Foodie friends for dinner!

Last night we had our foodie friends come over for dinner.  It had been about a month since we got back from our great trip to California and we had not seen them since.  It was time to catch up, relive those great times we had and partake in a delicious meal and enjoy some great wine too.

I had this recipe from a couple of years ago from Cooking Light that I love to make in the fall.  When it is baking in the oven the house smells wonderful.  It is a beef stew, started on the stove and then baked in a slow oven for 2 1/2 hours then served over noodles.  And as I was preparing yesterday I remembered what made it smell so good....ground cloves!

So dinner was prepared early and put in the oven around 4 p.m.  Our friends arrived around 5, bringing along a chain saw to cut a dead tree down for us and they brought Brady for a visit.  Great surprise!

We enjoyed the Rosemary Hummus, some Yancy's Fancy Cheese  before dinner and a few bottles of some great Red Wine.  Hubby and I are generally White Wine fans, but the recipe called for a Syrah.  So, Syrah,  Cab or two later and a whole bunch of laughter and great conversation was enjoyed.

Beef Daube Provençal

Ingredients

• Preparation
• 
  
• 2 teaspoons olive oil 
• 12 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 (2-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 cups chopped carrot 
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion 
• 1/2 cup lower-sodium beef broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• Dash of ground cloves
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes 
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cups cooked medium egg noodles (about 4 cups uncooked noodles)

1. 1. Preheat oven to 300°.
2. 2. Heat a small Dutch oven over low heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add garlic; cook 5 minutes or until garlic is fragrant, stirring occasionally. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon; set aside. Increase heat to medium-high. Add beef to pan; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove beef from pan. Add wine to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add reserved garlic, beef, remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, carrot, and next 8 ingredients (through bay leaf), and bring to a boil.
3. 3. Cover and bake at 300° for 2 1/2 hours or until beef is tender. Discard bay leaf. Serve over noodles.
4. Note: To make in a slow cooker, prepare through Step 2. Place beef mixture in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours or until beef is tender.
5.