British Week

I’m always looking for ways to make cooking routine meals more entertaining, so now I have come up with a-country-a-week.  This week is British week, and I am having a blast.

Last night I made Beef and Guinness Stew.  Oh, the aroma! Ah, the delectable blending of flavors! Here, briefly, is that recipe:

• 3-4 lbs stew beef (since there are only 2 of us, I cut it down to 1 lb)
• 4 slices bacon
• 1 large onion chopped
• 4-5 tbsp. flour
• 2 pinches rosemary
• 2 pinches thyme
• garlic, minced
• 1 bottle Guinness
• 2 cps beef froth
• 2 bay leaves

In a Dutch oven, brown bacon; set aside.  Cook chopped onions in bacon grease; set aside.  Brown beef in three sections (only one section with 1 lb beef), adding garlic to last.  Return all beef and onion to dutch overn.  Sprinkle with flour, rosemary and thyme.  Add Guinness and beef broth.  Add bay leaves. Simmer on top of stove for 1 hour.  You can also bake it in a pie at 325 degrees.

Serve peas on the side and add some bread for sopping up that gravy.  Died and gone to Heaven!

The choice du jour for Tuesday? Bangers and Mash. In the interest of full disclosure I have to say that I never ordered it any time we were in Britain, mostly because I didn’t realize what it is.  Now, it will be tops on my list every time I cross the pond. We just finished dinner, and holy cow, it was outstanding.  It’s easy too, although it uses a lot of pans.  Here is my take on Bangers and Mash:

• bratwurst
• potatoes
• onions
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 4 tbsp. butter
• milk
• beef broth
• salt and pepper

Make the gravy: Slice the onions and sauté them in a tbsp. of the butter.  Sprinkle a tbsp. of flour over the onions and cook for one minute to get rid of the flour taste. Add beef broth, around a cup or so until you get the consistency you want.

Make the potatoes: Boil the potatoes until they are soft enough to prick with a fork.  Drain them and mash them with milk, butter, salt and pepper.

Make the bratwurst: Boil the brats in beer (which I cut with water because I was using Guinness which is a pretty intense stout) about 7 minutes.  Preheat grill. When grill is hot, turn off back burner and leave front on.  Put the sausages on the back part of grill and cook another 7 minutes or so.

Dish out the potatoes on the plate, put the brat(s) on top, and spoon over the oven gravy.  Outstanding!

Sunday night we had Fish and Chips, but I cheated with frozen–Mrs. Paul’s and Ore-Ida. I’m out the next two nights, but Friday night is Shepherd’s Pie.

How can you not love a country that eats potatoes with everything?