The Conservative Cave
Current Events => The DUmpster => Topic started by: franksolich on October 03, 2011, 04:47:17 PM
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http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x89471
Oh my.
I wonder if this could outdo the "hamburger" and "chili" threads here.
Blues Heron (379 posts) Mon Oct-03-11 12:07 PM
Original message
beef stew
got some very nice beef from the farmers market - now it's chilly enough to cook up a big pot of stew!
Here's what I did:
pretty basic, went with a slightly anise note on this one, came out great.
sauteed 2 med onions 4 stalks of celery 2 cloves garlic in some oil. added a heaping tbsp tomato paste.
started adding spices:
2 bay leaves
coriander
oregano
thyme
basil
marjoram
caraway seeds
3 blades star anise
3 cloves
dredged 2.5 lbs beef in flour (after salting the meat liberally with kosher salt)
browned meat in batches, added to pot
covered with water
turned timer on to 2.5 hours
with 45 minutes to go added four chopped carrots
with 20 minutes to go added five medium peeled red potatoes, chopped
at end added some thawed frozen peas, let sit for 10 minutes
serve it up! very tasty!
this made about a gallon of stew.
What are your fave spices/techniques/ingredients?
The empressof all (1000+ posts) Mon Oct-03-11 04:00 PM
Response to Original message
1. Well you inspired me to make a pot
My family likes it basic. Chunks of beef, carrots, celery and potato. I lightly brown onions and beef then make an amber colored roux. I add red wine, water or stock if I have it, celery and carrots then let it cook on low with just seasonings of salt, pepper and bay leaf. About an hour or so before I want to serve it I add chunks of potato and check for seasoning. Sometimes I'll add some fresh thyme.
It always tastes better the next day!
elleng (1000+ posts) Mon Oct-03-11 05:17 PM
Response to Original message
2. Been thinking of my 'old' recipe last few cool days! Thanks, Blues, for making me record it!
'Invented' this 25 or so years ago; would make it with baby daughter in my arms. She's 26 now, and just married!
A lot of this is 'to taste,' especially proportions of ingredients, so I've not indicated amounts. (And I'll be damned if I can remember!!!)
Use pot large enough so most of beef can be browned simultaneously.
Dredge beef chunks in flour mixed w salt, pepper, garlic powder, + thyme.
Brown beef chunks in small amount of olive oil; I'm sure any cooking oil would do. (This is the only/most labor-intensive part.)
After beef browned, keep heat even/medium.
Cut up potatoes in sizes somewhat comparable to beef chunks, amount of potatoes depending on how much beef; somewhat proportional. Cover beef w potatoes.
Add jar of 'pearl' onions, including liquid.
Add cans of stewed tomatoes to cover (always used DelMonte, but brand probably not critical.) Stir so beef not on bottom to burn throughout.
Add bay leaf/leaves (to taste.)
Cover pot 'til slight boil; reduce heat to simmer 45? minutes.
Add 1/2 +- cup wine; allow wine + juices to reduce, partially covered, 5? mins.
Add can(s) peas + carrots, with some but not all of their juice; and salt, pepper, thyme to taste. Simmer partially covered 'til potatoes done/soft.
Adjust seasonings + serve.
I hope I haven't forgotten anything!
franksolich has no comment at the moment.
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Blues Heron (379 posts) Mon Oct-03-11 12:07 PM
Original message
beef stew
got some very nice beef from the farmers market - now it's chilly enough to cook up a big pot of stew!
Here's what I did:
pretty basic, went with a slightly anise note on this one, came out great.
sauteed 2 med onions 4 stalks of celery 2 cloves garlic in some oil. added a heaping tbsp tomato paste.
started adding spices:
2 bay leaves
coriander
oregano
thyme
basil
marjoram
caraway seeds
3 blades star anise
3 cloves
dredged 2.5 lbs beef in flour (after salting the meat liberally with kosher salt)
browned meat in batches, added to pot
covered with water
turned timer on to 2.5 hours
with 45 minutes to go added four chopped carrots
with 20 minutes to go added five medium peeled red potatoes, chopped
at end added some thawed frozen peas, let sit for 10 minutes
serve it up! very tasty!
this made about a gallon of stew.
What are your fave spices/techniques/ingredients?
Momma used to make some good beef stew. It had beef and taters in it. It had salt and pepper. Sometimes carrots.
If you told momma she needed to put the below ingredients in beef stew she'd hit you with a spoon and tell you she wasn't cooking spaghetti.
2 bay leaves
coriander
oregano
thyme
basil
marjoram
caraway seeds
3 blades star anise
3 cloves
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Momma used to make some good beef stew. It had beef and taters in it. It had salt and pepper. Sometimes carrots.
If you told momma she needed to put the below ingredients in beef stew she'd hit you with a spoon and tell you she wasn't cooking spaghetti.
2 bay leaves
coriander
oregano
thyme
basil
marjoram
caraway seeds
3 blades star anise
3 cloves
That's what I was thinking too; too many fancy spices and herbs.
I suspect I'd like your mother's stew a great deal, as compared with these primitive stews.
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One thing I must ask, hesitantly, because I'm likely to get hammered on it.
I use white potatoes when making stew, not red potatoes.
I have the impression--I know not where I got the impression, but there it is--that using white potatoes rather than red potatoes in stew is not kosher.
I'm sure there's some botanical difference between white and red potatoes, but wouldn't know what it is.
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Open can dump said can in pan, heat stir and eat. Probably tastes better than the crap the DUmmies are making.
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Open can dump said can in pan, heat stir and eat. Probably tastes better than the crap the DUmmies are making.
I do that when I'm in a hurry, and you're right, it suits. Nothing wrong with it.
I started doing that some years ago (I'd never done it before), as the quality of Campbell's canned soups got worse and worse and worse, until their tomato soup was the only product of theirs I could stand.
With canned stew, I've never discerned a difference between brands; it's always been good.
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Open can dump said can in pan, heat stir and eat. Probably tastes better than the crap the DUmmies are making.
While you are right that canned food tastes better than what the DU-che-bags serve up; it's still about on par with dog food - and IMO the dog food probably tastes better and has more actual meat in it.
I looked through the collection of canned stuff I have in storage and not one of them ran to more than 15% meat.
When I find the motivation to do up a batch of stew - most of it ends up portioned out in the freezer, to be microwaved when desired.
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One thing I must ask, hesitantly, because I'm likely to get hammered on it.
I use white potatoes when making stew, not red potatoes.
I have the impression--I know not where I got the impression, but there it is--that using white potatoes rather than red potatoes in stew is not kosher.
I'm sure there's some botanical difference between white and red potatoes, but wouldn't know what it is.
I don't think it matters much. In my part of the south white potatoes are usually used in stews while red potatoes are usually used with roasts, but I've seen both used.
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Well, the cloves and cinnamon remind me of a Sauerbraten. My mom would do a German Beef Stew with a similar taste. It was one of the things she cooked really good. That anise though. I don't get that.
I have a brazillion different beef stew recipes, depending on my mood.
ETA: NONE of them have peas in them.
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I looked through the collection of canned stuff I have in storage and not one of them ran to more than 15% meat.
Yeah, the meat part; these things can sometimes be rather thin on meat.
Since I'm distrustful of grease, when I buy the fixings for beef stew, I buy packaged sirloin steaks at the grocery store; other cuts--most especially chunks of "stew" beef--have w-a-a-a-a-y too much white stuff on them (at least in my own personal judgement; others might differ).
Despite that the sirloin appears to be pretty much grease-free, there are stubborn specks of white stuff on the borders, and I don't want that. So I trim each sirloin steak about 3/4", maybe an inch, around the rims of it, and use only the centers for the stew, cutting them up into little blocks.
I imagine I'm using only about a little over half of each steak, but anything to avoid the white stuff.
Now, I can hear the crowd hissing and muttering, "Idiot--what a wastrel."
To which I insist my real life proves otherwise; franksolich is no wastrel.
Embedded in this memory is that of the ancient elderly gentleman who owns this place, about three years ago, actually crying in frustration and vexation at me, insisting that I made his stepmother during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl look like an extravagant spendthrift.
The cut-off parts with the white stuff don't go to waste; not at all.
The cats here love that stuff.
Now, sirloin is expensive, sometimes highly so, and I like more than "15%" of the stew to be beef (something circa 25-33%), but on the other hand, beef stew is not something I make every day or every week; maybe once a month during the cold months. So yeah, this particular ingredient's expensive, but it's not like I'm buying it all the time.
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Frank, I always trim all the fat off my beef when I am making stew. Always.
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Frank, I always trim all the fat off my beef when I am making stew. Always.
A lot of people don't, though.
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I trim the fat off the meat and skim what renders out off the top during cooking.
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I trim the fat off the meat and skim what renders out off the top during cooking.
That is one of the two reasons I have papertowels. The other is bacon. I don't mind fat on bacon.
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I've never had a stew without roux.
As for fat, I cut it all off if I'm cooking. My husband prefers some for taste. I personally don't want fat on any meat. The leaner the better.
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One thing I must ask, hesitantly, because I'm likely to get hammered on it.
I use white potatoes when making stew, not red potatoes.
I have the impression--I know not where I got the impression, but there it is--that using white potatoes rather than red potatoes in stew is not kosher.
I'm sure there's some botanical difference between white and red potatoes, but wouldn't know what it is.
I was planning on making a crock pot of stew in a couple of weeks when I move. I was going to use white potatos but now that you mention it red might be pretty good.
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I've never had a stew without roux.
Now, that's not nice, madam; I had to nadin that.
Roux (/ˈruË/) is a cooked mixture of wheat flour and fat, traditionally clarified butter. It is the thickening agent of three of the mother sauces of classical French cooking: sauce béchamel, sauce velouté and sauce espagnole. Butter, vegetable oils, or lard are commonly used fats. It is used as a thickener for gravy, other sauces, soups and stews. It is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight. When used in Italian food, roux is traditionally equal parts of butter and flour. In Cajun cuisine, roux is almost always made with oil instead of butter and dark brown in color, which lends much richness of flavor albeit less thickening power. Hungarian cuisine uses lard (in its rendered form) or - more recently - vegetable oil instead of butter for the preparation of roux (which is called rántás in Hungarian).
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I was planning on making a crock pot of stew in a couple of weeks when I move. I was going to use white potatos but now that you mention it red might be pretty good.
Well, really, I wonder what the difference is, between white potatoes and red potatoes.
There must be some difference.
Over the years I recall being told not to white potatoes in stew, that red potatoes are better.
I use white potatoes because being a man, I like to keep food preparation simple. White potatoes are easier to peel.
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OMG! I'm making Beef Stew tomorrow :lmao: I planned on making it before even seeing this thread.
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Well, really, I wonder what the difference is, between white potatoes and red potatoes.
There must be some difference.
Over the years I recall being told not to white potatoes in stew, that red potatoes are better.
I use white potatoes because being a man, I like to keep food preparation simple. White potatoes are easier to peel.
I was planning on leaving the red skin on. If it comes out funny I am the only one eating it and as I said before I am not a fussy eater. Usually I just put in a couple of cans of white potatos. Opening a can is even easier then peeling.
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OMG! I'm making Beef Stew tomorrow :lmao: I planned on making it before even seeing this thread.
How about putting up your recipe here, madam?
I'll post mine, but later, because I'm sure to get yelled at, and don't want that to happen just yet.
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Now, that's not nice, madam; I had to nadin that.
I assumed everyone knew what that was. Pardon my ignorance. You can buy roux, it makes your house smell bad if mess up and burn it.
Golden potatoes are the best for stews and soups. They don't fall apart when you cook them cubed. Potato salad too.
Red potatoes make good mashed potatoes, brown potatoes make good baked potatoes and french fries.
My opinion only.
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How about putting up your recipe here, madam?
I'll post mine, but later, because I'm sure to get yelled at, and don't want that to happen just yet.
I don't really have a recipe for it frank, I just fry up the beef, add some broth, gravy and vegetables and let it cook throughout the day, sometimes I add just a can of tomato sauce into it, make some mashed potatoes and put the stew over the potatoes. I'm going to do it in the crockpot tomorrow though, I'll fry up the meat just to get a little color onto it, throw everything in and cook it all day.
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I assumed everyone knew what that was. Pardon my ignorance. You can buy roux, it makes your house smell bad if mess up and burn it.
Golden potatoes are the best for stews and soups. They don't fall apart when you cook them cubed. Potato salad too.
Red potatoes make good mashed potatoes, brown potatoes make good baked potatoes and french fries.
My opinion only.
That is how I roll too. :-)
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One thing I must ask, hesitantly, because I'm likely to get hammered on it.
I use white potatoes when making stew, not red potatoes.
I have the impression--I know not where I got the impression, but there it is--that using white potatoes rather than red potatoes in stew is not kosher.
I'm sure there's some botanical difference between white and red potatoes, but wouldn't know what it is.
We always use white potatoes, my Mother always said red potatoes are just for potato salad.
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Golden potatoes are the best for stews and soups. They don't fall apart when you cook them cubed. Potato salad too.
Red potatoes make good mashed potatoes, brown potatoes make good baked potatoes and french fries.
My opinion only.
Well, that's more than I know, so it's become my opinion too.
I always wondered why my mother boiled only red potatoes for mashed potatoes.
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Hmmmm...beef stew chunks, and potatoes, onion, celery, and carrots. Meat and vegetables in roughly equal amounts (don't even THINK of browning the stew beef first), add a couple cups of broth, maybe a sprig of rosemary if you're really bold, salt and pepper, let it slow cook for about 8-10 hours.
Why do DUmmies have to make shit so damned hard?
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I'll fry up the meat just to get a little color onto it, throw everything in and cook it all day.
I toss in the chunks of sirloin raw, because it's never been a problem getting them cooked all the way through.
My main problem has always been with the potatoes, because it seems nothing can ruin a good stew more than having chunks of potatoes not cooked all the way through. Ugh.
I finally solved that problem years ago, though, with the potatoes. I'll describe it when giving my recipe.
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Hmmmm...beef stew chunks, and potatoes, onion, celery, and carrots. Meat and vegetables in roughly equal amounts (don't even THINK of browning the stew beef first), add a couple cups of broth, maybe a sprig of rosemary if you're really bold, salt and pepper, let it slow cook for about 8-10 hours.
Why do DUmmies have to make shit so damned hard?
I would never think to add all those spices that the OP is adding to the stew.
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I toss in the chunks of sirloin raw, because it's never been a problem getting them cooked all the way through.
My main problem has always been with the potatoes, because it seems nothing can ruin a good stew more than having chunks of potatoes not cooked all the way through. Ugh.
I finally solved that problem years ago, though, with the potatoes. I'll describe it when giving my recipe.
That's why a lot of times we do mashed potatoes and just put the stew over it.
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I would never think to add all those spices that the OP is adding to the stew.
DUmmie logic...a little is good, so more must be better?
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My version of beef stew
Season cubed beef with salt and pepper and fry on high heat in batches until the outside is sealed and set aside.
While preparing beef , fry onions , garlic and bacon in a large pot with a little peanut oil until onions are well caramelised and bacon is cooked.
Add beef to onions/bacon/garlic until the mix is all at the same temperature.
Add 3 cups of stock , 2 cups of water, 2 sticks celery diced, a can of tomatoes and a good slug of red wine.
Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer.
Reduce by up to 1/2.
Add chopped carrots and other vegetable material to taste, cover and simmer slowly until vegetables are done.
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One thing I must ask, hesitantly, because I'm likely to get hammered on it.
I use white potatoes when making stew, not red potatoes.
I have the impression--I know not where I got the impression, but there it is--that using white potatoes rather than red potatoes in stew is not kosher.
I'm sure there's some botanical difference between white and red potatoes, but wouldn't know what it is.
I use whatever is on sale.
Cindie
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I'm sure I've seen a bazillion recipes for beef stew.
DUmmy Blues Heron has come up with the worst, bar none.
Anise? In beef stew? Peas?
Beef stew is one of a bunch of dishes that are great and so simple by just using a packet of McCormick's spices.
I have never tried anything in McCormick's product line that wasn't excellent.
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I use whatever is on sale.
Cindie
When even "cheap" potatoes are pushing a buck a pound, you know shit's getting bad.
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Momma used to make some good beef stew. It had beef and taters in it. It had salt and pepper. Sometimes carrots.
If you told momma she needed to put the below ingredients in beef stew she'd hit you with a spoon and tell you she wasn't cooking spaghetti.
2 bay leaves
coriander
oregano
thyme
basil
marjoram
caraway seeds
3 blades star anise
3 cloves
A lot of redundant flavors going on there, I'd probably ditch the anise, cloves, and oregano and either the basil or the thyme. I do love thyme in a beef stew.
I like to throw a handful of prunes in my beef stew/beef burgundy for sweetness and body. However, I'd keep my culinary opinions to myself around your momma.
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I like to throw a handful of prunes in my beef stew
Okay, that's a joke, right?
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Oh my. This thead's drawn lots and lots of lurking primitives, in addition to the threads dealing with hamburgers and chili. It's all good, because remember, one of the missions of the DUmpster is to illuminate and enlighten the primitives, showing them the merits of decency and civilization.
I'm not ready yet to unleash the recipe for franksolich's beef stew, which is likely to bring down upon these shoulders much jeering, deprecation, and dismay--I'll probably wait until tomorrow to do that--but a thought grabs me. Why does one make beef stew?
Think about it. Why does one make beef stew?
As thundley4 earlier mentioned, it's really easy just to get a can of the stuff, dump it into a pot, and cook it in minutes. I do this all the time. It's no big deal, and I've never had a bad can of the stuff.
So why, about once a month during the cold months, does franksolich bother dragging out two 8-quart crockpots and mess up the kitchen and kitchen utensils, making this stuff?
For me, I guess it's just a routine rite of autumn.
The first weekend the stuff's bubbling in the kitchen, usually the first to have any of it is the neighbor's wife and three of her four small children (the fourth being too small yet). The neighbor's wife and I go to the big city to shop every Saturday morning. The neighbor's busy, she doesn't like to drive, and there's of course the four small children.
I don't like to drive either, but being the man, I bear that burden.
When they first get here on Saturday morning, they all scramble to the kitchen, where the neighbor's wife carefully doles out three bowls of the beef stew to the children (the fourth one's still an infant, remember), along with crackers and hot chocolate. While they wolf it down, the neighbor's wife and I discuss where we're going.
The first weekend of deer-hunting season, the first weekend of duck hunting, the first weekend of deer-hunting via firearms, the first weekend of pheasant hunting, the first weekend of turkey-hunting.....well, remember where I live, way out here, where nobody else is around. And right on the Elkhorn River, no less. Woods and pastures all around.
From about mid-October until late January, this place might as well be Grand Central Terminal, all these hunters dropping by to get out of the cold and the wet, to empty their bladders, to have some hot coffee and whatever else.
I don't mind it--in fact, I encourage it--because I live out here all alone, and such people are deterrents to primitives stalking franksolich. If a primitive with malicious motives sees franksolich surrounded by other guys with firearms, usually the primitive decides not to bother.....
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Okay, that's a joke, right?
No joke. Prunes and beef are very good together, like cranberries and turkey or apples and pork.
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Think about it. Why does one make beef stew?
As thundley4 earlier mentioned, it's really easy just to get a can of the stuff, dump it into a pot, and cook it in minutes. I do this all the time. It's no big deal, and I've never had a bad can of the stuff.
So why, about once a month during the cold months, does franksolich bother dragging out two 8-quart crockpots and mess up the kitchen and kitchen utensils, making this stuff?
When it's cold out I just love the smell of things like stew and soup cooking on the stove. I want to start using the crockpot more, just throw everything in and let it cook all day.
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When it's cold out I just love the smell of things like stew and soup cooking on the stove. I want to start using the crockpot more, just throw everything in and let it cook all day.
There you go, Bally. The stove is for boiling water. The crock pot is where dinner is hiding.
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I never saw it coming that the DUmbasses could become so deadly boring that this board would be dominated by stupid recipe threads.
Nutcase, Warpy, DentalJanitor, Husb2Spunkly, Taverner, Lucian, Beth, and the rest of you lunatics, pleeeease get busy! This is awful!
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I never saw it coming that the DUmbasses could become so deadly boring that this board would be dominated by stupid recipe threads.
Nutcase, Warpy, DentalJanitor, Husb2Spunkly, Taverner, Lucian, Beth, and the rest of you lunatics, pleeeease get busy! This is awful!
I know, but at least for now, all the primitives seem to be jibber-jabbering about is the Siege of Wall Street, which is hardly news.
One takes what one can, to fill in the empty spaces.
By the way, I suspect the sparkling husband dude's gone away from Skins's island.
I dunno why.
But there is a new entry in "the secret diaries of nadin," in the DUmping Ground.
Like I said, when Skins's island is in a funk, one scrambles for material.
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By the way, I suspect the sparkling husband dude's gone away from Skins's island.
I dunno why.
Nope, he's started three or four threads the past couple of days, none of them worth a damn.
I think he may be in shock from the the full-backal nudity he's been exposed to here.
So am I.
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I never saw it coming that the DUmbasses could become so deadly boring that this board would be dominated by stupid recipe threads.
Nutcase, Warpy, DentalJanitor, Husb2Spunkly, Taverner, Lucian, Beth, and the rest of you lunatics, pleeeease get busy! This is awful!
:lmao:
And OMG! at franks Avi! :lmao:
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Nope, he's started three or four threads the past couple of days, none of them worth a damn.
I think he may be in shock from the the full-backal nudity he's been exposed to here.
So am I.
Wow. That's weird; I haven't seen him, and usually the telescope's fine-tuned to look around for him.
Another one of concern is the subway cat, who's been quiet. Maybe she's back in that big building with little rooms and soft walls, where of course she belongs.
But man, even Doug's stupid ex-wife has been Calvin-Coolidgeish of late--there was a deal about her meeting her felon son's girlfriend, but it was pretty boring.
On the second matter, I know nothing.
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I have a question for NHSparky. Why wouldn't you brown the beef first? How do you get any kind of color to the dish? And, it doesn't sound like you thicken yours, is yours more of a soup? I'm in Shadeaux's camp with the roux, I think it's essential. Just dredging the cubes in flour is not going to be enough. I don't want soup, I want thick stew.
Anise and cloves in a beef stew? Only a DUmmie would do that.
Frank, we're waiting for your recipe. Are you still on vacation?
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Frank, we're waiting for your recipe. Are you still on vacation?
Since the primitives are back into active production of material for us to consume, this thread isn't needed any more to fill up dull Monday afternoons, but anyway, here it goes.
I've already described the meat I use--the eye, or heart, of sirloin, so as to avoid any fat (the cats get the thick trimmings)--and the potatoes, white, because they're easier to peel.
Being a man, I'm rather, uh, schlamperei, in a gemütlichkeit sort of way, rather casual and sloppy about measurements and ingredients.
In each 8-quart crockpot, on the lowest heat, I dump in a can of Campbell's tomato soup, a can of Del Monte tomato sauce, a can of Del Monte tomato paste, and if I happen to have it on hand, a can of Del Monte spaghetti sauce (the sauce without mushrooms and peppers in it), and then add water.
The goal being a liquid with a little more thickness than water, but less thick than soup.
To fine-tune that, I use Heinz ketchup if it needs thickening, water if it needs thinning.
Lots of salt and pepper.
Then I leave it alone overnight, on that lowest heat. In the morning, I add the chopped-up white potatoes, and more salt and pepper, and some onion salt.
The goal being to get the potatoes cooked all the way through.
Sometime in the evening, I add the chopped-up sirloin, about as much meat as there are potatoes, a 50-50 thing.
Lots of salt and pepper, and more onion salt.
The next morning, I take bags of frozen vegetables (peas, corn, carrots, celery), and dump some of those in. Vegetables deteriorate rather quickly, so I put in only as much vegetables that might be consumed the first hour or so (the other ingredients last longer), meaning that I'm adding a handful of vegetables about an hour before each time the beef stew is served.
And now my secret.
When I moved to this house in the autumn of 2005, it'd been unoccupied the preceding 19 years. Its last inhabitant had been an ancient widow, daughter of the original settlers of the place. There was stuff still here, undisturbed, untouched, including two cupboards full of those old-fashioned tins of spices and herbs.
These tins were so old the address of the manufacturer was listed as New York 7, New York (rather than "New York City [zip code]"). No UPCs; made way before then. And price-stamped with the old-fashioned ink-stampers, 19 cents, 15 cents, 22 cents, 29 cents. The most common price was 19 cents, the highest one 39 cents for 6 ounces of poppyseed.
Just to be safe, all of those that had been opened and part of their contents used, I tossed out. Which left about half of the rest, never opened, never used.
So I began using them, these antique spices and herbs.
There's some that do not belong in beef stew, such as cinnamon or anise or poppyseed, but not being familiar with spices and herbs overall, I go by smell. If its odor seems compatible with beef stew, I put a little tiny bit of it in the stew. Not much, just a little tiny bit. I imagine that out of about 20 tins, it amounts to circa half a teaspoon, combined, put into the 8-quart crockpot.
No one, but no one, has ever found fault with franksolich's beef stew.....despite the absence of onions, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, and whatever else. I think using 40- or 50-year-old spices and herbs adds something "special" to it.
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I'm making Meatloaf for Sun. dinner!
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I'm making Meatloaf for Sun. dinner!
I'm too laz--er, tired--to start a new thread on this, madam.
As you might, or might not, know, this coming weekend is the "big" weekend for hunting in Nebraska, and then next weekend is the second-biggest.
Which means I'll have guests.
Since the matter of half-raw potatoes in beef stew concerns me, I went to the grocery store to buy a couple of bags of frozen whole or half potatoes, to see if that works for Saturday. Since I take two days to make beef stew, I'm cutting it close, but there's still time to experiment.
So.....I found out that this superbig, superlarge, San-Diego-sized grocery store has a couple of miles of aisle dedicated to bags of frozen fruits and vegetables, but no bags of frozen whole or half potatoes.
When I inquired of the matter, the guy who was stocking the coolers looked at me as if I were Bozo from Outer Space; he'd never heard of such a thing, bags of frozen whole or half potatoes.
We did however find bags of frozen "stew vegetables"--potatoes, carrots, onions and celery--and I'm hoping that will provide sufficient potatoes, although I'm not sure. I suppose I'll have to dump the bag into a bowl first, and carefully extricate the onions.
When I went by the meat aisle, it was still early, and not everything had been put out yet. I couldn't find the "eye of round" (or "sirloin" or whatever) that I usually cut up for the stew, and so bought a bunch of "beef chuck boneless petite tender steaks," at $4.88 per pound. I bought about four pounds of that, carefully selecting the parts that had no fat on them. It's not quite what I wanted, but I guess it'll do at least for this experiment.
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A lot of people primitives don't, though.
FIFY
MY stew, for the DUmmies:
2-3 lbs cubed beef, fat trimmed
Dredge the beef in seasoned flour (S&P). For the stupid DUmbasses, it acts as the thickener. Brown (all sides) in the pot that will be used for the stew with some veg oil.
Add in diced celery, onions, and carrots. (mirepoix or holy trinity to throw the DUmmies into a fit) Continue to cook (turning the mess over now and then) the veggies until they just begin to cook.
Add enough beef stock (canned/or those box things) and red wine, I'll use a whole bottle, to cover. While it comes to a simmer peel and quarter Russet (5 or more to your own taste) potatos. Add in the taters. Simmer for 2 hours, or more, until the meat is falling apart.
I love a nice loaf of Sour Dough with it.
Thats about all I do. I just keep it simple.
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I'm sure I've seen a bazillion recipes for beef stew.
DUmmy Blues Heron has come up with the worst, bar none.
Anise? In beef stew? Peas?
Beef stew is one of a bunch of dishes that are great and so simple by just using a packet of McCormick's spices.
I have never tried anything in McCormick's product line that wasn't excellent.
Peas I can give the DUmmie a pass on, if they are used in moderation, but the idea of star anise and cloves in beef stew grosses me out. I nadined it and it looks like a lot of Asian stews feature anise.
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Peas I can give the DUmmie a pass on, if they are used in moderation, but the idea of star anise and cloves in beef stew grosses me out. I nadined it and it looks like a lot of Asian stews feature anise.
I had "beef" stew at a vietnamese restaurant once, and it was the worst thing I ever tasted. The saucy part was tasty and peppery, but they used tendons and fat for a good portion the meat. I ended up eating the carrots and potatoes out of it and putting some of the liquid over rice. The rest stayed in the bowl.
I'll admit that I've put bay leaves and thyme in my stews. Other than that my stew recipe is close to Wineslobs, but with less wine and I'll use red or white potatoes depending on what I have on hand.
I see stew as being a recipe that one can mostly just throw together with what is on hand.
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I'll admit that I've put bay leaves and thyme in my stews. Other than that my stew recipe is close to Wineslobs, but with less wine and I'll use red or white potatoes depending on what I have on hand.
I see stew as being a recipe that one can mostly just throw together with what is on hand.
Duffy's Tavern in Lincoln, Nebraska, a popular college student hangout, during the 1980s (and probably before) always had bay leaves in its stew; I could never figure out why, as one of course had to take them out.
An ancient Hungarian woman older than God used to make it, back then.
It was great, but I never could figure out why the bay leaves.
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Duffy's Tavern in Lincoln, Nebraska, a popular college student hangout, during the 1980s (and probably before) always had bay leaves in its stew; I could never figure out why, as one of course had to take them out.
An ancient Hungarian woman older than God used to make it, back then.
It was great, but I never could figure out why the bay leaves.
Why on earth put tomatoes into beef stew.????
Old time for me was grandmas beer stew cooked in one of those old time pressure cookers with a golf ball size gage in top.
Some times she used hamburger instead of beef chunks.
Cooked beef in the cooker, with bacon fat 2 tbs. spoons , drained off fat, added 2 tbs. of flour. Added root vegetables, potatoes, carrots and turnip or rutabaga,, or parsnips, an onion. This was winter stew and the vegetables were from her cold cellar.
Spices cost a dear price so perhaps one clove of garlic and just one whole raddish. 3-4 cups of water. She made home made brisket's and had lots of butter for them, perhaps piccalilli on the side------
Top put onto the pot and a 20-30 minute cook time if the contraption did not blow up --- and ----There it was.
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Duffy's Tavern in Lincoln, Nebraska, a popular college student hangout, during the 1980s (and probably before) always had bay leaves in its stew; I could never figure out why, as one of course had to take them out.
An ancient Hungarian woman older than God used to make it, back then.
It was great, but I never could figure out why the bay leaves.
Bay leaves tend to give good flavor to meat dishes, but like you said I use then while cooking, then I remove them. My parents have a bay laurel tree, so we pick and dry our own, and just keep them with the spices.
They give a subtle flavor though, so if you are using them with the entire spice rack like the DUmmies with their anise stew, the flavor would likely be lost.
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Bay leaves tend to give good flavor to meat dishes, but like you said I use then while cooking, then I remove them. My parents have a bay laurel tree, so we pick and dry our own, and just keep them with the spices.
They give a subtle flavor though, so if you are using them with the entire spice rack like the DUmmies with their anise stew, the flavor would likely be lost.
Okay, madam, new problem.
I tried this stew I started yesterday, and it has a subtle "sweet" flavor to it.
What should I do to dispel that?
The stew consists--thus far--only of pure beef with no fat, tomato juice, frozen potatoes, frozen carrots, frozen celery, six "beef" bouillon cubes, pepper, not very much salt (because of the bouillon cubes), onion salt, paprika, and a can of Campbell's vegetarian vegetable soup thrown in (simply because it was there).
Usually I add things as I go along, but that's what's in it so far.
It has a subtle "sweet" flavor in it, and I want to get rid of that.
What should I add, to do that?
And by the way, I decided I'm not fond of frozen potatoes. I had purchased them thinking they had been cooked and then frozen, but no, they hadn't been cooked at all. And so in the stew they still come out as sort of raw, no matter that they're chopped up into smaller pieces.
I suppose next time I'll get some raw potatoes and boil them first, and then put them in the stew. This was probably the most-obvious thing to do here, but I was lazy, and didn't want to make another dirty utensil (the pot in which the potatoes would be boiled) to clean.
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What should I do to dispel that?
Well, this comes to mind . . .
http://www.conservativecave.com/index.php/topic,66472.0.html
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Well, this comes to mind . . .
http://www.conservativecave.com/index.php/topic,66472.0.html
Well, I'm not so sure more salt would do it, and remember, not all people are as salt-tolerant as I am.
I'll bet Celtic Rose or Ballygrl know what'd do it.
In the meantime, I'm still examining labels to get a clue as to what gives it that subtly "sweet" flavor. It's not bad, but it's not what I want.
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Well, I'm not so sure more salt would do it, and remember, not all people are as salt-tolerant as I am.
I'll bet Celtic Rose or Ballygrl know what'd do it.
In the meantime, I'm still examining labels to get a clue as to what gives it that subtly "sweet" flavor. It's not bad, but it's not what I want.
My first guess about the sweetness is that it is either from the tomato juice or the vegetable soup. You could try letting it cook longer to see if the sweetness lessens, but other than that, salt probably would be one of the recommended ways to fix it.
I haven't tried this myself, so proceed with caution, but I have heard of people adding a small amount of vinegar to soups that come out to sweet, but this would be a last result, and maybe try in on a smaller pot separated out first to see how the flavor comes out.
Also, a dollop of sour cream when it is served might add a more savory flavor.
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My first guess about the sweetness is that it is either from the tomato juice or the vegetable soup. You could try letting it cook longer to see if the sweetness lessens, but other than that, salt probably would be one of the recommended ways to fix it.
I haven't tried this myself, so proceed with caution, but I have heard of people adding a small amount of vinegar to soups that come out to sweet, but this would be a last result, and maybe try in on a smaller pot separated out first to see how the flavor comes out.
Also, a dollop of sour cream when it is served might add a more savory flavor.
I checked labels; it looks to me as if adding that can of Campbell's vegetarian vegetable soup did it.
I think I'll desist from that in the future.
The stew's circa 14 hours old, another day left yet to cook; I'll monitor it to see if the "sweet" taste appears to be evaporating.
As for adding salt, I have no problem doing that, excepting I'm not the only one expected to consume this (there'll be about 16 quarts of the stuff by the time I'm done, as the major hunting season starts on Saturday), and others don't care for salt as much as I do.
I'll watch first, until this evening, to see what additional cooking does (I have the crockpots on "extremely low heat"), and if it doesn't seem to be doing anything, I'll dump some in a pot, heat it on the stove (after first kicking the cats outdoors, in case the stove explodes), drip in a drop or two of vinegar, and see what happens.
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The vinegar works if used sparingly.
CR, I am so jealous of your Bay Laurel Tree. I thought of trying to grow one in my sunroom. I don't think it would last the summer otherwise.
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The vinegar works if used sparingly.
CR, I am so jealous of your Bay Laurel Tree. I thought of trying to grow one in my sunroom. I don't think it would last the summer otherwise.
They grow wild in my area.
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They grow wild in my area.
Not here. :bawl:
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Bay leaves are actually a very important ingredient for flavor. They're removed after a while because 1) the flavor can get a little too strong if not, 2) they're not considered attractive to the presentation, and 3) some consider them a choking hazard.
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Carrots as well as tomatoes will impart a sweet taste to soups or stews. I try to use both sparingly, but it's kind of a balancing act.
I've heard of the teaspoon of vinegar thing, too. It's also supposed to enhance the overall flavor, though I've never tried it myself.
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Carrots as well as tomatoes will impart a sweet taste to soups or stews. I try to use both sparingly, but it's kind of a balancing act.
I've heard of the teaspoon of vinegar thing, too. It's also supposed to enhance the overall flavor, though I've never tried it myself.
Okay, these were big pieces of carrots that were in the bag of frozen "stew vegetables."
Usually I've had only very little carrot in stews.
Anyway, after some more hours of cooking "extremely low," and adding more beef without fat, pieces of potatoes that were boiled first, a can of tomato paste, and some more onion salt, it tastes what it should taste like.
Beginning late tomorrow night, I'll toss in some frozen corn and frozen peas.
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Momma used to make some good beef stew. It had beef and taters in it. It had salt and pepper. Sometimes carrots.
If you told momma she needed to put the below ingredients in beef stew she'd hit you with a spoon and tell you she wasn't cooking spaghetti.
2 bay leaves
coriander
oregano
thyme
basil
marjoram
caraway seeds
3 blades star anise
3 cloves
No shit, Chuck!!! Why do these idiots at the dump take what should be something simple and tasty to make and **** it up beyond belief?
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I do a basic stew normally but when I am feeling frisky in the kitchen I make boeuf bourguignon with Anthony Bourdain's recipe.
I do add a few extra vegetables bit it is a good place to start.
http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Anthony_Bourdain/Special_Features/ci.Boeuf_Bourguignon.custom
And Frank, the cats are pretty happy around here as well. :-)