Sacred Stew

So, last night I made beef stew for ten people. Ten of the very best people I know. These lucky folks got to get "stewed", it is was delicious. This is a Joy of cooking recipe, and I've been making it for a few years now in the winter, I have copied the Joy of cooking recipe, but added my own notes in red because I've added things and taken things out over the years. Great for warming you up, and perfect to give the hubby in his lunch bag. This recipe makes 6-8 servings, but you can adjust it to make less or more.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs. boneless stewing beef, cut into cubes
• 1 teaspoon dried herbs (thyme, marjoram, savory, oregano, and/or basil) (I recommend lots of oregano, and use fresh basil at the end before you serve it.)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1/4 cup chopped carrots
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped leeks (optional)
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic (optional) (Put the garlic in. I do four cloves.)
• 2 bay leaves (Personally, I am not a huge fan of the flavour of the bay leaf in this stew. If you know you like the taste of bay leaf, but if you don't cook with them all the time I wouldn't recommend using them.)
• 2 to 3 cups beef or chicken stock, dry red or white wine or beer ( I do it with half stock of choice, and half wine. Make sure it's a dry red wine, a cheap Cabernet Sauvignon will do just fine.)
• 2 to 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
• 3 or 4 boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
• 2 turnips, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks...( I have never put turnips in this stew, turnips are yucky. But put em in if you fancy a turnip.)
• I have added yams into this recipe. I find that they give the stew that really delicious flavour where people say, What is that taste? I would put two yams sliced thin so they turn to mush and become a part of the broth. It thickens up the stew and makes it ultra "stewy".
• 2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks ( I sometimes omit the parsnips, but I like their sweet flavour. If you are gonna add them I'd cut down the carrots, that way the stew doesn't get too sweet.)

Green beans! I always add them in the last ten minutes. Throw a handful of those on in that stew now ya heard!

DIRECTIONS

• 1
  Pat the meat dry and season with 1/2 of the dried herbs, salt and pepper. Dredge in the flour and shake off any excess.

  
  

  

  
  
• 2
  Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the meat in batches and brown on all sides, being careful not to crowd the pan or scorch the meat. Remove with a slotted spoon. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan (add more if needed). (I really don't think I even know what a dutch oven is, but I just use one of my Henkel pots!)

  
  

  

  
  

  
  
• 3
  Add the chopped onions, carrots, celery, leeks, and garlic. Cover and cook, stirring often, over medium heat until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes.

  
  

  

  
  
• 4
  Add the bay leaves, remaining dried herbs, salt, pepper, cooked meat and enough stock to cover the meat at least halfway.

  
  
• 5
  Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer over low heat until the meat is fork-tneder, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• 6
  Add the chunked carrots, potatoes, yams, turnips and parsnips. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and skim off any fat from the surface. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

  
  

  

  
  

  I also like to add green beans ten minutes before it's done, slap those beans on in there!
  

  

  I usually thicken it up at the end by adding a little cold water to corn starch and cold water, then turning it up to high and pouring a little in there. Stir for five to ten mins and you are ready to serve your STEW!!! By this time, you would have made your guests sit for three hours and they are drunk and hungry, some are angry. (KT) I suggest serving it with buns in case someone wants a stew sandwich or two ( Mike) . YUM YUM YOU BET!!!

Source: Joy of Cooking

So follow my delicious recipe and I promise you will one day have your own stew party! Lots of happy folks full of stew!!!

 A Strange dark pic of Charlen, KT and her zombie lover Mike.

 Slim approving stew, his lovely lady Elaine and my husband who dislikes being photographed. They came for STEWWWW

Lucas rode in on his horse for STEW!!!

So I stopped taking pics at this point cause I was balls deep in stew and after stew I was too tired from stew, I just need time to be warm and stewy for a while.
I suggest you get stewy too!!!

 Feel free to email me if you have questions about the sacred stew.
e.welshie@gmail.com

-E.