Irish Stew

My wife saw this recipe on the Today show.  I made it this morning for football chow.  It's simmering on the stove now.  It smells awesome!  I made a couple of changes -- I used homebrew stout instead of Guinness, and I used Tullemore Dew (Irish Whiskey) instead of Jack.

Recipe: Guinness beef stew
Chef Nathan Lippy

Ingredients
2 lbs. beef, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes (use beef chuck or similar)
2 tbsps. garlic, chopped
1 cup carrots, rough chop
1 large yellow onion, rough chop
1/2 cup celery, rough chop
1/2 cup Jack Daniel
2 cups potatoes, rough chop
2 pint cans of Guinness
1 quart beef stock
4 fresh thyme sprigs
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
1/2 cup leftover coffee (we want the bitterness)
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preparation
1. In a large stockpot, heat up a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Add the beef and brown for about 5-7 minutes.
2. Once the meat is beautifully browned, add the garlic and other vegetables except for the potatoes and caramelize until they have a bit of color (about 8-10 minutes). “Deglaze” by adding the Jack Daniel's to release the brown bits at the bottom of the pot. The liquid will boil, loosening the caramelization and adding flavor back to the stew. Cook for 1 minute.
3. Add all the liquid, the whole sprigs of herbs (tie the herbs together with some string), potatoes, some salt and pepper and reduce the heat to a simmer (the soup should have small bubbles rise on the sides of the pot) for 1 hour or longer until the meat is super-tender.
4. Serve steamy hot with ciabatta or a simple French baguette.

Beer BBQ Sauce

I ran across this recipe on the internet (allrecipes.com, maybe?) and made a few modifications to it. This is one of the best BBQ sauces I've ever had. A little sweet, and a lot spicy. The original recipe said to use 1/2 tablespoon of ground chili pepper. I think the 1 1/2 tablespoons is better, but feel free to turn down the heat if you want.

2 1/4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup minced onion
1 1/2 cups beer (IPA is a good choice)
6 oz can tomato paste
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons whiskey
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon dark molasses
1 1/2 tablespoon ground red chile pepper

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir the onions in oil for 5 minutes. Stir in beer, tomato paste, vinegar, brown sugar, honey, and Worcestershire sauce. Add remaining ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer for 2 hours, uncovered, or until sauce thickens. Use right away, or store in a jar in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Edit: I found the original recipe on allrecipes.com.