fuckin yum!

sorry it's been so long kids... everything is fine. i just haven't been cooking much worth posting lately, and i'm still too bent about what the wearers of asshats have been up to to post anything worth reading. i'll get to that as soon as my blood cools sufficiently.

last nite's dinner was something called farmer's pasta. i'll post the recipe for that tomorrow.

tonight we had beef stew, which was really just a riff on my old standby recipe for pot roast.

take a 3-5 lb boneless chuck roast and make slits all over both sides. stuff a piece of garlic that will fit into these holes into them and salt and pepper liberally. heat a large, heavy pot about 6-8 qt in size over medium high heat and sear to a delicious dark brown. remove to a plate and pour about half a bottle of decent red wine (i used a mouton cadet bordeaux i got at ralphs for $7.) into sed pot and using a wood spoon, scrape up all the stuck-on bits. using wine instead of another liquid such as beef broth or stock (which will be making its appearance soon enough) to deglaze the pan will result in getting more of these stuck-on bits unstuck, thus resulting in a tastier sauce.

after deglazing, put the roast back in the pot and add a couple of onions cut in large wedges and about 4 stalks of celery cleaned and roughly chopped. add canned or homemade beef broth or stock just to cover the beef and vegetation (should be about 4-6 cups worth). add a couple of bay leaves, put the lid on the pot, and turn the heat all the way down to low.

cook for about 1 1/2-2 hrs. leave the lid on. i know it smells delicious, but resist the urge to take a whiff. after the 1 1/2-2 hrs, add several handfuls of roughly chopped carrots. put the lid back on and leave it alone about 45 mins, then add 8-12 small red potatoes (leave the skins on) and 8 oz of whole button mushrooms. replace the lid and cook about 30 mins, or until the potatoes are fork tender.

try picking up the roast with a pair of tongs. if it's falling apart, use a large spoon to break it up into bite-sized chunks. turn the heat up to medium high and make a slurry of about 1 c cornstarch and 1/2 c COLD water. add to the pot and stir vigorously.

while the stew is coming to a boil (this is a necessary step. it will not thicken fully without coming just to a boil), chop a good-sized handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley and add to the pot. stir to combine. after the stew has started to bubble rather vigorously, turn the heat off and allow to cool for about 10-15 mins before attempting to get yer grub on.

serve with some crusty bread and enjoy!