Lovely Day for a Guinness Stew (i.e., food your boyfriend will like)

This one is in honor of Liz and her friend: Beef and Guinness stew. I realize that he's British and perhaps doesn't fall into all of the neat American stereotypes we have for men, but I can only write about what I know, and what I know is that most men who like girls also like beef and beer. Better yet, this is a crockpot recipe, which means: a) you won't burn it, overcook it, or serve it raw; b) it will make your flat smell like heaven; and c) you can set it in the morning and spend the rest of the day snuggling your honey.

I got this recipe from The Gourmet Slow Cooker by Lynn Alley. I have reprinted the recipe almost exactly as it is in the book below, however, I did make a few changes when I made it today. The changes were in technique rather than ingredients, which is why I didn't change the recipe here. Basically all I did was keep the fat. You'll notice that the instructions say to brown the beef in oil, then drain it on paper towel before adding it to the slow cooker. It also says nothing about using the leftover browned bits in the pan after browning. With respect to the draining, I just didn't feel like using up any paper towel, so I skipped that step entirely. As for the browned bits, I am of the opinion that leaving the browned bits behind is a tragic waste of delicious flavor, so I used an extra 1/2 cup of Guinness to deglaze the pan, scraped all those yum yums out, and mixed it all into the stew with everything else.

Serve with crusty bread and Guinness, of course.

Beef and Guinness Stew, from The Gourmet Slow Cooker by Lynn Alley

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2.5 pounds very lean stewing beef, cut into 1.5" cubes

2 Tb vegetable oil (or more, as needed -cjc)

2-3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

2-3 carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

2 large yellow onions, peeled and quartered

1-2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried -cjc)

2 cups Guinness stout or other dark, very hearty beer

1 tsp salt

Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions:

Place flour in a Ziploc bag (or large, shallow dish/bowl -cjc). Add the beef to the bag/bowl, several pieces at a time shake to coat completely.

Heat a large sautee pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. In batches if necessary, add the beef and cook, turning, for 8 to 10 minutes, until browned on all sides. Using tongs, transfer to paper towels to drain (or not, see above -cjc).

Place the beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and thyme in the slow cooker and pour the beer over the top. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until the meat is very tender. Season with salt. Remove and discard the thyme (if using fresh).

Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with parsley.