Irish Stew and French Macaroons

The other evening I spent much too long making Irish Stew with Guinness and pistachio French macaroons.  The stew took about 4 hours (you let it simmer for a LONG time so the flavor's very rich), and in between I made the macaroons.  The stew was pretty good, but I feel like somehow it could have been better.  The recipe called for caraway seeds, which was an interesting ingredient, but I think next time I'll find another recipe to try.  There's this amazing bakery in Columbus, OH, called Pistacia Vera, where I got the idea to make them.  And although I don't think ANYTHING can compare to Pistacia Vera, these were still pretty good.  If you're ever within 100 miles of this place, GO!

the humble beginnings of the stew
my favorite ingredient
the recipe called for parsnips and turnips instead of potatoes, but that just wasn't something I could do...
simmering in my new, beautiful, and awesome Dutch oven
Sorry for the terrible lighting! My kitchen was so dark by this point...I whipped them a little too much so they were rather pool-esque
the filling
baked

and done!
I have had such a great time starting to make the recipes I love, but I'm realizing cooking is like most good things in life, you have to be careful that they don't consume you and there's no room left for anything else.