Sláinte!

On Thursday, we celebrated St. Patrick's day, just like any good "Chi-rish" person would do.  Well I am considered "Chi-rish", LC's actually Irish.  To celebrate this day, we made an Irish themed dinner and invited his family over.  Two things I've never done before: Make Guinness Beef Stew and entertain the future in-laws.  Both went off without a hitch.  The beef stew was so tasty and full of flavor.  I would definitely make this again.  The only problem with it was that I should have made more.   

 

  

I found the recipe on the Cooking Light website.  I made a few modifications to it, such as more Guinness, less beef broth :-) Here it is! 

Total: 3 hours, 18 minutes
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Ingredients

• 3  tablespoons  canola oil, divided
• 1/4  cup  all-purpose flour
• 2  pounds  boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 5  cups  chopped onion (about 3 onions)
• 1  tablespoon  tomato paste
• 4  cups  fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
• 1  (11.2-ounce) bottle Guinness Stout
• 1  tablespoon  raisins
• 1  teaspoon  caraway seeds
• 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1 1/2  cups  (1/2-inch-thick) diagonal slices carrot (about 8 ounces)
• 1 1/2  cups  (1/2-inch-thick) diagonal slices parsnip (about 8 ounces)
• 1  cup  (1/2-inch) cubed peeled turnip (about 8 ounces)
• 2  tablespoons  finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

1. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt; dredge beef in flour. Add half of beef to pan; cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove beef from pan with a slotted spoon. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil and beef.
2. Add onion to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in broth and beer, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Return meat to pan. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, raisins, caraway seeds, and pepper; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Uncover and bring to a boil. Cook 50 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrot, parsnip, and turnip. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and bring to a boil; cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with parsley.

LC thought it was necessary to pick up mini-cupcakes from Jewel...he gets an A for effort :-)

And of course, it wouldn't be St. Patrick's Day without a taste of Guinness. Sláinte!