2 posts tagged “carrots”
Last night, our friends Don and Pam had come down to San Francisco for an arts and crafts festival. So, since I often eat at their house up in Citrus Heights, I figured it was only fair I return the favor. They brought a bottle of Topel's '05 Pinot Noir, and I made a Guinness beef stew and served it with some fresh country white sourdough and Kerrygold butter.
Ingredients:
2 boneless beef sirloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
All-purpose flour for dredging
4 tbsp unsalted Kerrygold Irish butter
1/4 cup canola oil
4 medium onions, chopped
2 cups beef stock
2 cups Guinness
5 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
4 parsnips, peeled and thickly sliced
1 medium turnip, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup pearl barley
Season the meat with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. In a stockpot or large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the oil. Cook the meat on all sides for 5 to 7 minutes or until evenly browned. Remove from the pot. Stir in the onions and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until soft.
Return all the meat to the pot and add enough of the beef stock and Guinness to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for about an hour or until meat is nearly tender. Add the carrots, parsnips, turnip, and barley and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the vegetables and meat are tender and stew is thickened.
Tonight's dinner was chicken pot pie. It's been a while since I really got to cook and since I cleaned the kitchen, I felt like making it. You will need pie crust dough (Make your own if you want, but my own mother told me not to bother these days since you can buy the roll-out kind. My own grandmother said, and I quote, "It's hard to make one better." As for me, I only make my crusts from scratch when I just feel like punishing myself or I'm really bored.)
3 medium carrots, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1 can chicken broth (or 1 1/2 cups chicken stock)
2/3 cup milk
2 1/2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (I boil mine before hand)
Heat butter on medium heat in a 2 qt saucepan until melted. Stir in flour, onion, salt, pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly until bubbly and then remove from the heat. Stir in broth and milk. Heat to boiling, allow to boil one minute and stir. Add chicken and vegetables and stir well to coat.
Pour mixture into deep baking dish. Place crust pastry on top and be sure to poke vent holes. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve.
