Welcoming Beef Stew

After months, maybe even a year, of talking about it, my niece, ok grand-niece but that is too detailed, arrived to spend 6 months with us!  Her daddy loves to travel and they both jumped at the chance for her to come here after graduating from high school to experience "Europe" before beginning the next chapter of her life - university!



The idea of this young person doing us the honour of voluntarily staying with us and giving up 6 months of her life for uncharted territory is quite daunting!  Alan and I are inspired to travel like we used to, even though Ryanair is not cooperating and has changed the flights leaving from our local airport and taken loads of destinations away.  We are working through this and enjoying the challenge! And, you know what?  We are also very happy to have a young person in the house again!

She travelled with my sister and brother-in-law, beginning their journey in the Republic of Ireland, landing in Dublin and taking in Waterford before taking a ferry to Heswell.  In Heswell, they have cousins that her daddy and grandfather had met the last time they were over here, 2002.  I cannot believe it was that long ago!  From there, they drove up to Scotland.  This is a gargantuan journey for someone who had never driven on the "wrong side of the road' all his life.  I know I could not have done it!

I know when I travel, I never eat right and feel awful after a few days, so I felt a bit responsible to find something warm and welcoming. What is better than good old fashioned Beef Stew?

One of the reasons I decided on this recipe was because they were coming from Florida and we should have had Autumn weather by now and I was afraid they would be chilly!  Little did I know the weather was going to be as good or better than a regular summer day?  Not complaining at all and the beef stew was still perfect!




Anyone who regularly reads my blog knows I love the Joy of Cooking and own 3 different editions. The edition I chose for today's recipe was the one Mom gave me in 2002.  But I did change it a bit, instead of making stew in a pot the way I have always made it, I used my slow cooker.  Not only was this so much easier, but the process made the meat really tender!

And on another note, my blog is now 2 years old and I have received almost no comments the whole time.  This has upset me so much when I read other blogs and see all the comments.  I even considered changing my providers......but after a bit of advice from another blogger I started investigating all the settings within Blogger, and lo and behold, I had somehow ticked a box that did not permit comments being left!  I hope I have fixed that and look forward to having more of a dialogue with my readers!

As always, the basic recipe, with no comments or photos can be found at the bottom of this entry.

Beef Stew (Basic Recipe)

6 - 8 servings

The Joy of Cooking introduces this recipe by saying that you can alter the vegetables and proportions.  For a fresher flavour, add more vegetables or herbs toward the end of cooking.

Pat dry:
2 pounds boneless stewing beef, such as chuck, short-rib meat or bottom round, cut into 2 inch cubes.  Or go to the store and buy stewing beef!  Already cut up and ready to throw in the pot!

To save time and give me more leeway since I had no idea when my visitors would arrive, I used the slow cooker!  And will do this all the time now. It worked really well!

Line the slow cooker with a liner and add the meat.  Season the meet with:
1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried herbs (thyme, marjoram, savory, oregano, and/or basil)  (I used Italian seasoning)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Dredge the meat with:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
(an easy way to do this is to add the flour to the mixture already in the slow cooker liner and shake the meat until all pieces are covered with flour, then put it all back into the slow cooker!)

Shake off any excess flour.  Heat over medium-high heat:
2 Tablespoons olive or vegetable oil, bacon fat, beef drippings, or other fat

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.)  Add:

1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped leeks (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped garlic (optional)

Cover and cook, stirring often, over medium heat until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes.  Add:
2 bay leaves
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of the same herbs used to season the meat
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

At this point, I put all ingredients, including the stock into the slow cooker on low and planned to cook this for 8 - 9 hours.

Add enough to cover the meat at least halfway:
2 to 3 cups beef or chicken stock, dry red or white win, or beer.

If you use the slow cooker, you don't have to bring everything to a boil!

Bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer over low heat until the meat is fork-tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  Add:
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
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

I added all these vegetables after about 4 hours of cooking the original meat mixture.

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.

Yum!

"There is a charm in making a stew, to the unaccustomed cook, from the excitement of wondering what the result will be, and whether any flavour save that of onions will survive the competition in the mixture."

Annie Besant

Beef Stew (Basic Recipe)

6 - 8 servings

The Joy of Cooking introduces this recipe by saying that you can alter the vegetables and proportions.  For a fresher flavour, add more vegetables or herbs toward the end of cooking.

Pat dry:
2 pounds boneless stewing beef, such as chuck, short-rib meat or bottom round, cut into 2 inch cubes.  Or go to the store and buy stewing beef!  Already cut up and ready to throw in the pot!

Season the meet with:
1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried herbs (thyme, marjoram, savory, oregano, and/or basil)  (I used Italian seasoning)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Dredge the meat with:
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Shake off any excess flour.  Heat over medium-high heat:
2 Tablespoons olive or vegetable oil, bacon fat, beef drippings, or other fat

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.)  Add:

1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped leeks (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped garlic (optional)

Cover and cook, stirring often, over medium heat until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes.  Add:
2 bay leaves
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of the same herbs used to season the meat
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Add enough to cover the meat at least halfway:
2 to 3 cups beef or chicken stock, dry red or white win, or beer.

Bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer over low heat until the meat is fork-tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  Add:
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
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

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.