.

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World's Largest Pot of Soup

YumSugar — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 09:59:12 -0700

This weekend folks in Venezuela set a new world record for the largest pot of soup. The government of Venezuela prepared a giant 3,960 gallon cauldron of "sancocho" stew in downtown Caracas. The stew contained 6,600 pounds of chicken, 4,400 pounds of beef and tons (literally) of veggies.

Although the pot officially held 5,413 gallons, workers stopped at 3/4 full due to security reasons. However there was enough stew to serve 60,000 to 70,000 people.

The whole stunt was done to show that despite recent supply problems in Venezuela, the state-run market has plenty of reserves of all products.

Source: Washington Post via Spluch

Do You Know What's Cooking This Week?

YumSugar — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:30:15 -0700

In case you hadn't noticed, Party and I were feeling the luck of the Irish upon us this week as we geared up for some major St. Patty's Day debauchery. We made Irish lamb stew in the beloved slow cooker, whipped up five beer cocktails, and used Guinness to make a Welsh rarebit, as well as a few other unconventional dishes. Were you around for the festivities? We'll find out when you take our quiz!

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52 Weeks of Baking: Irish Soda Bread

YumSugar — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 13:03:40 -0700

This weekend we made a Guinness Beef Stew (although why we were making stew on such a gorgeous day is beyond me...) and I figured that a good hearty Irish Soda Bread would be a nice accompaniment. So I dug out the trusty Baking Illustrated and gathered up all my ingredients.

Since the stew took over 8 hours to make, and since I am the world's greatest procrastinator, I kept saying, "Oh I'll make the bread in a little bit." The boyfriend kept asking when I was starting and I kept saying, "soon, soon..." Then suddenly, the stew was almost done, the bread was just a pile of ingredients, the butter was beyond room temp (it was really hot out and I didn't pay attention, I highly recommend room temp butter and nothing more) and I needed to get cracking!

So I pulled out the ol' mixing bowl and got to work. It was barely done in time (it could have used a little bit longer to set) and an old friend I hadn't seen in over a year arrived while I was halfway done (translation: this bread did not get my full-undivided attention). I guess the bf was right, I should have started earlier in the day...

At any rate, the bread held up really nicely and paired fantastically with the stew. If this is what I get with haste and negligence, I can only imagine what a real loaf would be like (translation: this recipe is easy and hard to screw up). For step by step pictures and the full recipe, read more

Classic Irish Soda Bread
From Baking Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen

3 cups (15 oz) low-protein unbleached all-purpose flour (although I used regular all-purpose flour and it came out okay)
1 cup (4 oz) plain cake flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp softened unsalted butter, plus 1 tbps melted butter for crust
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Pre-heat oven to 400F.
Whisk flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in a large bowl.
Work the softened butter into the dry ingredient with a fork or your fingertips. Do this until the texture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add buttermilk and stir with a fork just until the dough begins to come together.
Turn the dough out onto a flour-coated work surface. Knead until the dough becomes cohesive and bumpy (12 - 14 turns, do not overknead, you do not want it to be smooth).
Pat the dough into a round about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches in height.
Place on a greased or parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Score the dough by cutting a cross shape on the top of the loaf.
Bake until loaf is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the loaf from the oven and brush the surface with the melted butter.Ignore this baking pan, I just needed somewhere to set the loaf...
Cool to room temperature, 30-40 minutes.

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Conan Irishes Up "His" St. Patrick's Day Stew

YumSugar — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:18:51 -0700

Earlier this week I let you in on how Good Housekeeping published Conan O'Brien's recipe. Unfortunately it wasn't actually Conan's recipe and so a feud was born. All week long Conan has been talking about it and creating Irish recipes of his own. I sort of thought it would never end, but last night Good Housekeeping's editor in chief, Rosemary Ellis, decided to pay Conan a visit. She apologized, gave him a lifetime subscription to Good Housekeeping, offered to teach him how to cook the stew, and actually brought some in for him to try.

After tasting it, Conan decided to "Irish it up" a bit. Let's see, what would make it more Irish? How about some Jameson? Perhaps some Guinness, too? If you want to see what he did, we got the clip, watch it when you read more.