This year I've been making a real effort to cook ahead most Sundays or Mondays. The beginning of every week seems to be so hectic, and it's great to know there are a few fresh homemade meals to start it out.
It's probably a little silly in this day and age and in a household without kids, but when I cook, I often feel like I'm doing something important. Engaging in an activity that people have pretty much always needed to do, and which I have the luxury of having fun with.
Cooking is the very definition of the sum being greater than the total of the parts. No one would sit down to eat a bowl of flour, a cup of sugar and stick of butter, but offer Scotch shortbread and it's a whole 'nother story.
For this beef stew, I basically followed the recipe from The Joy of Cooking. Next time I might make it more soupy and a little less stewy, just because we like broth.
I used my deep cast iron pan and it came out really well. Used 2 cups of beef broth and 1/2 a cup of red wine, and then added maybe another cup of broth along the way.
It takes a long time. About an hour prep because you have to brown all the stew meat in batches. Then cooking time is about 3 hours beyond that.
I'll do this again, but not as often as our simple chicken soup, just because the soup only takes about an hour and a half.
4 comments:
Yum...I'm about to go to the grocery store (before the big ice storm hits). Maybe I'll put stewing beef on my list.
Sigh, it's all gone now. Finished it yesterday.
Since the road has still not been plowed and it's about to ice over, I don't think I'll be venturing out to the store anytime soon. Sure looks good and hearty. Would have been a nice meal after my snowshoe walk this afternoon.
McBean - Yeah I wish we still had some! We hiked the peaks around our house for 2 1/2 hours today and I made fried potatoes and eggs for lunch. Yum.
I am going to get pix up from the last couple of days, but the power's been going on and off and I'm working my job from home in between photo shoots!
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