The Perfect Beef Stew

Rarely (if ever) do I claim that something I make is "the best." I am hesitant to call this recipe "perfect," since it's not something I eat (red meat), but my family claims that it's amazing, and Kevin has even proclaimed, "I'd give this SIX bowls if I could!" I have to admit - it makes me feel great!

Anyway, I made this dish for my sister in law, when she had a baby recently. I found it on the Food Network website, and it had gotten very good reviews, so I decided it was worth a try. Now, mind you, beef stew is an afternoon affair. It takes about 3 hours to make. Granted, it's not all "hands-on time," but it's fairly labor and time intensive. I was excited to make it, though, and I put a lot of love into it. When Kevin tried it, he was really blown away, and actually a bit sad, since I had to give it away. I made the stew again last weekend - this time, in the slow cooker. It was equally as good, despite the fact that it was way too big for my crockpot, and basically overflowed onto my counter (oops). Also, because it's such a massive amount of stew, it took a whopping 10 hours to cook (a.k.a. I started it at 7 a.m., and we ate at 6 p.m.). All that being said, it was a great slow cooker meal, because I was able to start it when I woke up at 6, and then I didn't need to think about it until an hour before dinner, when I whipped up the barley.

The point is, you should make this. It's a very basic beef stew recipe, with no bizarre ingredients or directions. Oh, and it tastes terrific. My sister in law even told me that she would order it in a restaurant! You know, my little sis swears by the recipes she finds on Food Network, but I haven't had as much luck. I think I might be coming around, though...




A note about the beef: I have always used "Stew Meat," when I've made stews in the past. I just assumed everyone used stew meat, because it's already cut into perfect "stew sized pieces." Well, a few months ago, Kevin commented that stew beef is usually pretty low in quality. Hmph. So, this time, I bit the bullet, and bought beef chuck, and cut it myself. It makes a HUGE difference, and it's really no big deal. I mean, yes, it takes 10 more minutes to cut it, but it's well worth it. I bought a 3 pound package at BJ's Wholesale, and used the whole thing. I'd highly recommend it!


Make this. 5 Bowls!

Beef Stew

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil, for searing
• 2 1/2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 medium onions, cut into 6ths
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, or to cover
• 10 cups cold water, or chicken or beef broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
• 6 sprigs parsley
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/4 pounds medium red potatoes, quartered
• 4 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 7 canned whole, peeled tomatoes, lightly crushed
• 2 to 3 teaspoons red wine vinegar, or to taste
• Cook's Note: Beef chuck, from the shoulder, because of its marbling of intra-muscular fat, is the choice for any type of stew. If you can't find chuck cubed for stew in your meat department, buy a thick chuck steak and cut it into 2-inch cubes.

Directions

Heat a large Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat. Pour in enough oil to fill the pan about 1/4-inch deep. Season the beef generously with salt and pepper, and add to the pan. Saute half the meat, uncovered, stirring only occasionally, until well-browned, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a plate. Repeat with the remaining beef. Discard the oil and wipe out the pan.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Return the pot to the stove and melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 1 minute more. Add the reserved beef and scatter the flour over the vegetable and beef mixture (enough to lightly coat) and cook stirring until lightly toasted. Add the water or broth, and bring to a simmer. Tie the parsley, thyme, and bay leaves together with a piece of kitchen twine and add the bundle to the pot. Season with 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste. Cover and transfer to the oven. Cook the meat until just tender, about 1 1/2 hours. (This can also be done on the stove at a low simmer.)

Remove pot from the oven. Skim the fat from the cooking liquid with a spoon or ladle. Add the potatoes, carrots, celery, and the tomatoes, and bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the liquid thickens and the vegetables are tender, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the herb bundle. Stir in the vinegar and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Divide among bowls and serve immediately.

Chapchae (Noodles with Beef and Mixed Vegetables)

I cook with beef so seldom, but I went to a great meat market the other day, so I decided to bite the bullet, and create a beef dish. Kevin loves all things stir-fried, so I figured a beef and noodle dish would be well received. Well, I was right. My family sucked this down, and wanted me to make it again immediately. The only thing I changed in this recipe,was that I used non-fried ramen noodles, and I used all the veggies I had on hand, as opposed to mushrooms and spinach. It was a winner. If you haven't made a stir fry with noodles, you need to go for it. Rice is a thing of the past!




Make this. 5 Bowls.

Chapchae (Noodles with Beef and Mixed Vegetables)

Chapchae is the most popular noodle dish in Korea and features cellophane noodles stir-fried in sesame oil with beef and vegetables. This version weighs in at less than 400 calories per serving and just over 10 grams of fat.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 3/4 cups)

Beef:
1 teaspoon cornstarch
8 ounces eye of round steak, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons sambal oelek or Thai chile paste
1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
Cooking spray
Noodles:
1 (3.75-ounce) package uncooked bean threads (cellophane noodles)
Vegetables:
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 6 ounces mushrooms)
1 cup (2-inch) diagonally sliced green onions
1 cup (2-inch) julienne-cut carrot
1 (10-ounce) bag fresh spinach
Remaining ingredients:
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

To prepare beef, sprinkle cornstarch over beef; toss to combine. Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce and next 4 ingredients (1 tablespoon soy sauce through 3 garlic cloves); toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Heat a large nonstick skillet or wok coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add beef mixture; stir-fry 3 minutes or until done. Remove mixture from pan. Cover and keep warm.

To prepare noodles, pour boiling water over noodles; let stand 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain. Snip noodles several times with kitchen shears.

To prepare vegetables, wipe skillet or wok clean with paper towels. Heat 1 teaspoon sesame oil and vegetable oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add red pepper and 5 garlic cloves; stir-fry 30 seconds. Add mushrooms, onions, and carrot; stir-fry 3 minutes. Add half of spinach; stir-fry 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Add remaining spinach; stir-fry 2 minutes or until spinach wilts.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add beef mixture and noodles to pan, stirring well to combine. Combine 1/3 cup soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon sesame oil, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over noodle mixture; stir well to combine. Cook over medium-low heat 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

CALORIES 372 (26% from fat); FAT 10.9g (sat 2.2g,mono 4g,poly 3.6g); IRON 5.5mg; CHOLESTEROL 51mg; CALCIUM 102mg; CARBOHYDRATE 41.3g; SODIUM 1020mg; PROTEIN 26.1g; FIBER 5g

Cooking Light, MARCH 2003

Curried Beef Stew

I am sure you are so sick of seeing curried dishes on our blog. I'm sorry, but I guess I'm on a roll. We probably stink, and are sweating curry lately. This family adores Indian food, though, for many reasons, so I keep making more and more. You see, the ingredient lists for curried dishes always boast our favorites:

Rice
Sweet Potatoes
Beans (chickpeas, lentils)
Chicken/tofu/beef
Vegetables

The flavors are also quite outstanding in curried dishes. Rarely do you find that a recipe comes out bland. So, those are my reasons. Good enough? I haven't cooked with beef in a while , and we had a pound of stew meat in the freezer, so I whipped up the bad boy last night. The upside of the recipe, is that it is easy to make, my family loved it, and my kitchen smelled heavenly. The downside to this recipe, is that it cooked for a whopping 2 hours on the stove top. Yikes. Anyway, the big boss (Maya) loved this dish. After she took her first bite, she said, "Mommy! This is good beef!" Gotta love it. Kevin was also a big fan. The dish has a well rounded blend of spice curry and sweet, fruity flavors. Anyway, this is a nice way to use up your extra soup veggies that are wilting in the fridge - carrots, celery, mushrooms, green onions...




You should make this (when you have 2 hours to spare). Kevin gives it 4 bowls, plus a cup (so, is that 4.5 bowls?).

Curried Beef Stew

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Paste:
1/2 cup chopped green onions
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon Thai chile sauce
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 serrano chiles, seeded and finely chopped
Stew:
Cooking spray
1 pound beef stew meat
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 (14 1/4-ounce) can low-salt beef broth
2 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato
1 1/2 cups (1-inch-thick) sliced carrot
1 cup (1-inch-thick) sliced celery
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
1/2 cup light coconut milk

To prepare paste, combine first 6 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Spoon into a bowl.

To prepare stew, heat a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from pan.

Reduce heat to low; add oil to pan. Add paste; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add curry, cinnamon, and bay leaf; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in beef, soy sauce, and broth. Increase heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour.

Add sweet potato, carrot, celery, and mushrooms. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 50 minutes or until beef and vegetables are tender. Remove from heat; stir in coconut milk. Discard cinnamon stick and bay leaf.


CALORIES 358 (30% from fat); FAT 11.8g (sat 4.4g,mono 4.4g,poly 1g); IRON 5mg; CHOLESTEROL 71mg; CALCIUM 74mg; CARBOHYDRATE 34.6g; SODIUM 556mg; PROTEIN 28.5g; FIBER 6.1g

Cooking Light, JULY 2002

Classic Shepherd's Pie

The idea of Shepherd's Pie has always appealed to me. After all, what's better than meat and veggies topped with mashed taters? This recipe came from Food Network (I think Bobby Fla and it's a really basic recipe, though it involves quite a bit of prep work. I made the mashed potatoes early in the day, and then prepped everything else, and stuck the un-baked pie in the fridge, until an hour before dinner. It cooked up beautifully, and it looked lovely, when we scooped into it. Kevin liked it, though he claims that all Shepherd's Pies are created equal. Hmph. Well, it looked and smelled divine, and both Maya and Kevin enjoyed it. Maya didn't like the marshmallows (a.k.a mushrooms), but besides that, it was a winner.

Beef Shepherd's Pie

Adapted from the Food Network Kitchens and "How to Boil Water."

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 rib celery, sliced
• 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup canned low sodium beef broth
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups Mashed Potatoes, recipe follows
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, optional
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Directions

Heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms, garlic, half the salt, and oregano. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until mushrooms are soft and tomato paste has turned brick red, about 8 minutes more. Stir in the beef, the broth, the remaining salt, the Worcestershire, and some pepper, breaking up any large clumps of meat, cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 3 minutes.

Transfer the meat and vegetables to a 2-quart oval casserole dish and spread the mashed potatoes over the top, leaving a 1/4-inch boarder around the edge. Make a decorative pattern on the top of the potatoes, if desired. Sprinkle with cheese, if using, and dot with the remaining tablespoon of butter. Bake until potatoes brown and the juices bubble around the edge, about 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Copyright 2005 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved.

Mashed Potatoes:

1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled quartered

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

3/4 cup whole milk

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Freshly ground black pepper

Put the potatoes in a saucepan with cold water to cover by about 1-inch and add the salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender but not mushy, about 15 minutes. At the same time, combine the milk and butter in a small saucepan and warm over low heat until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

Drain the potatoes and return to the saucepan. Toss the potatoes over medium heat until dry. Add the heated milk mixture and mash the potatoes until just slightly chunky, then stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Sri Lankan Beef Curry Dinner

I'm not quite sure what possessed me to make this meal. I think it had something to do with having most of the ingredients on hand. I've been trying to make a new recipe for beef stew every week, because Kevin and Maya adore it, and it's fun for me to work with new flavor combinations. This Cooking Light recipe is certainly an odd blend of flavors, in my opinion, so I was a bit concerned that it would taste... well... strange. Also, it has the word "curry" in the name, but there is no curry in the recipe. Well, how do you like that? I made a few modifications to the recipe, because I realized, at the last minute, that I was missing a can if coconut milk (I needed 2, and only had one - oops), and I figured Kevin wouldn't be a huge fan of the lemon rind, so I only kept it in the pot for about 30 minutes of the 2 hour cooking time. The end result was a tasty, interesting beef stew, with a great smell and flavor. Kevin and Maya really liked it, served with rice and peas. Kevin says he'd want me to make it again, but I'm not sure how I felt about it. The prep is easy, but it cooks for a whopping 2 hours, so it's definitely a project for a whole afternoon, know what I mean?



Sri Lankan Beef Curry Dinner (My modifications are in parentheses)

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 2/3 cup beef mixture and 3/4 cup rice)


1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground fennel
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 pounds boneless sirloin steak, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes (I used half this amount, but kept everything else the same, so I'd have a nice sauce for the rice - it worked perfectly)
Cooking spray
3 cups chopped onion (about 2 medium)
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 red jalapeño peppers, minced (I used canned - easy peasy)
3 cups light coconut milk (I used 1 can, plus 1 1/3 cups of beef broth)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (1 tbl is more than enough for this fam)
2 (1 x 3-inch) lemon rind strips (I used half this amount, and took it out after 20-30 mins)
6 cups hot cooked basmati rice
Frozen Peas (Not in the recipe at all, but a lovely veggie addition to a curry recipe)

Cook coriander, cumin, fennel, and turmeric in a small saucepan over medium-low heat 7 minutes or until toasted, stirring occasionally.

Combine toasted spices, black pepper, salt, and beef in a large bowl. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 1 hour.

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, ginger, garlic, and jalapeños; sauté 3 minutes or until onions are tender. Remove onion mixture from pan. Recoat the pan with cooking spray. Add half of beef; cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove beef from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining beef. Return onion mixture and beef to pan; stir in milk, vinegar, and rind, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 hours or until beef is very tender. Discard rind. Serve over rice.

CALORIES 414 (25% from fat); FAT 11.7g (sat 6.5g,mono 2.6g,poly 0.3g); IRON 4.9mg; CHOLESTEROL 90mg; CALCIUM 33mg; CARBOHYDRATE 42.9g; SODIUM 653mg; PROTEIN 33.5g; FIBER 2.1g

Cooking Light, MAY 2006

Makin' a BBQ.

I had a tough time coming up with a menu for our little get-together on Saturday. We had a house full of picky eaters, and I was really puzzled as to how to I was going to cook for everyone. We also have no grill, which makes it really tough to do a BBQ. So... I decided to do a BBQ anyway. Here was our menu:

Mini-Man Burgers
Italian Stuffed Turkey Burgers
Veggie Burgers

Corn (Mom and Dad brought the cobs!)
Tortellini Salad (I made the recipe with regular pasta also, so Kevin could eat it)
Asian Cucumber Salad

Chocolate Cake (Thanks, Mom!)
Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies


I thought this meal came out pretty tasty. The Mini-Man Burgers are an Alton Brown recipe, and they got rave reviews. It's really a very interesting method of making a burger. It really sucks in all the seasonings, and makes these little sliders, reminiscent of a White Castle burger. The turkey burgers were good, but they really should have been grilled on a real grill. It was so hard to tell if they were done, when I cooked on the stove top, and frankly, I served several undercooked burgers, which sort of upset me.



I totally spaced, and didn't take any photos of the tortellini version of this salad, but this is the rotini version, that I made for Kevin, and anyone else who was anti-cheese. The salad has a really nice balsamic dressing, with sun-dried tomatoes and red onion. It is really tasty, and the tortellini version had halved cherry tomatoes, which made it super colorful and pretty. I will definitely make this again. It's easy and delicious.




This Asian Cucumber Salad is a really nice, fresh, light salad. It's a great addition to a BBQ, in my opinion, because it's flavorful, and not starchy. Kevin likened it to a seaweed salad, but with cukes. I would highly recommend this one - it's also super easy.

Beef, Beer, and Barley Stew

I decided to try this recipe on a whim, in order to use up some goodies in the fridge. It looked... weird. There were several ingredients in this one, that I'd never used in a stew before, including beer, horseradish, and worcestershire sauce. I honestly did not think this would be a hit. It require quite a bit of simmering time (1.5 hours), so I prepped this, turned it down low, and we took the kiddos out to the playground for a while. When we got home, the stew was perfectly cooked, so we sat down to dinner almost immediately. I always let Kevin be the judge of a beef dish, since I don't eat beef, but this one was, at the least, very beautiful. It was a nice mixture of brothy and chunky, with just the right amount of barley and veggies. The one thing I didn't like about this creation, was that it smelled distinctly of beer. I figured the broth would taste exactly like beer, but Kevin didn't think so. I'll let him review this one, but I'll just say that it was a big hit with both Kevin and Maya. I'll definitely be making this one again.

Beef Stew with Carrots and Mushrooms

What's your beef stew recipe? There are seriously, like, 1 million beef stew recipes out there on the internet, all of them with mixed reviews. I found this one on the Cooking Light website (where else?), and decided to try it, because it had the word "basic" in the title, and that's what I wanted - not because it would be easy, but because I was something that's just traditional, without any crazy flavors. Anyway, this recipe was relatively easy to make, but it was time consuming (took about 2.5 hours on the stove top, though most of it wasn't particularly "hands-on."). I ended up cutting down on some of the salt by accident, because I skipped the very last step of the recipe (add 1 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper). That last forgetful moment, ended up really hurting the recipe. It was well received, but Kevin noted that it had lack of something - salt. So, once again, Marji skipped the last few words of a recipe. Shouldn't I have learned my lesson after the popovers? Anyway, I served this over rice, and it was a filling, warming meal for my family. I will make beef stew again, but I am not done exploring the plethora of recipes out there. If you have one to share with me, I'd love it!




The Critique
I love soup, and I love a stew even more. This beef stew tasted great. The broth had a nice blend of a wine and mushroom flavor to it. There were just the right amount of vegetables cooked well. Really, I loved this. But, since I am the critic, here are the things that I didn't like. First, the pieces of beef were too big. I felt like a cow chewing my cud with the amount of mastication I was doing. Perhaps it was the cows' ghosts weird revenge. Also, the white rice soaked up too much of the broth. Typically, I love that because I like my soups and stews even thicker, but this was too much and it detracted a bit from the flavor. For next time, I would recommend making this with barley or nothing. It's so good that it doesn't need an additive.

4 bowls but could very easily be 5.

Split Pea with Beef and Barley Soup

As previously mentioned, I never make beef. I mean, never. However, at Kevin's request, I decided to make a beef soup tonight. I found this recipe on the Sunset Magazine website, and decided it would be perfect for Kevin. I've never used a recipe from this magazine before, but it is linked to the Cooking Light site, so I decided to have faith. I rarely trust online recipes from sites I don't know, because I've been burned before (no pun intended), but I thought I'd give it a try. Okay, anyway, I didn't try this one, but Maya liked it, and I'll let Kevin give his review later. I enjoyed making it. My house smelled like a Jewish grandmother's house. What could be better?
Carrots, onions, parsnips, celery, and leeks. This was my first experience with leeks, and I think they add a nice dimension to a soup.

This was a very long cooking soup, but it was worth it, for my husband and baby's happy bellies.

FYI - if you decide to try this recipe, note the fact that it makes a whopping 32 cups of soup - EIGHT quarts!

Kevin had 3 or 4 bowls of this. We still have like 25 bowls left...

I ate some leftover Lentil Sloppy Joes (Snobby Joes, from Veganomicon) that were in the freezer.


The Critique
This meal was fantastic. It combined all of my favorite things - split pea soup and meat. The meat was extremely tender and well cooked and the split pea soup. The seasoning was not overdone and it did not taste too salty or not salty enough. It had a very healthy but pleasing flavor, and tasted very similar to soups that my Grandmother and Aunt Heddy would make. It's tough to compete with their soups and this one really is on the same caliber if not even better. I give this a wholehearted 5 bowls of soup.