GUINNESS BEEF STEW WITH MASHED POTATOES

Does anyone actually enjoy green beer? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Having grown up in a party college town where the most popular bar around was an Irish-themed pub, I’ve seen my share of St Patrick’s Day celebrations. Green jello shots, felt shamrocks hats, goofy cocktails (note to self: avoid anything with the word ‘car bomb’ in it), most of these things just seem silly and cringe-inducing in post-college life. But does that mean that we throw out everything about St Paddy’s Day once we graduate from green-dyed drinks and face paint? Absolutely not! After all, who can resist the Irish charm of a perfect pint of Guinness? These days, my favorite way to consume that pint is to pour it straight into a batch of rich beef stew.

The malty, roasted flavors of Guinness pair perfectly with this dark stew, and this hearty recipe is perfect for those chilly March days if you live in an area where spring hasn’t fully arrived yet--not the case here, where the long sunlit fingers of our days are stretching the temps into the nineties already. Topped with indulgent, cheese-laced mashed potatoes, my Guinness stew is constructed a bit like a shepherd's or cottage pie. It's a complete meal in a casserole dish...and your best choice for a ‘grownup’ St Patrick’s Day celebration!

Guinness Stew with Mashed Potatoes

2 strips bacon, diced into 1/2″ pieces
2 lbs boneless beef chuck or round, sliced into 1″ cubes
1 white onion, diced into 1″ pieces
1 pint Guinness
1/2 cup beef stock
1 lb carrots, peeled & cut into 1″ lengths
2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, cleaned & peeled
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup grated cheese (aged Irish cheddar or Parmesan are my go-tos)
3 sprigs fresh thyme
salt & pepper

Heat a large, deep skillet to medium high heat. Saute the bacon, set aside but do not wipe out pan. Dry the cubes of beef well (important step, this will make sure they brown nicely) with a paper towel and sprinkle lightly with salt. Add cubes of beef to pan (do this in two batches; it’s important not to overcrowd the pan so the meat can brown nicely) and cook until brown on all sides over medium heat. Set meat aside once cooked. Add onion to pan and stir until softened. Add Guinness and cook until liquid is reduced by half. Add beef cubes, stock and all the carrots, reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes.

While stew is simmering, place potatoes in a large pot and cover with generously salted water. Boil potatoes until tender, about 20 minutes, then drain water. Add milk and grated cheese and mash until smooth & creamy, set aside. Taste the stew, and add salt if necessary. Add fresh thyme and a little freshly ground black pepper. Preheat oven to 350. Place stew into a large casserole dish, or use several small ones for individual servings. Arrange mashed potato layer on top so that it forms a kind of ‘lid’ for the stew. Don’t smooth the tops of the potatoes too much, I like to rough them up with a fork until they’re a bit spiky and uneven, so that they will develop nice brown crusty tops (brown + crusty = yay, flavor!).

Place casserole dish (or dishes) on a baking sheet, place in preheated oven. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are lightly browned. Remove and let cool for about ten minutes, then serve while warm.

VALENTINE'S DAY WAFFLES

It's safe to say we're going through a pretty intense waffle phase over here, experimenting with everything from savory-sweet (cornbread waffles with chili, you guys) to full-on savory (leftover pizza waffles? BELIEVE THAT).....to this sweet little discovery seen above. These waffles are loosely adapted from Local Milk's excellent brown butter waffle recipe, and like hers they're based on the nutty, flavorful backbone that is brown butter. Add to that some complex sweetness from maple syrup & brown sugar, and the finishing touch of fresh strawberries & thyme.....and it's a garden-fresh breakfast that's as pretty as it is perfect for sharing. Slightly more romantic than cornbread waffles with chili, anyway, particularly when served on a flower-strewn plate.

Speaking of romance, I couldn't resist the opportunity to share one of my favorite images of a young, trombone-playing Paul Newman and an impossibly lovely Joanne Woodward. Here's to love, with or without brass instruments!

Brown Butter Waffles with Strawberry & Thyme Glaze

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs
6 tablespoons brown butter*, cooled to room temp
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1 1/4 cup milk
Extra butter for waffle iron

For the glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons milk
Fresh strawberries, stemmed and sliced
Fresh thyme leaves

*To brown butter: Melt in a skillet over medium heat and continue cooking until it begins to brown and give off a wonderful, nutty aroma. Watch carefully, the cooking process can go quickly! Butter is perfect when it turns a deep golden brown, like toasted almonds. Pout immediately into a bowl and let cool.

Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, stir to mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients and whisk until well blended. Slowly add wet ingredients to dry ones, gently breaking up lumps and stirring until batter is just combined.

Preheat waffle iron and brush lightly with butter. Pour a generous scoop of batter into the iron, cook until done, repeat with remaining batter.

Combine confectioner's sugar with milk, mix until smooth. Add a slice or two of strawberry and crush lightly with a fork--strawberry should be mixed into glaze, but in a 'rustic', not-totally-smooth way. Sprinkle in some thyme leaves and stir until combined. Drizzle over waffles and serve!

PINK ALMOND MERINGUE ROSES

A rose is a rose is a rose.

- Gertrude Stein

A rose is a rose? That may be true, but a plateful of sweet little rose-inspired meringues is better than any garden-variety bouquet. These crisp, sugary pink beauties are lighter than air and delicately almond-scented, the perfect sweet little gift for anyone in your life. I admit, I'm not usually one to go for food coloring, but when a few tiny drops of red can turn these little blossoms into the perfect blush-tinted fairytale confections, well, who am I to say no? Happy Valentine's Day, sweethearts!

Pink Almond Meringue Roses

Makes about thirty roses

3 egg whites
3/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
red food coloring

Preheat oven to 200 degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a whisk or an electric mixer (set to medium), beat egg whites until foamy, slowly add sugar and continue beating. Add salt, cream of tartar and almond extract, continue beating for about five minutes or until meringue is glossy and holds stiff peaks. Add red food coloring a few drops at a time and beat to incorporate fully, until the mixture is as pink as you'd like it.

Spoon the meringue mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, the pipe in circular motions to make rose shapes. Bake for 2 hours at 200 degrees; meringues are done when the outside is dry to the touch and they can be easily lifted from the parchment. Remove and let cool thoroughly.

SPICY BUFFALO ROASTED CARROT STICKS

Timing has never really been my thing. Case in point: I took five years to finish my undergraduate degree. Not because I wasn't doing well in classes, more because I was doing too well.....at spending my time taking all the classes and switching my major five times. True story. I'm the last one to jump onto a popular thing, particularly a popular group of things (i.e. I'll be the last one you know to read a wildly successful book series, see a sequel, or binge watch that show that everyone is watching). There's a reliable six-hour delay between when I need the snappy comeback in conversation and when I'll actually think of the snappy comeback (usually at home in bed, groaning over what should have come out of my mouth but couldn't be willed into existence). And then of course there's the fact that I met the love of my life when I was seventeen, but being seventeen, had no idea--and then didn't do anything to return him to my life until nearly that much time had passed again. Timing, man. Just try to teach me how to do it.

Only the most recent example of this tendency: I came up with the perfect Super Bowl food, the One Delicious Thing to Snack On while watching any major sporting event, nostalgic but modern, simple to make, healthy but naughty enough to be party food. I came up with it...the DAY AFTER the Super Bowl. Cue the sad trombones, please. Timing is everything. Nonetheless, I'm sharing it with you today, because I can humbly say it's amazing, and because come on, there are other sporting events! Other parties and get-togethers that need an inspired snack plate, and so on. I'd be nowhere in life--and I mean nowhere--without second chances, so I'm giving this one a second chance at the spotlight. Please allow me to introduce you to.......Spicy Buffalo Roasted Carrot Sticks.

Yes. Carrot sticks. Ain't nothing like a chicken wing, friends.

I mean, what are chicken wings but the least delicious, chewy nubs of the chicken, anyway? All elbows and greasy skin and face-smearing effort. I mean, I like them fine, but I'd rather gnaw on something dense, boneless and faintly sweet, slathered in a properly buttery, spicy hot wing-style sauce (bonus points added for the fact that, like chicken wings, whole carrots also come with their own conveniently built-in handle). Enter the roasted carrot, and prepare for your whole world to be rocked. Twenty minutes of roasting in a hot oven plus a slathering in hot wing sauce before and after is all these little lovelies need--and all you'll need to experience this higher plane of snacking nirvana. As promised, it's healthy-ish (carrots!) but with visible roots in classic junk food; I serve these Buffalo-style with a dollop of simple blue cheese dressing on the side.  I promise, you'll rarely be tempted to fire up the deep fryer again.

Spicy Buffalo Roasted Carrot Sticks

1 lb. whole carrots (peeled, with greens trimmed but stems attached)
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons hot sauce of choice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
black pepper

Preheat oven to 375, and prepare a baking dish by lining it with aluminum foil. Melt butter in a small bowl, then add hot sauce and honey and whisk to combine thoroughly. Use a pastry brush to apply sauce to carrots, reserving about half the sauce for later, then line up carrots in your baking dish and place in oven. Roast for about twenty minutes, or until carrots are beginning to brown and smell wonderful. Remove and let cool slightly.

In a separate small bowl, combine sour cream, blue cheese and lemon juice. Stir to combine (you can use a food processor if you like a smoother dressing, but I prefer mine to have large crumbles still visible), add black pepper to taste.

When carrots are only slightly warmer than room temperature, brush with the remaining sauce, then serve with blue cheese dressing on the side. Enjoy!