guinness beef stew.

Guinness beef stew. Not the best shot, but the only shot I took that night!

Chocolate Guinness cake for the birthday girl!

Cutie Pies! Karina and Preston riding on Bart while visiting.

It's hearty, it's warm and full of comfort. My niece Karina and her darling boyfriend Preston, came to visit a couple of weeks ago, and on their last day I made this stew piled on top of garlicky mashed potatoes. I had plenty of beer leftover from the chocolate guinness cake I made on her birthday...which also was muy delicioso if I may say so mahself! Apparently, the stew was a hit because Preston asked for the recipe immediately after. 

What you need:

2 tablespoons plain flour

1 1/2 pounds of steak cubed

3 sticks of celery

1 brown onion, chopped

2 carrots cubed

1 1/2 cups of mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup of guinness beer

1 1/2 cups of beef stock

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped(optional)

What you do:

Put flour and some salt & pepper(can't help but think of salt n pepa songs right here!) in a bag with steak. Shake to coat(like you used to with shake and bake!). Heat some oil(about 1 tablespoon) on a pan and cook steak until just brown. Turn off heat and reserve on the side. In a pot, heat oil(about 2 tablespoons) and cook celery, oion, carrot and mushrooms for 5 minutes, Add tomato paste and stir. Then add Guinness, beef stock and bay leaves. Bring all this to a boil, then add your beef. COver and simmer for 1 hour. Then remove lid and simmer for another 1/2 an hour or until tender. Remove bay leaves, stir in parsley(if you're adding it). Serve over mashed potatoes(mashed with garlic butter and warm milk...and some salt n pepa!) Enjoy.