Beef Bourguignon

After I posted the Brunswick Stew recipe a friend asked me if I had a good beef stew recipe. At the time I didn't, but I took it as a challenge. I immediately thought of using a slow cooker because the longer a stew cooks, the flavors become richer and deeper. I found a recipe for Beef Bourguignon in The Slow Cooker Ready and Waiting Cookbook by Rick Rodgers. He maintains that you can't just throw a bunch of ingredients into a slow cooker and expect it to taste good. Rather the cook should treat the ingredients just as you would if you were going to put them in the oven. Hence, there is a lot of sauteing and searing before you put the ingredients in the pot. The preparation is longer but the result is fantastic. So here is the recipe for Beef Bourguignon.

Bistro Beef Bourguignon

1 pound baby carrots, peeled

1 pound small boiling onions, peeled

4 ounces slab bacon cut into 2 inch pieces

2 pounds boneless beef bottom round, cut into two inch pieces and well trimmed

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

10 ounces fresh mushrooms, quartered

4 shallots or scallions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup double-strength beef broth, canned or homemade

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1. Place the baby carrots and boiling onions in a 3 1/2 quart slow cooker.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the bacon and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and cook for 2 minutes. Drain well, rinse under cold running water, and pat dry with paper towels.

3. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon strips, turning often, until crisp and browned, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain.

4. Increase the heat to medium high. Add the beef, in batches without crowding, to the fat remaining in the pan and cook, turning often, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer the beef to the slow cooker, add the bacon and season with the salt and pepper. Mix well, but leave the carrots and onions undisturbed.

5. Add the vegetable oil to the skillet and heat over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and shallots and cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms have given off their liquid and are beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the slow cooker. Add the red wine, broth, parsley, tomato paste, thyme and bay leaf to the skillet and bring to a simmer, stirring to blend in the tomato paste and scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Add to the slow cooker.

6. Cover and slow-cook until the beef is tender, 7 to 8 hours on low (200 degrees F). With a slotted spoon, transfer the beef and vegetables to a serving bowl, discarding the bay leaf, and cover with foil to keep warm. Skim the fat from the surface of the cooking liquid.

7. In a medium skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, without browning, for 1 minute. Whisk in the cooking liquid and bring to a boil. Cook, whisking often, until thickened and reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, about 10 minutes. Pour the sauce over the beef and vegetables, mix gently, and serve immediately.

Brunswick Stew

The first time I had Brunswick Stew was at the Virginia State Fair at the Brunswick County Fire Department Booth. I immediately knew I wanted to know how to make it and fortunately for me they had kindly printed out copies of the recipe free for the taking. It is the perfect stew for a rainy day when you want to stay home and nest. This stew takes awhile to make and if you think you could scrimp on the cooking time, don't. I've tried that. The flavors just don't blend and it is really pretty terrible. If you have the time to simmer it for a full five hours, do it. It only gets better!

Brunswick Stew

2 1/2 - 3 pound chicken

2 pieces celery

1 small onion

2 quarts tomatoes, fresh or canned

1 cup chopped onion

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 quart green butter beans or lima beans (I use frozen limas)

1 quart whole kernel corn (again, I use frozen)

5 Tbsp sugar

Salt to taste

Red and black pepper to taste

Place chicken, celery and small onion in a large kettle. Add water to cover chicken. Simmer until meat is tender or begins to loosen from bones. Lift chicken from broth. Cool the broth and discard the celery. Remove meat from bones and cut into small pieces.

Add tomatoes, chopped onions and potatoes to broth. Continue cooking over medium heat until potatoes are tender. Add cut-up chicken, butter or lima beans, corn and sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to a boil while stirring. Cover, lower heat and simmer slowly, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, for 3 to 5 hour or until tomatoes have cooked to pieces.

Makes about 6 quarts.

Gettin' Witchy

One of my favorite blogs the adventures of bluegirl xo has a great tutorial for making a little witchy-poo. She has several examples of different ways to embellish and construct them. Julie puts up a new tutorial almost every Thursday and they are always something I would like to make or have. You really should check out her blog.

Wild Geese

Not too long ago a friend of mine sent me a poem by Mary Oliver via e-mail, then a week or so later another friend posted the same poem on her facebook page. A week after that I opened the newsletter from our local food co-op and the poem was printed on the back page. I do not believe in coincidences and so I have read this poem a few times to see what it has to say to me. It is really a lovely poem and with out further adieu I am passing it on to you along with an image of the beautiful Wisconsin River, which is just a few blocks from my home.

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to yo like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-

over and over announcing your place in the family of things.

--Mary Oliver

Fish

I have been thinking of making a fabric fish for sometime now and finally got around to doing it. I used a technique I learned from Susan Shie (Lucky) when I went to her Turtle Moon Art Camp quite a few years ago. It involves a lot of hand sewing but I love the texture. I live in an area where everyone seems to fish and I was inspired by the simple shape a fish can have. I embellished it with some shisha mirrors and beads as well as a very crude applique on the tail. I tend to use more subtle colors, so I was pleased that I broke out of my usual and tried some bright colors.

Lemon Tea

I found myself with an abundance of lemon verbena and lemon balm growing in my garden and an offer to borrow my brother's food dehydrator. I read in one of my herb books that those herbs are great in potpourri so I decided to dry them. Somewhere along the way I thought that mixing these two herbs might make a nice tea and then decided to make it really lemony I would dry some organic lemons to add to it. It has turned out to be delicious, expecially with a nice dab of honey. I am thinking that if any colds come along this winter this will be my go-to tea. It also would be nice with a slice of fresh ginger.

Memoriam

I like to keep my blog posts upbeat and positive, but today I am feeling a deep sadness. A man that I went to high school with died last Friday by his own hand. I hadn't seen him for about 25 years but my memory of him is as vivid as if it were yesterday. He was one of those people you can't forget because fun followed him where ever he went. In reading the memories of others on a memorial page on facebook, every person expressed the same memories. Tim was a fun, wild and crazy guy. Behind all of the laughter was clearly pain. He had recently experienced some personal setbacks and disappointments but there were so many people that loved him and would have moved heaven and earth to help him. If there is someone in your life having struggles, please, today, let them know you care and that there is professional help out there no matter what the circumstance.