Happy St. Patrick's Day to the lot of ye! Today, I have a recipe for Beef and Guinness stew for you, so if you are tired of the traditional corned beef dish, try something a little different!

Beef and Guinness Stew

by The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:

2.5 lbs Stew meat (I like to use a nice beef roast)

3 Tbls Oil

2 Tbls Flour

Salt and black pepper

1/2 Cup Flour

4 oz Butter

1 Large onion, chopped

1 Clove garlic, crushed

2 Tbls Tomato paste, mixed with 4 T water

1 Bottle Guinness Draught

1 lb Baby carrots

1 lb Small red potatoes, halved and then quartered

Sprig of thyme or 1/3 tsp dried

Sprig of rosemary or 1/3 tsp dried

2 Bay leaves

4 Cups Beef broth

Directions:

1) Trim the meat of any fat or gristle, and cut into 2-inch cubes.

2) Toss beef with 1 tablespoon of the oil.

3) In a small bowl, season the 2 Tbls flour with salt and pepper.

4) Toss meat with seasoned flour.

5) Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a medium-large pot over high heat.

6) Brown the meat on all sides in small batches.

7) Remove the meat and set aside.

8) Add the onion and crushed garlic to the pot and saute until tender.

9) Add the butter and melt.

10) Whisk in the 1/2 cup of flour to make a roux.

11) Turn the heat down to low and cook the roux until it is brown, do not let it get to a brick color, that's too long!

12) Whisk in the beef broth, Guinness, and tomato paste.

13) Bring the stew to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low.

14) Add the aromatics and beef, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is starting to get tender and the liquid is slightly reduced, about 1 1/2 hours.

15) Add the carrots and potatoes and cook, covered and stirring occasionally, until the meat and vegetables are tender, about 1 more hour.

16) Remove the bay leaf and the thyme and rosemary stems before serving.

17) ENJOY!

If the stew gets too thick, you might not have browned the beef enough or cooked the roux long enough. This is a simple fix, just heat up some more beef broth or some water in another pot and mix it in, just a little at a time, to reach the desired consistency. This is not a perfect fix but it keeps the stew from overcooking while not taking much away from the flavor.

Burger Review - Hurricane Grill and Wings

     This past weekend, I went to Hurricane Grill & Wings (Saint Augustine) for a burger. I know I said I was thinking about heading to Surfer Joe's, but they closed down after only being open a few months. I have never been to Hurricane before and figured I would try it for my next burger review. I did not know that it is actually a chain with over 50 locations throughout Florida and other states! It sure didn't seem like it with the decor or the food.

     Hurricane is open from 11am to 10pm Sunday through Thursday, and they are open till 11pm on Friday and Saturday. I went around 1pm last Sunday, it was pretty slow and that's what I was hoping for.

     I ordered a 1/2lb steakburger with cheddar jack cheese, medium-rare, with homemade kettle chips for $9.98. The burger itself was $8.99 and the cheese was $.99 extra.

 

     The size after cooking was still about 1/2lb so they didn't lose much to shrinking through cooking, always a big plus in my book, and it came out as a medium. Getting a medium burger when ordering a medium-rare isn't a big deal as it can happen pretty easily, as long as it doesn't come out well done!

     As far as being juicy, this burger was on spot! I would give it a 4 out of 5! The juices were dripping down my hand and onto the plate, but it wasn't so much that I felt like I needed a bib or gloves.

     You have a choice of lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles, and mayo as your "freebies" for you burger. I asked for lettuce and pickle only and they gave me a good amount of both, but not too much either. The lettuce was fresh and crisp, making a slight crunching sound as I bit into it. They had a good amount of pickles on there, so that every bite had a bite of pickle, and they also had a good little crunch to them, as well as a nice flavor.

     The bun was your traditional burger bun, but they did toast the bun, which I like. The bun was toasted perfectly and did a great job of not getting too soggy with juices from the burger itself.

     They have an impressive selection of sides for your ordering pleasure. You have a choice of a signature side, or you can upgrade to a premium side for $1. The signature sides are housemade kettle chips, natural-cut fries, classic coleslaw, garlic n' parm broccoli, Caribbean yellow rice, or fresh cilantro tomatoes. The premium sides are garlic n' parm fries, crispy sweet potato straws, or jumbo onion rings. I went with the housemade kettle fries, which are just potato chips that they make themselves but they do tend to be a little thicker than your traditional chip and they also have a bit more of a crunch when you bite into them. The kettle chips were good, the only complaint I have about them is that they come out unseasoned so I did have to add salt. This can be an easy fix for them, they just need to be tossed lightly in some salt soon after coming out of the fryer, this way the salt sticks to the chip.

     Overall, the burger was enjoyable and I would order it again. They don't season the meat but it still has a good flavor and was cooked well. They also have quite in interesting menu with lots of different options so I think I will have to go back there and try out some other dishes, you know, for "research."

     I'm not sure where I'm going to go for my next burger, there are so many place here to try! I will eventually go to every restaurant that I know is not a big box chain restaurant and try their burgers and let you know what I think of it. Until then eat well, cook or die!

Burger Review - Redfrog & McToad's Grub-N-Pub

     So our first burger review takes place at Redfrog & McToad's in St. Augustine Beach. They are local Grub-N-Pub located on A1A serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They are open from 11am - midnight on Mondays and from 7:30am - midnight from Tuesday through Sunday.

I ordered the USA burger with cheddar cheese, medium-rare, with fries for $9.49

 

     Their menu says that the burger is 1/2 lb angus chuck, and I have to say, they did not disappoint there! The size of the burger was very nice and covered the bun well. Unfortunately, the burger came out closer to medium-well than medium-rare.

     As far as the juiciness of the burger itself, I'd have to give it a 2 out of 5. The burger was just barely moist, this could be due to the fact that it was a little overcooked, but I've seen burgers cooked to well-done and still be very juicy.

     I only asked for lettuce because I don't like tomatoes or raw onions. The lettuce was definitely fresh, not wilting or turning colors, but there was too much of it! I pulled an entire leaf off of it and left it on the plate, leaving the other leaf on the burger.

     The bun was a brioche bun and it looked like they tried to toast it as one edge of it was slightly toasted to burnt and the rest just barely had that feel of toasted bread.

     All burger come with french fries, but they do offer that you can substitute your side item if you wish. I got the fries and they were your basic frozen fries, definitely not homemade, and they were cooked well but there was nothing special about them.

     Overall, I don't think I would order the burger again. Even if it was cooked right, the meat was very bland and tasted like there was no seasoning added to it at all. I feel like they added the cheese too late in the cooking process and melting it on there turned the burger from medium-rare to medium-well. The price is good for the amount of food you get, but the dish itself was mediocre. Which is too bad because I've had other meals there that were good.

     Next month's location? I'm thinking Surfer Joe's, I've heard lots of good reviews about that place so let's see!

Happy New Year!

May all you scurvy knaves have a great New Year's Eve tonight and a wonderful day tomorrow! Happy New Year to the lot of you!

Christmas Recipes

     I hope everyone is having a merry holiday so far. As a special treat for all of you (and because I forgot to post last week), here's two recipes for you! The first has become a Christmas morning tradition in my house, ham and cheese quiche, followed by a special treat for the adults, spiked mint cocoa.

 

Ham and Cheese Quiche

Ingredients:

2 Eggs

1 Cup Half & Half

Pinch of Nutmeg

8 oz diced Ham

Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

9-inch Pie Shell

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F

2) While the oven is preheating, whisk together the eggs, half & half, and nutmeg.

3) Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and center the pie shell on it, leave it in the aluminum that

     it comes in but remove the plastic top.

4) Evenly distribute the diced ham in the shell

5) Sprinkle enough cheese to mostly cover the ham

6) Once the oven is ready, place the cookie sheet on the open door and pour in the wet ingredients to

     about 1/4 inch from the top of the pie shell

7) Place in oven and cook for 35-45 minutes, or until the edges are set and the center is still a little

     jiggly.

8) Remove and let cool for 30 minutes, then enjoy!

 

Spiked Mint Cocoa

Ingredients:

4 Tbl of Land O' Lakes Chocolate Supreme Cocoa Mix

8 oz of water

1 tsp of Hot Fudge topping

3/4 oz Rumple Minze

Directions:

1) Place water in kettle and turn to high to bring to a boil

2) Place cocoa in drinking mug

3) Fill halfway with boiling water and stir to dissolve cocoa mix

4) Add hot fudge topping and Rumple Minze to cocoa and stir to dissolve and mix

5) Fill the rest of the way with boiling water and continue stirring until everything is well mixed

6) Let cool just enough to drink and enjoy!

Jolly Pirate Cocktail

     I hope everyone's holiday season is going well for them this year. Since it is the holidays, I'm going to post a different recipe every week this month for you all to enjoy and hopefully bring you some of the holiday spirit!

     First up, we have the Jolly Pirate cocktail, a fast and easy drink that warms you from the inside while you sip this cool beverage.

 

Jolly Pirate Cocktail

by

The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz of Code Rum Spiced

4 1/2 oz of Apple Cider

2-3 Ice Cubes

Directions:

1) Place the ice in a rocks glass

2) Add the rum and the cider

3) Stir gently

4) Drink and enjoy!

Autumn Sausage Casserole Review

So today I thought I would do something a little different, I figured that I would do a recipe review.

     The recipe is for a dish called Autumn Sausage Casserole and it comes from the Taste of Home website.

                          

     I have made this dish twice so far and every time, it succeeds in pleasing the taste buds of everyone that tries it.

     The flavors of this dish scream fall with sausage and apples, cinnamon and allspice. It combines a nice blend of textures from the crunch of the apples and celery to the softer sausage and rice. The cinnamon, allspice, and salt blend all the flavors together well and helps to boost the fall feelings invoked by this dish. A nice kick is added by the black pepper without overpowering it, but you could cut back on it or substitute white pepper if you're not a fan of black pepper.

     It's relatively easy to make, although mincing the fresh parsley does take some time, but all-in-all, well worth it! Now the recipe does call for Jones Dairy Farm sausage roll but I use Jimmy Dean's 1 lb regular bulk sausage and it works beautifully. Also, I tend to make the rice ahead of time so it has time to cool down before being mixed in, this way it doesn't get too mushy while cooking in the oven.

     So if you are looking for a nice casserole that screams autumn, or just looking for a dish for that company potluck, I highly recommend this one!  Just click on Autumn Sausage Casserole to be taken to the recipe on Taste of Home's website and enjoy!