Beef and Guiness Stew

I came upstairs to print out my packing list so I wouldn't forget anything for our trip to Hawaii.  Of course, somewhere along the line I got distracted and looked at the People magazine hightlights on my Google homepage.  I saw the article about Molly Sims and her baby shower and was curious because I wasn't really sure who Molly was, even though I recognized her name.  Sorry Molly!  So I read the article and went to her website and being as curious as I usually am looked around and came across this recipe that I want to try. Good pictures of the food on Molly Sims website and it's a recipe from Gavan Murphy (I didn't know who he was either).  Guess I'm really out of touch.



Beef & Guiness Stew
Ingredients:
2 lb. lean chuck steak (stewing beef, preferably grass fed), cut 1″ dice
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. olive oil
1½ tbsp. tomato paste
1 bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaf)
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4″ slice
½ lb. mushrooms, sliced
4 cups beef broth
1 cup Guinness
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Preheat sauté pan on med-high heat. Season flour with salt & pepper and coat the beef, shaking off excess. Sauté the beef in 3 batches, adding 1 tbsp. oil each time. Once beef is browned, set aside. Using same pan, add onion, carrots and garlic, and sauté for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and continue to sauté for an additional minute. Add in tomato paste and stir constantly for 1 minute. Pour in 1 cup Guinness and scrape all caramelized bits from bottom of pan. Add beef and vegetable mix together into a large stockpot along with herbs and remaining liquid. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for approximately 1½ to 1¾ hrs. or until beef is fork tender. Serve with Irish soda bread and a good pint o’ Guinness.


and this recipe came from the same place
Potato Parsnip Pancakes
Ingredients:
2 cups raw sweet potato, grated
2 cups raw parsnip, grated
1/3 cup organic all-purpose flour
1 heaping tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
2 whole organic eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil for sautéing

Instructions:
Combine all pancake ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Preheat large non-stick sauté pan on medium heat. Once hot, drizzle olive oil in pan and place 1/2 cup of mixture in pan. Flatten gently to ¼-inch thickness. Cook for approximately 4 minutes each side, drizzling some olive oil on each pancake before flipping over to ensure they don’t stick. This can be done ahead of time. To reheat, pop in preheated 375°F oven on foiled oven tray for 10 minutes to crisp.