Bistro Style Beef Stew

I got a great recipe from a web site, http://www.911cheferic.com/ It is a great recipe. Probably the best Beef stew I have ever had. His description is that of a stew that you would find in the small bistros of France. Wasnt that difficult to make, just pay attention to your steps and watch while sauteing the aromatics and not let them burn. I made a few slight changes from his recipe due to not having certain items. Here is my version.

2 lbs stew beef, I used approx. 2 lbs sirloin steak I found on sale.

1/4 c all purpose flour

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 c olive oil

1 med. onion chopped, I had a red onion so that is what I used.

3 Carrots peeled and chopped, I had a pkg of sliced carrots that was a little more than 3 carrots.

1 head of garlic peeled

1c dry red wine

6c Beef stock. Orig. recipe called for 4 cups I wanted a little more liquid.

2 Bay leaves

1Tbsp dried Thyme

1 Tbsp dried Coriander, Orig. recipe called for Marjoram but I didnt have this

1 Tbsp dried Celery seeds, Thought it would be good in it so I added it, not in Orig recipe.

1lb mushrooms

Orig. Recipe called for 8 oz. sugar snap peas but I didnt have these either. I bet they would be good in it though.

Cut meat into approx. 1 in pcs. Toss in the flour to coat. Heat oil in bottom of 6.5 qt. dutch oven. Brown meat in 2 batches and remove from pan. Put Onions and garlic cloves in oil and saute until translucent (not browned) Add wine and deglaze bottom of pot getting all the little browned bits to turn loose. Add the beef stock, return the beef to pot, add mushrooms, the dried herbs and the carrots. Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Let it cook for about 1 1/2 hrs, stirring occasionally. If you want a little bite to your carrots add them after cooking for about an hour instead of at the beggining. I like my carrots soft so I added them early on.

I served this over a bed of Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes. These were easy to make and were a great addition to the stew. I took a head of garlic and coated it in olive oil then wrapped it in alum. foil. Placed it in a 300 degree oven for about 3 min. until soft to touch. removed and let cool. After cool cut the end off and squeeze out the soft flesh. Its amazing how sweet the roasted garlic gets. Peel 6-8 potatoes and cube. Put them into a pot of boiling water until soft, about 20 min. Drain and put them back into the empty pot you cooked them in. The residual heat in the pot will disipate any water left on them. Add 2-3 Tbsp butter and a splash of milk. Mash with a potato masher or you could use a mixer. If the mashed potatoes are to dry add a little more milk and mix in well. Add the garlic a little at a time and taste to get the amount you like. I used about 1/2 the garlic I had roasted. I mixed the remainder in a part of a small bottle of olive oil for later use as garlic infused olive oil.

If you like beef stew give this one a try. It is absolutely wonderful.

Arancini Italian Appetizer

I found a recipe for an appetizer called Arancini its an italian rice ball. The name Arancini is Italian meaning little Orange. It is made from Saffron rice stuffed with cheese and ham then dredged in italian bread crumbs and fried. They are very tasty and fairly easy to make. I think the recipe I used can be improved upon by adding in some other spices or maybe some Onions finly chopped. I also think the ham woul be better if it were diced into small peices and mixed into the rice instead of being a solid peice folded into the center. That way you would get the ham flavor in every bite. This is a work in progress. I think they would be great with some type of dipping sauce. Maybe a Tziki sauce (not sure of spelling) or a sauce made from berrys that is a little tart such as black berry or raspberry.

Here is the recipe I followed.

1 10 oz. pckg of yellow saffron rice

1 cup Riccota cheese

1 cup Mozzarella cheese shredded

1"x1" pcs of cooked ham about 1/4" thick, enough for 1 pcs per square

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cups Italian bread crumbs

Oil for frying (deep fry)

Prepare Rice as specified on pckg. After cooking rice mix in the riccota cheese and then spread on a baking sheet to about 1/2" thick layer. Cover with plastic and let cool. Once cooled cut into 3"x3" square pcs., a 9x15 baking sheet will make 15 pcs. Place ham in center of each square. Place a good pinch of the Mozzarella on top of the ham. Now for the messy part. Use a spatula and pick up each square and place in hand. Carefully form each square into a ball. they will be a little amaller than a baseball. After each peice has been made into a ball mix the eggs and milk together. Dip each peice into the egg wash and then roll in the bread crumbs. Heat oil in large boiler to 325 degrees. Drop in 4 at a time and cook until browned. Roll them around to keep the bottoms from getting to dark. Remove with spyder or slotted spoon and let drain on paper towels or cooling rack over towels.

I think next time I make them I am going to playaround with some other ingredients. They deffinitly need salt and pepper to taste added to recipe. Who knows we will see what next time brings.