Diana Phillips Blog

The art of telling a fine and memorable story has to do with description. I’ve always been drawn to fairy tales and legends, myself. No one can spin a tale like the Irish, from the antics of the wee folk to the mystery of the Loch Ness monster to the ballads of Bono or the humility of the human spirit told by John Steinbeck. Sláinte!!!

This passage fro Cannery Row totally inspired me:
“While Doc ate his sandwich and sipped his beer, a bit of conversation came back to him. Blaisedell, the poet, had said to him, “You love beer so much. I’ll bet some day you’ll go in and order a beer milk shake.“ (John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row, Chapter 17.)

So I thought, well, why not beer and chocolate? And not just any beer. The beer would have to have it’s own deep, dark personality. And should be something classic like Steinbeck and hail his German-Irish heritage. Hmmm. Dark beer, Irish. Voila! GUINNESS.

"Chocolate stout" is a name brewers sometimes give to certain stouts having a noticeable dark chocolate flavour through the use of darker, more aromatic malt; particularly chocolate malt — a malt that has been roasted or kilned until it acquires a chocolate colour."

Yummmy.

And I have to tip my derby to the genius of marketing that Guinness has cleverly and consistently touted over the years. I love this poster from the late 50's, for it's elegant design and bright colors AND it's spokeswoman, but also because it was drawn by a woman artist. More captivating examples can be found at the Guinness site.
Guinness Stout

Just in case you’re in the mood for something a little different for a St. Paddy’s celebration, try this Irish take on Rarebit. Totally decadent!

Irish Rarebit

2 tbsps butter
2 tbsps flour
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. Guinnesss
1 c. Cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a heavy pan, and stir in flour to make a roux. Cook on a low heat for a further minute without allowing it to brown. Remove pan from heat and gradually beat the milk into the roux. Return to heat and stir until the mixture thickens. Stir in mustard and honey and finally the Guinness. Cook this mixture fairly rapidly for 2-3 minutes then add grated cheese and stir over very low heat only until all the cheese has melted. Spread thickly on four slices of toast and brown under the grill.

Oh - and while I"m at it, a little “rare bit” (get it!) about St. Patrick. The reason the shamrock is associate with St. Patrick’s Day has nothing to do with leprechauns. Shamrocks are plentiful meadow growers in Ireland, and St. Patrick used to pluck one from the fields as he roamed the countryside on behalf of the papal doctrine to illustrate the Holy Trinity. Now that’s powerful story telling.