OLD-TIME BEEF STEW

The idea to cook this dish stemmed from wanting to cook a huge batch of something that I could eat throughout the week and that would still be good for reheating days later.  Well, I eventually realized that whenever you invite a man-friend over for dinner, that idea pretty much goes out the window. 

I decided to use Paula Deen’s recipe from foodnetwork.com, as it seemed extremely simple and looked to yield a decent amount of servings.  The recipe used Worcestershire sauce, which I had never used before, nor do I know how to pronounce.  Paula Deen says, “Woostershire.”  I found myself saying, “Wor…chester…shire.”  Paula Deen also pronounces paprika as “papper-eek-ah.”  I had no idea how Southern that woman’s accent is.  I was so confused when she said, “Oil.”  It sounded like, “Awl.”  If the video had not shown her adding the oil to the pot, I would have been lost.

The instructions for the recipe are about as half-assed as my instructions would be.  For example, the recipe doesn't tell you that you may need to add more water as you cook, though I would assume that’s a given.  Paula Deen uses a cast iron Dutch oven (is that redundant to say?).  I, unfortunately, do not have one.  The maintenance for those things intimidates me and I have no idea where I would store it.  I used a basic stockpot.  I also added a potato along with the carrots for starch, as I wanted to avoid having to eat rice, and omitted the celery, because, well, I hate celery.  Lastly, I read all of the instructions as though Paula Deen was narrating.  It was quite awesome.

Ingredients (Serves 6)

·         2 pounds stew beef

·         2 tablespoons vegetable oil

·         2 cups water

·         1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

·         1 clove garlic, peeled

·         1 or 2 bay leaves

·         1 medium onion, sliced

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1 teaspoon sugar

·         1/2 teaspoon pepper

·         1/2 teaspoon paprika

·         Dash ground allspice or ground cloves

·         3 large carrots, sliced

·         3 ribs celery, chopped

·         2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots and celery. Cover and cook 30 to 40 minutes longer. To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine

1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with a little hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly.

I probably should have made the rice.  My friend had two large servings.  While I had only one, there was only enough left for just one more meal the next day (which I ate with rice).  Came out a bit sweet, but nothing a little extra salt couldn't cure.