White Beef Stew with a little bit of Everything

(That's me!)

I am a firm believer in every story having a happy ending, or at least having an unhappy one for a good reason, which is usually that a happier ending is on the way. (I like to think of myself as an optimist in this way.) What does this have to do with my cooking blog, you may ask? Let me tell you.

I was trying to make this recipe tonight, and had bought all the ingredients yesterday... EXCEPT, I had forgotten red wine and beef stock. Ok, no tragedy, you're thinking. WRONG. My cut of meat was also only 1.3 lbs, not the required four, and I was out of pepper. I was beginning to panic, because I had this meat sitting thawed in my fridge, and I really needed to do something about it. 

So, I did what all good chefs must do at some point or another. I grabbed the seat of my pants and flew. Unfortunately, there are not too many pictures in this post...it it hard to take pictures while holding the seat of your pants.

For this recipe, you need:

A cut of meat, like a tough cut of roast or some stew meat, about 1.3lbs ;)

1/4 c. tequila                 

dash of white cooking wine                  

salt and pepper to taste

1.5 tsp stone ground mustard                  

2 medium bay leaves or one large            

 1 Tbsp. thyme

1 large onion, coarsely chopped             

3 medium potatoes, coarsely diced             

2 cloves garlic, minced                    

8 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely cut

1 c. water to start, more to be put in later                    

a pinch of allspice                  

1 tsp. of flour

1. Heat up the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Pour a little bit of olive oil into a dutch oven or large pot, and brown the meat on all sides. Then, add your 1 c. water, minced garlic, tequila, cooking wine, thyme, allspice, half the mustard, and a dash of salt and pepper to the pot. Bring this to a boil and then cover it and stuff it into the oven for about 1 hour. 

Here are some suggestions as to what to do with your hour:

-Mooch some books.

-Find some local farmers and food.

-Get fabulous!

-Make a puzzle of a fish or a rearing horse.

3. Ping! Your time is up! Pull the pot out of the oven. Be careful, it will be super hot. I know this because my hands are covered with burn marks made by not remembering this simple fact! Place the pot on the stove, on low heat, and if you have a really large chunk of meat (like I did), take this time to pull it out and cut it into stew-sized chunks, then add it back into the stew. Add the carrots, onions, and potatoes, then add just enough water to almost cover it all. 

4. Add in the rest of the mustard (you can add more if it still tastes bland to you) , the bay leaves, salt and pepper to taste, and the flour. Stir this all together well, then cover and let simmer until the potatoes and carrots are soft, about 40 min - 1hr. Keep tasting the stew during this time. I am a big advocator of the taste test... how are you supposed to fix it if you have no idea what you are really cooking?? 

5. When done, ladle into warm bowls. Garnish with a sprig of thyme, and serve with black bread. (if you have none of that, settle for rye.)

This is a super light, almost soupy stew. I hope you like it! I am glad to finally be reaching the end of our long, Rochester winter, myself. This stew is like the trailing end of a series of thick, hearty stews I have made this winter.

Bon appetit, from Lili "Whatever I happen to have on hand" P.