I took two onions and cut them each in six pieces. Four full-sized carrots, two stalks of celery, and a half dozen small red potatoes. All in bite-sized pieces. I blanched the carrots for five minutes, then the whole or halved potatoes for ten. I sauteed the onions in a bit of olive oil and butter for a few minutes then had all the veggies with raw celery chopped and in a huge bowl.
Two pounds of cubed beef were salted peppered and tossed with flour and thyme, then sauteed in two batches and added to the veggies. I stirred everything together, added it all back to the pot and heated it up, adding an entire bottle of good red wine, one can beef consomme and one can water plus two bay leaves.
It cooked for about 2.5 hours simmering on the stove (I can’t trust my oven) and it was rich and fantastic. I had to add a bit of buerre manie at the end (2T flour and 2T butter, combined with a fork) but it was a great stew and I just made it mostly of things I had on hand. A neighbor arrived from a trip last night and had nothing in the frig so I made enough to give us two meals and she and her husband one.
Things I would do differently: cut the potatoes smaller; add some sauteed mushrooms; and add the frozen peas I’d planned to do at the end but forgot. The sauce was heavenly, the carrots bright orange and the beef tender and succulent.
Accidents happen and good food is made on the fly. As no-one will share recipes for blog publication these days, more of these accidental hits should be tried. It helped that my husband was home with a cold for the past three days, upstairs moaning about how horrible it was to be sick. Being in the kitchen was a pleasure, not a chore! Cheers, Dee
Cooking with Dee 