Irish Times

With St. Patty's Day around the corner, I decided to use it as an excuse to have a few friends over for a dinner party. 

The menu was similar to one we cooked last year for some friends in London:

• Guinness and champagne (avoided the black velvets this year and just had the champagne on it's own)
• A selection of Irish cheeses including a cheddar, cheddar with whiskey, cheddar with ale and a Neal's Yard blue
• Irish Stew - This is quickly becoming a Count specialty.  It was delicious.
• Irish Soda Bread - Very easy for bread
• Green Salad - Nothing special but needed some greens
• Chocolate Guinness Cake - A Nigella Lawson recipe, you can't really taste the Guinness, but it makes the cake really moist.  
• Bailey's Irish Cream

The frosting is suppose to look like the head on a pint of Guinness

My one tip with this menu is the timing of the bread and the stew can be tough as they both need the oven and are at different temperatures.  If you don't have two ovens, make the stew first and then the bread.  Our stew was a tad cool by the time the bread is ready but I think if we had it on the stove on low while waiting for the bread, it would have been fine.

Irish Stew (Cook's Illustrated)

Serves 6.  

Try to buy the shoulder chops from the butcher (and try and get him to do step #1 below to save you some time). In most supermarkets, lamb shoulder chops are thin, often about 1/2 inch thick. At this thickness, the stew meat is too insubstantial. Ideally, we liked chops cut 1 1/2 inches thick, but 1-inch chops will suffice.

INGREDIENTS

4 1/2	pounds lamb shoulder chops , each 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick (see illustrations below and note above)
	Table salt and ground black pepper
3	tablespoons vegetable oil
3	medium-large onions , chopped coarse (about 5 cups)
4	tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
3	cups water
1	teaspoon dried thyme
2	pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 6 medium), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes.  We also added some carrots to add a bit of color but traditional Irish stew is potatoes only
1/4	cup minced fresh parsley leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Cut meat from bones and reserve bones. Trim meat of excess fat and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes. Season meat generously with salt and pepper.

2. 2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large ovenproof Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 2 minutes. Add half of meat to pot so that individual pieces are close together but not touching. Cook, without moving, until sides touching pot are well-browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs, turn each piece and continue cooking until most sides are well-browned, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer meat to medium bowl, add another 1 tablespoon oil to pot, and swirl to coat pan bottom. Brown remaining lamb; transfer meat to bowl and set aside.

3. 3. Reduce heat to medium, add remaining tablespoon oil, and swirl to coat pan bottom. Add onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently and vigorously, scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits, until onions have browned, about 8 minutes. Add flour and stir until onions are evenly coated, 1 to 2 minutes.

4. 4. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of water, scraping pan bottom and edges with wooden spoon to loosen remaining browned bits. Gradually remaining 1 1/2 cups water, stirring constantly and scraping pan edges to dissolve flour. Add thyme and 1 teaspoon salt and bring to simmer. Add bones and then meat and accumulated juices. Return to simmer, cover, and place in oven. Cook for 1 hour.

5. 5. Remove pot from oven and place potatoes on top of meat and bones. Cover and return pot to oven and cook until meat is tender, about 1 hour. If serving immediately, stir potatoes into liquid, wait 5 minutes, and spoon off any fat that rises to top. (Stew can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Spoon off congealed fat and bring back to simmer over medium-low heat.)

6. 6. Stir in parsley and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Remove bones if desired. Serve immediately