Delicious Reading: When Irish Eyes are Smiling Stew

My mother and her brothers and sisters grew up in the small town of Chebanse, Illinois. Her older brother, Paul, was born two years before her, and the twins, Denny and Dodie, were born two years after her. I think about having four children in the span of six years — and not having the modern conveniences of a washer, dryer or microwave — and I have further reason to want to canonize my Grandma Rell. One last baby came along — my Aunt Teresa — around the time my mom went to school.

At this point, my mom’s family had moved next door to the Collins family. They were Irish immigrants: two sisters and two brothers, none of whom had ever married. Josie was a retired school teacher. Tom and Jim worked at the state hospital. Frances had always taken care of things at home.

Frances and Josie asked my grandma if my mom, Susie, could have lunch at their house. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement: it took one item off of Grandma’s never-ending list of chores, it gave the Collins family a chance to have some company, and it provided my mom with a delicious meal and undivided attention in the middle of the school day. My mom recalls her favorite lunch was hamburgers and boiled potatoes with applesauce cake for dessert. Occasionally, if they had recently hosted a gathering of church ladies, there might be vanilla ice cream. And sometimes they would offer Mom a soda pop, asking every time, “Do you like Pepsi?” to see her delighted reaction. Most of all, she remembers having the opportunity to hold court, as the ladies listened to her talk about what she was learning and the other things that happened at Chebanse Elementary.

Later, they provided this same gift of lunch and time for my Aunt Teresa when my grandma was working. Josie lived long enough that she was a part of my childhood, too. I remember visiting her at the nursing home as a preschooler. My mom taught me to sing “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” so I could perform it for Josie. We would sneak in rye bread, corned beef and mustard for her because she felt the food there was “too bland.” So whenever I think of St. Patrick’s Day, I think of this love of friends who become family and sharing affection through food. I don’t have Frances’ recipe for applesauce cake, but I have a recipe for a hearty Irish stew. It seems like something she might have prepared for a little girl skipping happily down the sidewalk to tell them all the first-grade gossip.

__Trader Joe’s Irish-ish Beef Stew__

• 1/4 cup Unbleached all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed

• 1 1/2 pounds all-natural stew meat

• 1 yellow onion, sliced into 1-inch pieces

• 6 medium cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, plus more to taste

• 2 cups beef broth, or more if needed

• 1 bottle (1 1/2 cups) porter-style beer

• 2 cups (about 8) carrots sliced 1/4-inch thick

• 3 cups (about 3) medium potatoes, cubed

• 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Season 1/4 cup flour with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Dredge the meat in seasoned flour. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a Dutch oven. Shake excess flour off the meat and sear in two batches so that a nice crust forms around each piece of meat, about 3-4 minutes per side without stirring. Add more oil in between batches if needed. Set browned meat aside on a plate.

Add onion to the pan, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom, and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and stir for about a minute. Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste, and stir for another 30 seconds.

Add all of the meat back to the pot. Add 2 cups of stock and 1 bottle of porter-style beer. The liquid should just barely cover the meat; if not, add more broth. Add 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, stir, bring to a boil, turn off heat and cover with lid.

Transfer pot to oven. Braise for 1 hour, until meat is tender, stirring halfway through cooking. Remove from oven. Taste for seasoning. Add up to 1/4 teaspoon each of salt, thyme and pepper if needed.

Stir in 3 cups cubed potatoes and 2 cups sliced carrots and continue baking with the lid on until the vegetables are tender, about 1 hour, stirring halfway through. Remove from oven and taste for seasoning. Garnish with parsley and serve over mashed potatoes or with Irish soda bread.