Cooking with Corwin with special guest cainsrebel

Not to be outdone, I spent a cold winter’s morning in Canada prepping a slow cooker meal. I grew up with beef stew, my mom managed to raise 6 kids on such fare. The recipe is not my mom’s or original, and it doesn’t include “doughboys” or dumplings as many might know them as. Stew is an East Coast staple and brought us through many long, fridgid winters.

Serves 6 (but not in our family)

2 lbs stewing beef 1″ cubed

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 tbsp olive oil

4 diced celery stalks

2 chopped onions

2 large carrots peeled and diced

4 minced garlic cloves

1 tsp thyme leaves

2 bay leaves

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black cracked peppercorns

12oz cremini (or other) sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup dry red wine

2 cups of beef stock

4 spuds (potatoes)

Dredge cubed beef in flour, add 1 tbsp of oil and cook beef over medium high heat for about 4 minutes till browned. Transfer to stoneware as completed, and keep the excess flour. Then reduce heat to medium, add oil, onions, carrots and celery about 7 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, bay leaves, salt and peppercorns and cook for 1 minute.

Add flour and mushrooms and cook for 1 minute and toss mushrooms till coated. Add wine (or 1/2 cup more stock for us non-drinkers) and bring to a boil, scraping up brown bits from pan for 2 minutes, then add 2 cups of beef stock and bring to a boil. Transfer to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8hrs or high for 4hrs. About an 1 1/2 hrs in I like to add the cubed potatoes ( because being of Irish heritage my body craves potatoes) and serve.

Add some soda bread and a pint of mead and I’m sure its a meal fir for DrunklordTom  :).