#i got dry red wine i got button mushrooms i got stew beef i got chicken stock i got tomato paste i stole dry her s from my mom

[a-flickering-soul]

im making beef stew tomorrow and i don't think ive ever been more excited to cook a dish in my life ever

[littlethingwithfeathers]

Quarantine Cuisine: Beef and Barley and Beer Soup! (oh my!)

It’s comfort food from shelf-stable staples time again! This one takes awhile, but trust me. It’s worth the wait and the work. No real substitute for it. Okay... No story. No tips. Let’s do this! (although... look back through my previous Quarantine Cuisine posts. Soup 101 is definitely in play here. Find all the flavor and ingredient categories! What can be swapped around and added to? Here’s a hint... got any frozen corn or peas? that would be great in here about half an hour before it’s finished. Oh... and can’t find barley? Bet you’ve got rice... *wink*)

Ingredients: 2 pounds stew meat (I used beef chuck, which means my cooking time is going to be long. Looking to shorten it? Go with chicken instead and use some white wine in place of the beer. Or go with ground beef! That knocks you down to around an hour instead of three.) One onion, diced 3-4 cloves garlic, minced 16oz mushrooms, sliced (whatever you got is good. Fresh is best but canned will be just fine. I used equal parts white button and baby bellas.) One can stout beer (I like Guinness.) four carrots, cut into spoonable chunks (got some parsnips? They’d be great here...) 1 14oz can diced tomatoes, juice and all 48oz beef broth (chicken or veg works too.) 1/2 tsp thyme 1/2 tsp rosemary 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes Salt and pepper 1 bay leaf 3-4 red skinned potatoes cut into 1 inch chunks 1/2 cup pearled barley In a large pot with a heavy bottom (I like my dutch oven) brown your meat over medium heat. Then in the rendered fat (if you didn’t get much, use a little olive oil) saute your onion until it starts to soften. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Add in your mushrooms and let them cook down until there’s almost no liquid left. This is an important step. It deepens the flavor of the mushrooms so don’t rush. When they’re almost dry and a nice pretty brown, pour in your beer. Allow the liquid to reduce by half. Toss in the carrots, tomatoes (rinse the can out with a half cup of water to get all the tomato flavor), broth, and seasonings. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook until the meat is fork tender (for chicken or ground beef... this is like half an hour. For my stew meat, it takes about an hour and a half for this step at least. Don’t skimp on time. Your patience will be rewarded with a rich, flavorful broth and tender meat.) If during the simmering, the liquid starts to boil off, just add water back a little at a time. You always want all the ingredients (including the ones you haven’t added yet) to be comfortably submerged. When your meat is nice and tender, add the potatoes and barley and cook for another half hour, or until the potatoes are fork tender and the barley is the consistency of al dente pasta.Just a little bit chewy.”

[unwritrecipes]

Mushroom Beef Stew

Baby, it’s cold out there! Finally! Not that I really want it to be frigid, but when else do you have the excuse to indulge in rib-sticking, hearty dishes, like this rich Mushroom Beef Stew?!! One bowl is guaranteed to chase away the chills!!

Over the years, I’ve often found myself declaring that stew really isn’t one of my favorites and then I find myself looking down at an empty plate. Ha! I think it might just be the sound of the word “stew” (not the most euphonious, right?) that leads me to my sweeping generalization, cause after serving this for dinner, I found myself heading to the pot for seconds!

Part of that is because this particular version is just loaded with mushrooms, which I love but I know many people just don’t—fungiphobes you should probably just click here right now.

But if mushrooms make your heart sing, read on, because this is not only chock full of both the regular button and cremini variety—

There are also dried shitake mushrooms in there too!

Honestly, you can’t go a bite without spearing some sort of mushroom on your fork! YUM!!

And it comes together fairly easily and makes a nice big pot so you are kind of guaranteed to have leftovers, which is always a big win-win in my mind!

Tender chunks of beef, a rich, flavorful sauce that gets enhanced with tomato paste, Dijon mustard, soy sauce and an entire bottle of red wine (hello!) and you’ve got yourself a winter weather comfort meal that is sure to please. Pair it with rice, noodles or mashed potatoes and you’ve got comfort food at its finest!! Stay warm, my friends!

Mushroom Beef Stew

Makes at least 8 servings

Prep Time: 45 minutes; Cook Time: About 1 ½ hours

Ingredients

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces and patted dry with paper towels

Kosher salt and black pepper

3 pounds of mushrooms (I used a mix of white button and cremini), cut into quarters or just in half if small

1 large yellow onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves minced

2 tablespoons unbleached, all-purpose flour

¼ cup tomato paste

1 bottle (750ml) good red wine you would drink (I used Merlot)

2 dried shitake or porcini mushrooms

½ tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

The Recipe

1. Place a large heavy pot over medium high heat and heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil. While the oil is heating, season the beef well with salt and pepper. Add half of it to the hot oil and let brown very well on all sides, turning the pieces as needed with tongs. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the browned pieces to a plate and repeat with the other half.

2. Pour all the fat out of the pot and add another 2 tablespoons of the oil to the pot over medium-high heat. Add half of the white and cremini mushrooms and cook, stirring every now and then, until the mushrooms release their liquid and most of that liquid evaporates and the mushrooms get well browned. Transfer to a plate and repeat the process with 2 more tablespoons of the oil and the rest of the mushrooms. Transfer the second batch to the plate.

3. Add the onions, garlic and pinch of salt and pepper to the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring every now and then, until the onions have softened and are beginning to brown, about 8-10 minutes. Add the flour, and tomato paste and stir for about 2 minutes, until the pot is pretty dry. Then add the wine, turn up the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.

4. Lower the heat to a simmer and add back in the beef and the dried mushrooms. Give it a big stir and cover the pot, letting the meat simmer for about 1 ½ hours until the beef is fall-apart tender. Over the course of the cooking, give the mixture a stir a few times.

5. Uncover the pot and remove the dried mushrooms and throw them out. Add back in the sauteéd mushrooms as well as the mustard and soy sauce and taste. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed and let the mixture simmer for another 15 minutes or so, to allow everything to get hot and meld together.

6. The stew is best made at least a day in advance and up to 3 days ahead if you like. Keep it chilled and covered in the fridge and reheat over low heat when ready to serve. I haven’t frozen this but I know it would freeze well.

Enjoy!

Note: Recipe adapted from Mastering My Mistakes in The Kitchen by Dana Cowin—I tinkered a lot with this—left out the parsley/lemon zest topping and changed some of the proportions.