January 5th - Roasted Garlic Beef Stew

Thank You Sweeet Jesus for Meat!

I am so glad I am not a vegetarian.  I don't know how people can do it.  Of all the meats, I love pork the most.  Ham, bacon, and a stuffed pork loin.  Yummy!  Yes my Jewish friends, it is a dirty animal, but it is SOOOO GOOOD!  Chicken would be my #2.  I love a good roast chicken.  Beef would be my #3.  I don't normally crave steak, but love the hamburger.  Miscellaneous meats would be my #4.   I really don't eat much buffalo, venison, or dog.  Plus, they're really hard to find at your local grocery store.

Something I don't understand is the vegetarian pseudo-meat.  I have a friend and she is a vegetarian.  She used to bring in vegetarian "meats" to work for her lunch all the time.  I suppose, a vegetable mash formed to look like meat can have the same protein benefits of meat, but it's not the same.  Chickpeas made to look like barbecued ribs don't taste like the real thing.  There is just something about having a bone in your hand that speaks to the primal part of your humanity.  (...Tee hee)

And can we all agree that turkey bacon is no where near as delicious as regular bacon?  Healthy schmealthy...Life isn't worth living without bacon!

THE RECIPE

Ingredients:

Garlic: (Had at home)

Butter: (Had at home)

Beef: $ 3.92

Parsnips: $1.94

Carrots: (Had at home)

Potato: $0.34

Rutabaga: $1.34

Beef Broth: $1.59

Red Wine: (Had at home..Surprise, surprise)

Thyme and Sage:  (Had at home)

Total: $9.13

Okay, so I'm glad to finally be making a "main dish".  However, I already screwed up.   Yeah, even chefs screw up!  (Sure, I could own up to the fact that I really didn't read the recipe closely before I started; however, I blame it on the two glasses of wine with no lunch.)  The recipe calls for 16 cloves of garlic that apparently should be seperated and put into a dish with the butter.  I, however, just put a whole clove of garlic in a dish with butter on top.  It's the same flavor.  Just took a little more time than the 15 minutes it said in the recipe (35 minutes to be exact). 

The meat was simple.  Cube it, toss it with salt and pepper, and coat it in flour.  Brown it in some butter then set aside.  Try that with Tofu...I think not!

Basically the rest of the recipe is peeling and chopping root vegetables (parsnips, carrots, potatoes, rutabaga)and boiling it in a mixture of beef broth, wine, sage, and thyme.  Then adding back the meat and cooking a little longer.  And, you will need to season with lots of salt and pepper 'cause it's blah if you don't.

The end of the recipe calls for a "mont au beurre" which is a fancy french term meaning adding a butter/flour paste to thicken the sauce.  It didn't need it.  The consistency was perfect.

Results:

Fast:  If you read the recipe correctly before you begin, this whole thing should take you only 40 minutes.  If you start off drinking a little red wine on an empty stomach, then it will take you about 1 hour 15 mintues. 

Easy:  It's roasting garlic, browning meat, peeling and chopping root veggies, and boiling it all together.  Yeah, it's easy.

Fresh:  Root vegetables are pretty blah.  I suppose if you used fresh sage and thyme it would be a little more flavorful.  But, when dealing with an open bottle of red wine, personally I think fresh is the last thing you care about.

Overall:  Ah, beef!  I will consume you with great pleasure.   Even though this stew is throw together, it's actually not that bad.  I think it will develop even better flavor overnight.  Also, I'm going to have to make the recipes during the day as the artificial light in the kitchen does not make for good pictures.

Bring it on Wednesday!!!