Happy St. Patty's Day (a day late)! :-) It was an absolutely beautiful day in Dallas yesterday. And what a special day it turned out to be too...my nephew, Chad and his wife, Maggie welcomed their daughter, Olive into the world. What a wonderful blessing is she! How fun would that be to have your B-day be on St. Patrick's day. Olive is my Mom's second Great Grand baby born in less than a month of each other. My niece, D'Ann and her husband, Andrew also welcomed a beautiful, baby girl named Arabella a couple of weeks ago. Mom currently has 3 Great Grandchildren and 12 Grandchildren or as she's lovingly referred to by the Grandkids as Mamaw. Arabella has a very proud 2 - 1/2 year old, big brother, Calvin who my Mom describes as very smart and incredibly sweet. Calvin, Olive and Arabella will no doubt be the best of friends. These two babies are precious gifts (as is Calvin) and we welcome them to our family with so much love. Congratulations to you all. I cannot wait to meet the newest additions to our family. Please know you're in our hearts, thoughts and prayers!
The top baby picture is Olive. 2nd picture is Charlene, my sister-in-law, Mom and Arabella. 4th picture is Calvin and my brother, Dick. 5th is Arabella. The rest speak for themselves. =)
I'm sorry I wasn't able to post my beef stew recipe as promised yesterday. As is usual in the McQuaid household, it was an action-packed day and I didn't have many opportunities to get on my computer. David and I went out for lunch and ate Corned Beef and Cabbage and Reuben Sandwiches at the Old Monk to celebrate St. Patrick's day. We both agree, the Old Monk serves the BEST Reuben Sandwiches in town and it has a great Irish pub-type of atmosphere. The perfect place to celebrate this festive day.
After lunch we packed up the family and headed to our lake house at Lake Texoma. It's a little too chilly to take out the boat, but it's so wonderfully peaceful and quiet out here. We have no TV, no land line and computer access is spotty at best. So we're going on lots of hikes, playing all kinds of games, we're doing a little fishing and of course, Dylan loves shooting the BB gun. I don't know that I will ever get comfortable with the idea of my son playing with guns, even if it is just a BB gun. We've made so many wonderful memories out here and I look forward to making many more.
Also, In honor of St. Patrick's day, we hit the Greenville Avenue Parade last weekend, which is an annual tradition for our family. It seemed to be one of the best years yet, but I think we say that every year. =) As always, it was a great time with the kids.
Here's a beef stew recipe that I tried on a cold day and it turned out really good. My Mom made something very similar to this when I was growing up and I absolutely loved it. Thanks Mom for all the wonderful home-cooked meals. I love you with all my heart!
Irish Beef Stew
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, for frying, plus more to drizzle
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 6 - 8 TBSP flour, divided use
2 to 3 pounds beef chuck shoulder roast, cut into 2-inch pieces (this cut is also called chuck shoulder pot roast and chuck roast boneless)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup dry red wine
4 TBSP, fresh parsley, chopped fine
2 large containers of beef stock
8 fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 tsp allspice
2 TBSP worcestshire sauce
1 - 2 dashes tabsco sauce
6 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3 bay leaves
3 russet potatoes, scrubbed clean, and cut into chunks
1 bag baby carrots
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped (optional)
1 - 1/2 cups celery, chopped
fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish
horseradish sour cream, recipe follows, for garnish
toasted peasant bread, recipe follows for garnish
Preheat a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat with the oil and butter. While the pan is heating, mix the flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a large dish. Dredge cubed beef in flour mixture to coat. Shake off the excess flour and add the beef chunks in a single layer to the hot pan, being careful not to over crowd the pan, you might have to work in batches. Thoroughly brown all of the cubes on all sides. Once all the meat has been browned remove it to a plate and reserve. Add the wine, deglazing the pan and bring up to a simmer over medium heat while you scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon being sure to loosen up all those tasty bits. Slowly add the 6 - 8 TBSP flour, stirring constantly until the mix turns into a chestnut brown color, about 10 minutes. Add 2 large containers of beef broth. Mix well over medium-high heat. Add parsley, thyme, allspice, pepper to taste, worcestershire, tabasco, ground cloves, bay leaves and garlic. Add the vegetables. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Lower heat to medium low. Simmer 2 - 1/2 to 3 hours. Serve with horseradish sauce and a crusty, french bread. To serve, place the stew in a soup bowl, garnish with parsley, drizzle with olive oil and add a dollop of horseradish sour cream. Serve with toasted peasant bread.
Horseradish Sour Cream:
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Chives, finely chopped, as garnish
Combine sour cream, prepared horseradish and a drizzle of olive oil in a small bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper. Add a dollop of the mixture on top of the stew and garnish with chopped chives.
Toasted Peasant Bread:
1 loaf peasant bread, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
Extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, halved
Chopped parsley leaves
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Put a sheet pan in the oven so that it gets good and hot. Place the bread slices on the hot sheet pan. Drizzle the bread with the extra-virgin olive oil bake for 5 minutes, until the bread is nicely toasted. Rub the bread slices with the garlic cloves, and discard garlic. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Kiss the Blarney Stone for me. =)
Cheers,
K
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