Cold Comfort: Root Veggie Stew with Beef

This weekend, we both were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Sure, there were leaves to rake... and a house to clean... but after all was said and done, we finally found ourselves back in the kitchen. And craving a bit of good old fashioned comfort food.

I have fond memories of coming home from elementary school and being greeted by a warm bowl of succulent stew -- tender beef and chunks of potato and carrots surrounded by a delicious brown sauce flavored with onion and bay leaves.  Mom always ate her stew like soup -- in a bowl, with a spoon. Dad always piled his stew on top of the bread like a big, open-faced sandwich -- slicing through each bite and eating it with a fork.  And me?  Well, I remember eating all the vegetables first so that I could savor the few pieces of stew meat in the bottom of the bowl, and use my bread to sop up the delicious sauce.

Some things never change.
The weather has been sunny, but chilly, here in Wisconsin.  When we ventured out to the farmer's market on Saturday morning we were surprised by the bone-chilling wind that greeted us when we got out of the car.  Wow!  Those farmers are sure dedicated folks!  And we were glad.  Our stash included loads of great stuff -- fresh mustard greens, red kale, end-of-season broccoli, winter squash, Ida Red apples, and rutabaga.  The big question became "What would we make with our loot?"  Well -- stew, of course!

The stew I make these days still resembles the one I grew up with... but I've taken a few liberties with the ingredients. Taking my cue from all the great chefs who remind us that a fantastic dish is contingent upon fantastic ingredients, we start off with a pound of our favorite grass-fed beef. This beef not only tastes better than your average supermarket meat, but it's seriously nourishing.  Among its benefits, grass-fed beef is a great source of vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids (7 times more than grain fed beef), vitamin C, and beta-carotene. Grass-based farming is also great for the environment (excellent article here at Mother Earth News, if you're interested).  Healthy as it is, we're still judicious with our use of red meat. We use the beef primarily as a flavoring for the stew (rather than as the main event), so we can get away with using only about one pound of meat for 6-8 solid servings.

Another update to our beef stew involves... and you've probably guessed it... BEER!  Yes, indeed.  One of our favorite "stew brews" just happens to be one that's made right here in the Dairy State.  Tyranena "The Devil Made Me Do It" Coffee Imperial Oatmeal Porter.  Dark and sweet with plenty of coffee flavor, this beer really bumps up the flavor quotient in our stew.  And it's mighty nice for drinking on the side too...

And then there are the veggies -- a couple of nice rutabaga, a few delicious carrots, and a handful of Yukon gold potatoes.

We chop the veggies into nice, rustic chunks.  This stew cooks for quite a while in the oven, so we don't want everything turning to mush (anyone have BAD memories of overcooked carrots in their mom's beef stew??... yeah, that's exactly what we want to avoid).

Toss the cubed beef with a quarter cup of flour seasoned with salt & pepper.

And now, the cooking begins.

Brown the stew meat in large, oven-safe pan (a Dutch oven, if you have one).

When everything is nicely browned, remove the meat and saute a couple of sliced onions in the same pan.  When the onions are just about tender, add 8 cloves of chopped garlic and saute briefly.

You'll notice all sorts of delicious browned bits developing as the onions cook.  Feel free to giggle with delight -- all those crusty bits are going to impart some seriously amazing flavor to our stew.

Add a tablespoon of dried thyme to the onions, and stir well. Deglaze the pan with 4 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and a cup or so of the beer. Scrape up those crispy bits as the mixture comes to a boil. They should come off the bottom of the pan surprisingly easily as the vinegar and beer do their thang.

Add the remaining cup of beer, along with 3 cups of good quality beef broth, 2 tablespoons of Dijon style mustard, 2 bay leaves, and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Bring the liquid to a boil.  Then add your reserved beef, chopped vegetables and three sprigs of fresh rosemary (if you've got 'em).  When everything is boiling again, you can cover your pot and transfer the stew to a preheated 350º oven.

Check your stew after about an hour and a half.  If the vegetables are tender, you're good to go. If things need a bit more time, you can let it go for another half hour or so.

If the stew seems too thin for your liking, you can remove some of the vegetables and use your choice of methods to thicken the sauce (I like pureeing a few of the vegetables, or adding a roux and simmering it for a bit).  Otherwise, just spoon into bowls and serve.

Now, seriously... where's my chunk of crusty bread?  It's time for dinner!

Recipe:  Root Veggie Stew with Beef



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Favorite Things: Beet Borscht

I keep telling you how awesome beets are. And you don't believe me yet, do you?

You have all sorts of excuses:

1. You hate peeling them.
2. Ew.
   
3. They make your hands all dirty/red/purple.
4. Gross.
   
5. They taste like dirt.

Beet haters even have their own community online... which, if you ask me, just promotes myopia among the haters... But, GO! Go check it out if you must. And report back with your findings.

In the meantime, maybe some of you will stick around and enjoy a bit of borscht -- which (if you believe it) I'd actually categorize as one of my favorite things.
I promise you, it's not just because the beets are so positively gorgeous (these came from the Jen Ehr Family Farm in Sun Prairie, WI). Borscht can actually taste good.

I have fond memories of borscht. My aunt made it every spring, and once I was living on my own she taught me to use the stock left over from simmering beef brisket to make my borscht -- and I'm quite convinced this makes some of the best borscht around. We use the "stock" left from making Burp! corned beef -- which is enriched with a bit of stout beer, tomato paste, and a variety of herbs & spices. If you don't have anything of that sort on hand, you can use a good quality (preferably homemade) beef, pork, or chicken stock. Add a dab of tomato paste and a bit of beer and you're in business.

And don't be intimidated. Borscht is just the sort of rustic fare that BEGS to be ad-libbed. Taste and smell often -- and the dish comes together more-or-less on its own.

We chop our beets and set them aside. I saute up an onion and a few cloves of garlic in a stock pot -- and then add the stock, which I heat until it's close to a boil before adding the beets.
A bay leaf, some dried thyme, and a bit of dill... and we let everything come to a boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until the beets are tender. Sometimes I add potatoes and chunks of carrot to the mix. A bit of cabbage isn't bad. And turnips or celery root (any root veggies, really) actually work well here too -- though keep in mind that whatever you add will turn a VIOLENT shade of purpley-red and be virtually indistinguishable from the beets.
Once the vegetables are tender, you'll see that the broth has taken on a new character; it colors beautifully and thickens up a bit. If you like a bit of "body" to your borscht, you can puree some of the vegetables and add them back to the soup. Or you can simply eat the dish "as is". Borscht is definitely one of those dishes that is better the following day -- so I often make mine ahead and reheat it for dinner the next day.
We like to garnish our borscht with more fresh dill -- and usually a dollop of sour cream. You could do the same. Then grab a hunk of crusty bread, maybe a salad, and you're all set.



©BURP! Where Food Happens

Lost Day Pork Posole

The heavens dropped another three inches of snow in Milwaukee last night. So, I'm gearing up to make a comfort food dinner for our dinner guests tonight. What better than a Mexican stew to warm the soul?

This recipe is adapted from something I found years ago in a Cooking Light magazine. The recipe has evolved over the years, but the premise is the same. The recipe is not difficult, but does require a bit of thinking ahead. It's best if it's made the day before serving.

Pork Posole


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Lazy Day Chicken & Dumplings

This is the recipe on which Lo bases her lazy day version of chicken & dumplings. It's a great basic slow food recipe meant for a day when you have the time to linger around the stove and enjoy the process.

That much said, we all know that Lo can't follow a recipe without tinkering -- so her chicken & dumplings are invariably different. They're almost always chocked full of veggies (broccoli, more carrots, peas);in addition, Lo adds a splash of white wine to the roux, thickens the sauce a bit more than average, and often serves the dish "pot-pie" style in individual serving dishes. So, feel free to improvise. But, try this at LEAST once in its full glory before cutting corners. It's time consuming, but well worth the effort.


{Lazy Day} Chicken and Dumplings
Tyler Florence


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White Bean and Sausage Stew

Since the weather is bound to cool down at some point, I thought I'd share a new recipe. This is something we "threw together" for dinner a couple of weeks ago -- and it turned out to be an instant autum favorite. It's a variation on the traditional cassoulet, and is PERFECT for cool temperatures. We like it with a spicy sausage and a hint of red pepper flakes, but this is a great dish for improvisation. Try Italian sausage and basil (add the basil at the end of the dish to finish) or chorizo with poblano peppers and pinto beans (serve tortillas on the side). Paired with some crusty bread, this is a fantastic one-dish meal.


Spicy Bean and Sausage Stew

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
10 oz. spicy sausage (such as andouille), sliced into rounds - we used chicken sausage
1 cup chicken broth
1 14.5-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained
1 lb curly green kale, ribs removed, chopped
1 14.5 oz can white (or pinto) beans, drained and rinsed
salt
pepper
Crusty bread

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the red pepper and red pepper flakes and saute until red pepper begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes more. Add kale with about 1/2 cup of the chicken broth. Increase heat to medium-high, cover, and allow to steam for about 5 minutes (or until kale begins to wilt). Add the sausage, remaining broth, tomatoes and their juices. Allow to cook for 5-7 minutes at a simmer, allowing the juices to reduce slightly. Add beans and allow to remain on the heat until heated through. Remove from heat. Season with the salt and pepper and spoon into individual bowls.

Serve with bread.
Yield: Makes 4 servings