Irish Beef Stew

This was awesome and had great flavor. I gave it an 8, Jared gave it a 9, and Jared's dad said that it was the best beef stew he's had in a long time. I used extra stout Guinness beer, and while you could just substitute beef broth if you're anti-cooking-with-alcohol, the awesome flavor came from the Guinness. Also, I omitted the mashed potatoes and just added one chopped russet potato to the stew instead. Next time I will add more potatoes, celery, and carrots. Also, this only fed 3 adults, so definitely double this for a larger group. This recipe came from damndelicious.net.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 leek, thinly sliced I left this out
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup beef broth I used 2 1/2 C.
1 cup dark stout beer* I used Guinness
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves I used dried
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves I used 3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup frozen peas

2 stalks celery

FOR THE GARLIC MASHED POTATOES
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup half and half*
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Here's the link: http://damndelicious.net/2015/03/09/irish-beef-stew/