Irish-ish

This week we chose an Irish theme as it was so close to St. Patrick's day. It turned into a delightful, if not particularly authentic, meal.

I (Kitty) wanted to make some sort of Irish Stew/Meat Pie. Caterina does not care for lamb in a stew, however, so I substituted beef. It ended up more of a Irish-ish stew with a puff pastry hat. I started by roasting some carrots (6 medium ?), one turnip, 1 1/2 medium onions and 6 cloves of garlic (all chopped) in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes. I tossed them with a little oil and sprinkled them with salt and pepper.

While those were roasting, I cut a rump roast (about 3.5 pounds) into 1 1/2 inch cubes and browned them with some salt and pepper in a couple of batches. When the vegetables were done, I combined them with the beef and a bottle of Guinness and just enough chicken stock to cover. I let the stew simmer for about an hour then added some corn starch to thicken it to a gravy-esk consistency.

I dumped the hole pot into a casserole dish and covered it with puff pastry, mixed up an egg wash and coated it then baked it at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. I will have to rely on Eric for photos.

snap a chow!!!


The whole concoction was quite delicious, but there are a few things that I would do differently, had I to do it over again. First, I allowed the pastry to sit inside the dish rather than overlap the edges. The gravy bubbled over the crust and prevented some of it from rising properly. It was still tasty, but a little soggy. Most of the recipes I consulted called for puff pastry, but I would like to try it with a nice pie crust or something a little more dense.

The only other change I would make would be to choose a fattier roast and simmer it a little longer, so that the meat would be more tender.

Also on the menu:
Eric - Brussel's Sprouts ('cause they're green, yo!)
Sarah F. - Awesome soda bread with leftover honey butter (which, given the opportunity, I would put on EVERYTHING)
Chavis - Date cake with whiskey sauce and whipped cream (Oh, what this woman can do with whiskey)
flism-cha!

Matt - Muscles cooked in white wine and Guinness, I think (I'm pretty sure these little shelled vaginas were Caterina's favorite)
Caterina - 3 Potato soup (I have been telling everyone I know about this soup. Oh my god, this soup)

here it is in an early stage, pre-dilled and buttermilked.
wheesh-pow!


I think that's it. Let me know if I'm forgetting anything!

-Kitty