Stew in Summertime?

Sounds weird right?  Well it is... a little.  Stew In Summertime is a tribute to my mother who made her own rules.  She was known for eating pie for breakfast, feeling that potatoes were the most nutritional vegetable (potassium, people!), and making beef stew in the middle of summer.  She taught me a love of cooking, the art of entertaining, and the how-to's of bread making, homemade soups and the secret to her famous chip dip.  Just a few months before she died I called her maybe 15 times as I made my first attempt at homemade bread.  She walked me through all of it step by step as I asked what I thought were hard questions, like what does 'warm' water mean, how long do you knead the dough and what the heck do they mean by 'elastic'?  She was incredibly patient, one would have to be getting that many calls over the same thing, especially when it came so easy to her.   These last few months I've thought how I'll make my next 'homemade bread', whatever that may be, without her.

'Stew in Summertime" the blog is a way for me to continue cooking and learning even though I have do it without her.  She taught me a lot, but there is still much to learn.  Through this blog I'll share some of the recipes and tips that I learned from her and also bravely try the recipes she didn't get a chance to teach me.  And I will try to crack the code on the recipes she made frequently, but never really wrote down.  She was known for saying 'we could make this', after trying a recipe at a restaurant, and although it wouldn't always taste the same, it would often taste better.  That is yet another thing I wish I had learned from her.

As I was driving home to Michigan to see my family the summer before she died, I asked her what she was making for dinner and she told me, "Beef Stew".  Since I had just left 75 degree weather,  I joked with her and asked if it was a 'blustery cold day' that June day.  Which in my defense is not that out of the question where I grew up in Marquette, Michigan.  Knowing my sarcastic sense of humor, she laughed and said, "well, it is kind of cold here".  It didn't really matter either way, because it was good!  I can almost see her big blue Le Creuset almost bubbling over with the deliciousness.  It smells like home to me.  Here's my version.

Trish's Tips:  Sometimes I leave the potatoes out and serve over mashed potatoes instead.  I think it makes it a bit more dressed up for a dinner party.  I also love the addition of mushrooms here, but feel free to leave them out if you like it more traditional.  Slow cooker?  I go into phases where I love mine and sometimes I think it's more work to pull it out.  If you love yours first do all of the sauteing in a pan, through the deglazing part, then throw all the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 9-10 hours.

INGREDIENTS:
Olive Oil for sauteing meat and veggies
24 oz beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 TBL all purpose flour
8 oz cremini mushrooms, quartered
5-6 carrots diagonally cut in 1-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 cups peeled potatoes chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 4 medium Yukon Gold)
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
3-4 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 cups beef broth

1 1/2 cups red wine

2 (14.5 oz) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves

3 sprigs of fresh thyme

Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
3 to 4 TBL chopped fresh parsley

Put Beef in a medium sized bowl and add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Toss to coat.  Dredge beef in flour.  Heat 2 TBL oil in a large Dutch oven over med-high heat.  Add beef and cook until browned, but not cooked through on all sides.  Don't crowd the pan, cook in batches if necessary.  Remove beef from pan and put aside in bowl.  Add more oil if needed.  Saute mushrooms until browned.  Remove mushrooms and add to the beef.  Saute carrots, celery, and onions until carmelized to your liking.  Add garlic and saute for 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant.  Deglaze plan with beef broth.

Add wine, beef, mushrooms, potatoes, bay leaves, thyme, tomatoes and 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.  Then uncover and cook for 30 minutes or until beef is tender and vegetables are cooked.  Discard bay leaves.  Serve with chopped parsley on top for an added bit of freshness.