In Portland, Oregon a few flakes of snow or freezing rain and schools shut down and people stay home.
We had one of those days today, and days like this call for a hearty bowl of delicious homemade stew
with a piece of golden crusted cornbread on the side.
I've never made my stew by a recipe, but I'll do my best to share with you my method.
Beef Stew
Start with about two pounds of lean stew meat cut in 1 1/2 inch cubes.
(You can also use a roast and cut it up yourself, which is what I did.)
Dredge the meat in flour seasoned with 1 teaspoon each of steak seasoning, garlic powder and salt.
In your favorite 5 1/2 to 6 quart dutch oven or soup pot,
brown about 1/3 of the meat at a time over medium heat in a bit of olive oil.
(Overcrowding the meat causes it to steam instead of brown,
which is why I don't brown it all at once.)
Turn the meat until it is browned on all sides.
Set browned meat aside on a plate, add a bit of olive oil to the pan, and brown the next batch.
When all the meat is browned, deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup burgundy or chianti wine,
stirring to loosen all of the flavorful bits from the bottom of the pan.
Add meat back into pan.
Add 1 large chopped yellow onion.
Add 3 stalks chopped celery.
Add 1 quart beef broth or stock.
Add 1 quart of water.
Add 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.
Add two or three bay leaves.
(If you didn't use garlic powder in your flour dredge you may want to add a clove or two of minced garlic.)
Cover and simmer on stove top for approximately 1 1/2 hours,
or set oven to 350 and cook in oven for 1 1/2 hours.
Peel and chop 4-5 carrots into about 1 inch pieces.
Peel and chop one rutabaga into 1 inch pieces.
(The rutabaga is my "secret ingredient" that, I think, adds so much flavor.)
Scrub and remove any eyes from 8-10 red potatoes and cut into fourths.
Add to the stew, cover, and cook for another hour and a half.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with your favorite cornbread and you have the perfect cold weather supper!
It's almost Friday, friends!
Have a HAPPY, HAPPY Friday
and
a safe and BLESSED weekend!
