Getting through Finals Week- Irish Beef Stew

It's my goal to let this be the first ever finals week where I don't eat instant ramen. Will I make it?? This would be my 7th finals week in dental school. I should be a pro at studying right? Not quite... I have really bad habits. There's only 6 finals this week + 2 last week. I think I once had 10 finals? I don't know, but that was exactly 1 year ago where it was 10 (or 11?) finals + a bunch of hand skills practicals (waxing up teeth, drilling crowns, and cavity preps/fills) I don't know how I survived that, but that was the reason why this blog was basically neglected for roughly a year.

I walked down to the store on Monday and bought some fresh stew beef and beer. I'm glad I didn't run into anyone I knew, well, you could come to some sort of judgement since those were the only things I bought... yep.. a 6 pack to get me through these finals (well... truth be told, 2 bottles were empty by the end of the night... er. early morning ...)  I had a game plan, it was to make Irish beef stew, and also Chocolate stout cake, really now, the Guinness beers were for cooking. St. Patrick's Day is coming up! I'm not Irish, but weirdly, every year I make something that celebrates that day...corned beef... cabbage... green cookies... I don't know, I am really random.

I don't think it's a traditional Irish stew because of the spices I put in, but a lot of the recipes I found were lacking in the flavorings department, so I decided to play around with the spices I had. Also, next time I might experiment with Guinness "extra" stout. As with many stews, there is a lot of eyeballing of ingredients, please play around with the recipe, it's really forgiving, there isn't a real science, the only thing that makes a really good stew is cooking it for a long time :) 

Irish Beef Stew

(serves 3)

1lb stew beef cut into 1 inch cubes, lightly tossed in flour so all sides are coated, lightly season with salt and pepper 

1.5 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 pound carrots chopped

3 stalks of celery chopped

1/2 can of diced tomatoes

1 large potato cut into 1/2 inch pieces ( or about how large you slice your other veggies)

1 cup stout beer (I used Guinness Draught)

1/2 cup red wine

1.5 cups ( or so) of beef broth (read the recipe for tips) 

1.5 tsp herbs de provence 

2 tsp white sugar

2 tsp paprika 

salt and pepper to taste ( I tasted as it was cooking, especially after an hour, you can adjust if necessary) 

In a large dutch oven, heat oil. Brown floured meat on all sides. Add in all the veggies, except tomatoes. Cook on medium-high for 3 minutes or until it starts to become soft. Deglaze the pot with the beer, and scrap up all the brown bits. Add in wine, and beef stock ( add enough so that a little over 3/4 of the meat and veggies are covered in liquid... this depends on your pot size and shape.) Add in spices, sugar and tomatoes, stir and cover. Give it a good stir every 20-30 minutes or so, just to make sure the meat isn't sticking to the bottom ( towards the end, my meat started to do that!.) Also, season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook covered for around 3 hours, or until the meat is tender. 

(alternatively, this could be made in your slow cooker, I would brown the meat in a pan first, and then add everything to the slow cooker and set on low for at least 6 hours) 

Prep time? 15 minutes
Cook (study) time? 3 hours
Cost? ~$10 , The beef was regular price at almost 7 bucks a pound.. yikes. I thought stew beefs were supposed to be cheap! ... That's Mollie Stones for you. I'm no meat expert, but this meat looked so fresh, and I could request my exact amount... 1 lb!... He got it to 0.99 lbs :)
Servings? 3 (the photo above is not that of a serving size... I probably doubled that amount per meal)
Photo? I think I'm finally going to start shooting in the raw mode now, I've been doing the auto setting on no flash for probably 95% of my pictures... and well, I'm not too happy with that clarity anymore.. I know it's my camera body, but I haven't found a deal worthy enough to let go of this one... oh well, it will do for now, plus CS5 works wonders on raw files. :)

Eating this seriously brings a smile to my face. I ate it with some egg noodles, and heated it up so that it was piping hot. It's cold, wet, and yucky outside, and I have know every since antibiotic, antiviral, fungal, depressant, heart drugs, blood thinners.. etc.. under the sun... and not just know their name.. but their actions and what interacts with that... Why? I don't know, I thought that was what Lexicomp was for/ my sister.. aka the pharmacist :) Hi Hef!!!

I've been listening to Lady Antebellum's CD a lot these days. My favorite song at the moment if the Heart of the World. It's just so peaceful! This isn't a type of song I'm used to listening to, I guess over the years I've left my 50 Cent days behind and gone to more meaningful songs.  "If grease is the soul of the kitchen, and coffee the drinks of the Gods, routine too perfect to mention, time is a thief I would rob." What wonderful lyrics :)