Three Beautiful Things 03/23/19: Beef Stew, Remembering Mrs. H, Relaxing at the Lounge

1. I made Guinness Beef Stew to have ready to eat when Patrick, Meagan (Patrick's girlfriend), and Debbie arrived from Eugene. When Christy, Carol, and I went in together on a side of beef, my share included a package of stew meat and I didn't think it was enough, so I also got out the round roast from my share, trimmed the fat off of it, and cut it into small squares. To make the stew, I chopped up two onions, cooked them in shimmering oil until brown and added in tomato paste and two cloves of chopped garlic. It cooked until fragrant. When this turned a rust color, I poured flour over it, cooked it for a minute and then whisked in chicken broth, Guinness beer, brown sugar, and thyme. I had salt and peppered the beef and I added it to the pot and brought it back to a simmer.  I put this mixture, uncovered,  in the oven (325 degrees) for 90 minutes, stirring it at 45.

After 90 minutes, I put carrots and a medley of halved baby potatoes in the stew, returned it to the oven, and cooked it until the beef and vegetables were tender. At some point, confident the ingredients were about the right tenderness, I turned the oven down about fifty degrees and, later, I took the stew out of the oven and covered it and put it over a very low flame on the stove top.

Everyone enjoyed the stew.

I, and I hope the others, really enjoyed the bread I served. I drove out to Pinehurst not long after the Goose n The Tree opened and purchased a bag of a half dozen Parmesan basil rolls and a baguette, just out of the oven.

2. At 2:00, I joined Christy, Carol, and Paul and we walked over to the church across the street where we attended the memorial service for Mary Jean Hinkemeyer. Members of the congregation told stories in memory of Mrs. H. Chris Meyer sang a beautiful solo. The pastor, who came down from Spirit Lake, conducted the service. The family hosted a chicken strips and Jo Jo dinner afterward at the Elks, but I was in the middle of cooking the stew and laundering bedding and towels for my house guests and still wanted to vacuum and clean up the kitchen, so I didn't go uptown. While I finished cooking and cleaning, I put the Gonzaga game on my tablet and watched them defeat Baylor, 83-71.

3. After dinner, Patrick, Meagan, Debbie and I went up to the Inland Lounge for a while. When we arrived, things were pretty slow, so Cas and Tracy were available for some good yakkin'. Patrick seemed to really enjoy introducing Meagan to the Lounge and her introduction into the world of Kellogg will continue over the next couple of days.