Drunken Irish Stew

To change things up a bit from all the sweet things I've blogged about, I'm going to blog about something savory that I'll end up making and eating myself until my boyfriend realizes that it's delicious and sneaks out while we're sleeping to eat the rest of it. Now I generally am not a fan of stew, probably because carrots and celery are my least favorite vegetables and that's generally what all stews have in them. But after I discovered this recipe for Drunken Irish Stew, I'm willing to put that hate behind me. I love meat and I love potatoes, so at least I know if they recipe still doesn't catch my fancy the first go, I can emit the vegetables.

The recipe isn't complicated in the slightest, but with tall the ingredients, it may get a little pricey and produce too much stew, unless you either have a large family or have some sort of gathering. But don't let this put you off, left overs are always fantastic and I can't see the alcohol in this recipe letting the food go bad very quickly. Also, this recipe probably isn't a very good one for the kids, not only cause I doubt all the alcohol gets cooked out, but most kids don't even like stews. Now, if you're a parent that has a miracle child who eats anything (I've actually experienced this a lot for some off reason) removing the alcohol from this recipe doesn't seem like it would make it inedible in the slightest.

The recipe calls for:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1-1/4 pounds stew beef, cut into 1-inch pieces
7 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup red wine
1 cup Guinness
6 cups beef stock (or broth)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1-1/2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dried thyme
4 bay leaves
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound russet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (peeled or unpeeled, gentleman’s choice)
1 pound baby red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (again, gentleman’s choice)
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 cups carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large yellow or white onion, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1 tablespoon water
salt and pepper, to taste

The rest of the recipe can be viewed on Crepes of Wrath

Happy Drunken Stew makings! :D