Irish Beef Stew-- A Comfort Food For Long And Cold Nights

We have set our clocks back and with the longer hours of darkness in the evening and colder temperatures we turn to comfort foods.  There is nothing better than an Irish Beef Stew served over a plate of steaming hot noodles with a glass of Hunter Hill Zinfandel. 

This recipe can be found in The Fishy Chips,  the second novel of the Rick Podowski and The Hefty Trio amateur detective series. 

Loyalty and betrayal quickly become conflicts in The Fishy Chips, set in the Silicon Valley of California where many of the titans of the computer world have research and development operations and manufacturing facilities. Educators, under the control of Chinese agents are using students from the Mission Community College’s Semiconductor Manufacturing Program to obtain a top-secret computer chip being manufactured by Intel for use in the United States Military's anti--ballistic missile system. Rick has to reconcile his loyalty to his students with loyalty to his country as he works with his friend from the FBI to recover the stolen component. Also telling the story is George Yuan, a nineteen-year-old alienated Chinese-American. Through the help of a beautiful female spy, George discovers his love and loyalty to China. He agrees to help steal the computer chip. In the process of recovering the stolen computer chip, the FBI captures the members of the spying ring, and two others are murdered. Irish Beef Stew Accompanied by Hunter Hill Zinfandel                      Rick likes the Hunter Hill Zinfandel which provides a spicy contrast to the heavy flavor of the broth.  Some people like to serve this stew with Colcannon, Rick likes it with noodles.

Beef, onions, garlic and carrots

Serves 6

2 pounds lean beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 tablespoons of butter
4 teaspoons all purpose flour1 clove garlic, crushed4 large carrots, peeled, sliced2 cups pearl onions2 tablespoons of tomato paste3/4 cup canned beef broth
1 can of stout or dark ale

Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper and coat it with the flour.  Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over high heat.  Add the beef and sauté until it is brown on all sides about 5 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add garlic, carrots, and onions to skillet and cook for one minute. Add broth, tomato paste and stout. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 to 3 hours until beef and carrots are tender, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.

Prepare noodles as per the directions on the package. Pour the beef stew over the noodles and serve.

Hunter Hill Vineyard And Winery

The Hunter Hill Vineyard and Winery is located in Soquel on the old Manildi farm that in the late 1800s raised apples, stone fruits, and grapes. Wine was made for home consumption. Christine, a granddaughter of the Manildis married Vann Slatter and they returned to the farm to raise their own children. In 1992, Christine and Vann decided to replace the old apple trees with Merlot grapes and they started to experiment with making wine. By 1998 the winery moved from the basement of the house to a new facility and Hunter Hill was bonded. The six-acre property now produces ten to eighteen tons of Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Syrah grapes each year. They produce about 2400 cases of wine per year. Hunter Hill was named after the Slatter’s Chesapeake Bay retriever, Hunter, who died several years ago. Her muzzle still graces the Hunter Hill label and business cards. The family also is in the construction business, having owned Santa Cruz-based Slatter Construction since 1985. They were responsible for rebuilding much of downtown Santa Cruz after the earthquake in 1989.