The Irish Pub Special....I'd like to think

                                                                            

                                        Today was a great day for a warm, yummy,

                                                                 comforting stew!

                                               So yesterday I prepared the meat to

                                                                marinate overnight.

                                               Now I attempted to sear the meat, as it

                                                                          says in

                                                  Mastering the Art of French Cooking

                                                   But little did I know, that when you

                                                       place meat in a very hot pan

                                                                 you will have oil

                                                               everywhere!!

                               I mean, I knew it would pop and make

                                                         some kind of a mess.

                                                I tried quickly to grab a cover for

                                                                       my pan.

                                               Julia never states that you should

                                                    have a lid handy for splatters.

                                               Not only did I have oil all over my

                                                                countertops,

                                                                      but

                                              also my cabinet with the glass fronts,

                                                          even my floors!!!!

                                              I was slipping and sliding all over my

                                                                 kitchen floors!

                                             So once I did my searing, which made

                                                       my home also very smokey,

                                            I then added the red wine and beef broth.

                                                      But I had to open the windows,

                                                 and sliding doors. The smoke was so

                                                       thick in the house that my cats

                                                       were in awe I think. They kept

                                                                  sniffing the air and

                                             looking around. It was pretty comical.

                                                             So the meat marinated

                                            overnight. And this afternoon I started to

                                                                 saute the veggies.

                                            First, cook some bacon for flavor and fat.

                                              Got them nice and brown, and smelling

                                                                   yummy!

                                            Next, time to saute the mushrooms, and

                                                             no overcrowding them.

                                            Just like Julia said, otherwise they won't

                                                                         brown.

Then I added the chopped garlic,

oh, the aroma of that!

Next the veggies!

After those cooked for a few minutes,

then I added the meat and some broth.

Let it come to a boil on the stovetop.

Once it boils then you put it in the oven.

Bake it for two hours,

Yes I know two hours! Who has that

kind of time?

Well, I was home today,

otherwise it would of been in the crockpot.

But today the wind was blowing and I

swore I was going to be Dorothy

for the day!

It was freezing out, and it still is freezing out

and the wind

still will not let up.

So today was a great day for a stew, right

out of the oven.

The house smelled so good after the

first hour. And the stew

looked amazing.

I removed the meat and veggies so

that I could thicken the gravy.

I wanted to make mashed potatoes.

So after gravy was thickened to perfection:

It looked like the picture above.

Yummy, could not wait to dig in!

My hubby says I could put a Pub to

shame.

Isn't he so sweet?

He's a keeper!

This recipe was a combination of

actually two

recipes from my cookbook:

Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

This is by far my favorite

and my hubby's favorite beef stew.

And we have leftovers,

YEA!

It should be even better tomorrow.

Can't wait.