Celebrate all things Irish with these fantastic recipes!
Corned Beef and Cabbage
2 medium onions, sliced
1 2 ½ to 3 lb. corned beef brisket
1 cup apple juice
¼ cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. finely shredded orange peel
2 tsp. prepared mustard
6 whole cloves
6 small cabbage wedges
Place onion in a 3½, 4, 5 or 6-quart crockery cooker. Trim fat from brisket. If necessary, cut brisket to fit into cooker; place atop onions. In a bowl combine apple juice, sugar, orange peel, mustard, and cloves; pour over brisket. Place cabbage atop brisket. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 10 to 12 hours or on high-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours.
Makes 6 servings.
Baby Rosemary Potatoes
2 lbs. small potatoes, baby Yukon gold or red skin potatoes
6 cloves garlic, cracked, remove skin
2 - 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, enough to coat potatoes
2 Tbs. fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Halve potatoes and place on a cookie sheet. Combine with cracked cloves of garlic. Coat potatoes and garlic with extra-virgin oil and season with rosemary, salt and pepper.
Place potatoes on center rack of oven and roast 20 minutes, until just tender.
Beef & Guinness Stew
3 Pounds stewing beef
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup tomato puree
5-6 carrots, cut into chunks
1 to 1 ½ lbs. new potatoes
1 ½ half cups Guinness Stout
½ cup beef broth
3-5 sprigs of fresh thyme
Trim beef of any excess fat and cut into 1-2 inch cubes. Pour flour, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper onto a large plate. Dredge the beef in the flour, shaking off any excess flour.
Heat half the oil in a large frying pan on high heat and brown the beef on all sides. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to do this in batches. As the beef is finished browning, move it from the frying pan to a large sauce pot or dutch oven over medium high heat with the rest of the olive oil. Add the garlic, onions and tomato puree to the large pot with the beef, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.
While the beef is simmering, pour half of the Guinness into the frying pan used to brown the beef, to dissolve any carmelized juices. Pour the Guinness from the frying pan, along with the beef broth and remaining Guinness, over the beef. Add the carrots, potatoes and thyme to the pot, along with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 2-3 hours or until beef is tender.
After simmering for 2-3 hours check the stew for proper seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. If the stew isn't thick enough, remove the lid, and simmer uncovered until the desired consistency is reached.
