Andy's Beef Stew

Andy’s Beef Stew

• Prep: 20 minutes
• Cook: 6 hours
• Total: 6 hours 20 minutes
• Serves: 4

If you have the time, this is an excellent beef stew, and one of my all-time classic comfort foods. The six-hour braise makes the meat fork tender, and the low cooking temperature helps to keep the veggies firm. Plan this dish for your family on one of those cold Winter evenings when low-gray clouds, heavy with impending snow, race by overhead, and the cold north wind creaks through the empty trees (I’m from Wichita). It’s sure to fill you up, and warm your heart.

Plan/Purchase

• 2 lb. ............ beef stew meat -- diced into 1-inch cubes
• 2 oz............. all-purpose flour
• 2 T.............. grape seed oil
• 14 oz............. can stewed tomatoes -- with juice
• 2 cloves............ garlic -- thinly sliced
• 1 c............. celery -- chopped
• 3 ............ carrots -- cubed
• 1-1/2 ............ potatoes -- cubed
• 1-1/2............ onions -- chopped
• 2 T............. tapioca
• 1 cube ............ beef bouillon
• 1/8 t............. dried thyme
• 1/8 t............. dried rosemary
• 1/8 t............. dried marjoram
• 1/4 c............. beer
• 1/2 c............. water
• 5 oz. ............ frozen green peas -- thawed

Prep/Prepare

1. Place the rack in the lower position, and then preheat the oven to 250 f (121 c).
2. Take the cubed beef and toss in the flour until coated.
3. Heat the oil in a dutch oven, over medium-high heat.
4. Brown the beef cubes, and then set aside.
5. Using the same dutch oven, layer the ingredients in the following order: tomatoes, carrots, garlic, celery, potatoes, onions.
6. Add the 1/4-cup beer and 1/4-cup of the water.
7. Cover and place in the preheated oven for two hours (do not stir).
8. Over the course of the next three hours open the pot and stir every thirty minutes.
9. Two hours before completion add the thyme, rosemary, and marjoram.
10. Thirty minutes later, mix the bouillon and tapioca in the remaining 1/4 cup of water, and add to the stew.
11. Twenty minutes before completion, add the peas.
12. The total cooking time is six hours.

Plate/Present

Serve in white porcelain bowls, or large plates. The white plates help to accent the colors of the stew.

Serve over a bed of egg noodles, or long grain white rice.

Some toasted French bread with sweet butter, wouldn’t be bad.

Hints and Helps

Tomatoes: Some of the best canned tomatoes are of the Hunts variety. In this recipe I used a can of Hunts Petite Diced tomatoes. If you don’t have fresh, and in Winter fresh tomatoes can be hard to find, these are an excellent substitute.

Beef Bouillon: We’re adding the bouillon in the last two hours for a reason… if you add it up front, the salt in the bouillon will remove water from the beef, and make it dry tasting. By adding it later, we get the flavor benefits without the down side (dried beef).

Tapioca: The tapioca is a thickening agent, plus it imparts its own unique flavor to the beef.

Grape Seed Oil: We’re using grape seed oil because it does not impart any additional flavor to the beef, and it has a high smoke point. You should always have a bottle of grape seed oil, especially when you need to do some sautéing in high heat. If grape seed oil is not a part of your kitchen inventory, you can always use some canola oil. If you opt for olive oil, you might want to turn down the temperature a bit (olive oil has a low smoke point).

Fonds: Fonds are the brown bits that develop at the bottom of the dutch oven, while you’re browning the beef. They contain a lot of flavor, and should be left in the pot. However, if you go too far with the heat while browning the beef, those wonderful brown bits will turn black. If that happens, it’s best to wipe out the dutch oven before layering the ingredients. Remember: if they’re brown leave them alone… If they’re black wipe them out.

Beer: The beer acts as an acidic agent in the cooking. As the beef heats up, the beer helps to melt the collagen in the beef, making it fork tender. This process is known as braising. Other braising acidic agents are wine, and vinegar. As a matter of fact, you could substitute a good red wine for the beer. Don’t ever use cooking wines. The rule of thumb is, if it isn’t good enough to drink, then it isn’t good enough to use in cooking.

Spring Salad with Avocado and Watercress

Plan/Purchase

• 1/4 c. unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 T. sweet onion – coarsely grated
• 1/4 c. gala apple – peeled & finely grated
• 4 t. soy sauce
• 1 t. sugar
• 3 T. vegetable oil
• 6 c. watercress
• 1 avocado – firm & ripe

Prep/Prepare

1. In a small bowl, blend the vinegar, onion, apple, soy sauce, and sugar, and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.
2. Add the oil, and blend.
3. In a large bowl, add the dressing to the watercress, using just enough to lightly coat.
4. Peel the avocado, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
5. Toss the avocado with the watercress.

Plate/Present

Typically, a salad is only a part of the meal... something served at the start to whet the appetite. However, this particular salad easily stands on its own.

Serve it as a lite lunch on the patio, with a glass of white wine, or in the evening (with the same wine).

A nice white plate helps to offset the red and green colors of the apple and avocado.

Hints and Helps

Once sliced, avocado will brown rather quickly; therefore, you should assemble this recipe, and serve immediately.

If you squeeze an avocado and it feels like a rock, put it back. If, however, you squeeze it with your thumb, and it leaves a slight dent, then that's the one you want.