“Every election is determined by the people who show up.” – Larry J. Sabato
NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It’s my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from the Norwegian ‘Quote Cup’ passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a quote and a recipe here each week, along with an update and photos of what has been going on in our lives. I love trying new recipes…and love getting recipes you would like to share!
In addition to voting this week, we celebrated two birthdays… Maddie’s 19th and Neil’s 84th!
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
This week really felt like fall… stew weather. For our family, stew means cider stew… but buying the meat at Costco means we had enough for two pots. Sooo… I also made a more traditional crock pot stew. It was good, but when they saw the crock pot stew they asked where the ‘real’ stew was… haha! The crock pot stew was from thecozycook.com.
CROCK POT BEEF STEW
- 2 1/2 pounds beef stew meat
- 1/2 teaspoon EACH: black pepper, garlic salt, celery salt
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3-6 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- 2 cups yellow onions, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup cabernet sauvignon or merlot
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 beef bouillon cubes
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 5 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 pound baby Yukon gold potatoes, halved or quartered
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup cold water plus 3 tablespoons corn starch, optional for thickening
Cut meat into 1-inch cubes. Sprinkle beef with black pepper, garlic salt and celery salt. Toss to coat. Sprinkle flour over meat and toss again.
Heat 3 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meat in batches and brown for 45 seconds on each side, adding more oil if needed. Transfer meat to a slow cooker.
Reduce heat to medium and melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add a splash of wine and use a silicone spatula to deglaze the pan, loosening up any brown remnants to give added flavor. Transfer to slow cooker.
Add all remaining ingredients except for peas, cornstarch mixture and two tablespoons butter.
Cook on low for 7 1/2-8 hours or on high for 3 1/2-4 hours, until vegetables are fork tender.
Add peas during last 15 minutes of cooking. Remove bay leaves and rosemary stem.
Slowly add cornstarch mixture to thicken, it will continue to thicken on standing. Turn off the heat and swirl in 2 tablespoons cold butter for a smooth, velvety finish. (Chef technique called ‘Monter au Beurre’)
Refrigerate for up to 3 days, freeze for up to 3 months.
