Not Enough Time for Irish Stew? Try this!

Guinness Ribeye, Smashed Irish Potatoes and Savory Scones

St. Paddy's Day screams for a food celebration, beginning with Guinness and ending with a nice Irish Coffee, the perfect 'dessert' for any Irish meal. If you don't have the time to take a stew or corned beef to the finish line (you can use the slow cooker for both of these with some preplanning) I have a good suggestion. Guinness Ribeye can be on the table in 30 minutes, and the whole meal, potatoes, scones and all, in about an hour. I made a test run Sunday night, and with a tossed salad and the Irish Coffee, you have a full meal. Serve it country style, which at our house means 'bring the pots to the table'! I think you'll be happy with the flavor of the Guinness sauce and steak, which really does make me think of a good stew!

Guinness Steak with Irish Potatoes

4 thick Rib Eye Steaks, salted and peppered

3 T extra virgin olive oil, divided

4 T butter, divided

2 shallots, chopped

4 cups sliced mushrooms

1 cup Guinness Stout

1 T tomato paste

1 T chopped fresh parsley

8 small potatoes (or 4 larger potatoes) scrubbed and cut into 2 inch pieces

3 garlic cloves, smashed

2 T fresh herbs, chopped (ie sage, thyme, rosemary—or a combination)

Preheat oven to 375°.

Parboil potatoes in salted water just until becoming tender. Drain potatoes and toss in 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper, smashed garlic cloves, and chopped herbs. Spread on sheet pan and place in oven while preparing steaks. Stir the potatoes a couple of times while cooking. Potatoes should be browned on outside and tender on inside when done. Scrape potatoes into bowl, discarding garlic. Add 3 tablespoons butter and smash into chunks with potato masher.

Add one tablespoon olive oil and one tablespoon of butter to large skillet (preferably an iron skillet) over high heat. When melted and sizzling, add steaks and sear for about 2 minutes each side. Remove steaks, place on sheet pan in preheated 375° oven for 6-8 minutes for medium rare (this can be same oven you're using for the potatoes, just a different rack). Remove steaks from oven when they reach desired doneness, cover with foil and set aside. Remember they will cook a little more while resting.

Reduce heat to medium under iron skillet, and add mushrooms and shallots. Saute until mushrooms are lightly browned on each side. Add Guinness and tomato paste, stir to deglaze pan, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook until liquid is reduced to half. Place steaks into pan with mushrooms (along with any accumulated juice), spooning mushrooms over steak. Top with chopped parsley.

Savory Irish Scones

2 cups self-rising flour

1 tsp. Baking powder

One-half tsp. Salt

1 stick cold butter cut into small cubes

1 tsp. Mixed dried herbs

1 cup shredded cheese

One cup milk

1 egg

Preheat oven to 400°.

Spray one cake pan with butter flavored

Sift flour (White Lily is thought to be the best American scone flour—it has less protein than others, which means less gluten, and better for light pastries.) and baking powder. Add cold butter pieces, and with fingers, mix for about one minute until coarse meal consistency.

Add cheese and dried herbs to flour and mix gently with fork.

Whisk milk and egg together, then begin adding milk and fluffing with fork until dough forms. There sill be some milk mixture left to use on top of scones. This is a wet dough.

Form dough into ball shape, turn onto lightly floured board, and very gently form into thick circle. Handle as little as possible. Cut into eight triangles. Dip tops of each piece into leftover milk/egg mixture and place in cake pan..

Bake for 10 minutes on top rack, turn pan front to back, and bake five more minutes. Remove from oven and place scones on cooling rack for about 15 minutes. Remove from pan to serving platter and recut wedges.

Buena Vista Irish Coffee Story

http://www.thebuenavista.com/irishcoffee.html

Irish Coffee

(My first Irish Coffee was at the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco, which claims to perfectly recreate the classic Irish drink.)

Warm your cup with very hot water, then discard the water.

Fill your warmed cup about three-quarters full with hot, strong coffee.

Add 2 sugar cubes (or two teaspoons sugar if you don’t have the cubes) and stir to dissolve.

Add 1 ½ oz. Irish Whiskey to coffee.

Top with sweetened whipped cream which has been lightly whipped.

Pour the lightly whipped cream onto the coffee over a spoon to keep the cream floating on top of the coffee.