Food for Thought

The other day I was scooping some stuffed green olives into our daily salad and got to wondering. Who was the first person that said to themself, let’s squeeze the hell out of these and see what happens. Well, we know what happens, turns into that glorious liquid called olive oil…..thanks be to him. But what about all that other brave souls who took a chance on some strange looking food. Imagine the one who cracked open the first egg and released that slimy looking white stuff and that glob of yellow. How did he get the courage to taste it?

And who is the brave individual fellow that tried the stuff inside those hard shelled creatures, oysters, clams, snails, and the nastiest looking of all, that Pacific Geoduck Clam that even puts the ugly black tipped steamer clam to shame.

I’m also looking in the history books for the first person who cleaned out a chicken and said oh boy, those things look yummy. They took the risk and now we have great giblet gravy and for some, tasty fried chicken livers and pate. We cringe watching that brave Andrew Zimmer on the Travel Channel sampling strange foods from cultures around the world, but thinking about it, we’re as brave as he is. Squid and octopus aren’t the prettiest fellows, but some pasta dishes from Italy would sorely miss them. Even lobsters are kind of scary if you take a good look at them, but still we’re willing to pay $12.00 a pound, and they’re not even cooked.

I’m sure you can think of many, many more examples of our courage at the dinner table.

Here’s the recipe of the week that doesn’t have any nasty looking stuff in it.

Irish Beef Stew Recipe

1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/4 pounds well-marbled chuck beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces (NOT extra-lean)
6 large garlic cloves, minced
6 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
I cup of Guinness beer
1 cup of fine red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 7 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1. Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Lightly salt the beef pieces. Working in batches if necessary, add the beef (do not crowd the pan, or the meat will steam and not brown) and cook, without stirring, until nicely browned on one side, then use tongs to turn the pieces over. Continue to cook in this manner until all sides are browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add beef stock, Guinness, red wine, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
2. While the meat and stock is simmering, melt butter in another large pot over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion and carrots. Sauté vegetables until golden, about 20 minutes. Set aside until the beef stew in step one has simmered for one hour.
3. Add vegetables to beef stew. Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Tilt pan and spoon off fat. Transfer stew to serving bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. (Can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before serving.) Serves 4 to 6.