Yesterday Giada De Laurentiis was on The Today Show sharing some recipes for comfort foods. One of them was for a Chianti marinated beef stew.
Sounded good. I didn’t have the exact ingredients that she used, so I winged it. I used a Cabernet to marinate the meat instead of Chianti. Grant was watching the wine-marinating process.
Grant: “I haven’t had many wines.”
Me: “You’re only 7…”
Grant: “Yeah. Next year, then.”
There’s nothing like a little humor to make cooking dinner a bit more fun… My abbreviated version of Giada’s stew turned out pretty well.
Here’s what I did:
- 1 lb of stew meat (I used lamb… ‘cuz I had it)
- 1 lb of beef (I used blade steak… also ‘cuz I had it)
- 1 bottle of Cabernet
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb of bacon, sliced (divided)
- 4 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 stalk of celery, sliced
- 2 medium sized, unpeeled russet potatoes, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 cloves of garlic (peeled, but whole)
- 1/2 tsp powdered sage
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 2 stems of fresh rosemary
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 can diced tomatoes
Place the meat in a baking dish and pour the entire bottle of wine over it. (OK, have a little sip or two first, you know, just to make sure it’s good.) Marinate the meat for about 3 hours, turning it over at the halfway mark. (Keep in mind that you could probably use any cut of beef or lamb that you have on hand…)
Remove meat from wine marinade and pat dry with paper towels, season both sides with salt and pepper. (Reserve the wine marinade.)
Heat oil in a heavy stock pot or dutch oven. Sear meat on all sides, making sure it’s really browned. Remove meat from pot and set aside. Add half of the bacon to the pot, cooking until crisp. Add carrots, potatoes, celery and garlic. Pour in the reserved wine marinade and deglaze the bottom of the pot, making sure to scrape up all the browned bits of yumminess and flavor. Add the beef broth, rosemary, sage, white pepper and the can of tomatoes; mix and bring it to a boil. Add the meat back in, cover and reduce heat to a simmer for about 3 hours.
Fry up the remaining 1/2 pound of the bacon bits and set aside. Before serving, pull the meat back out of the pot, shred with forks and add back into the stew. Ladle stew into bowls, sprinkle a bit of the reserved bacon bits on top and serve with a crusty piece of bread or a roll… Those scary refrigerator crescent rolls are always easy.
(And of course, a nice glass of wine.)
(And of course, a nice glass of wine.)
mmmm. A good, simple dinner for a cold night.
By the way? Everything tastes better if you eat your meals with a funny kid.
Amy @ Five Kinds of Happy says
January 19, 2012 at 7:47 PMThis looks so good! So doing this with our crockpot.
MiMi says
January 19, 2012 at 8:26 PMBut it sounds super fancy schmancy. 🙂
Good Time Charlie says
January 19, 2012 at 9:08 PMI saw this too, it looked so yummy. I love a good beef stew in the winter. I think I will skip the sip though! Funny little Grant. So great you are recording these so he will have them when he is old enough to appreciate them!
Sunday says
January 20, 2012 at 12:18 AMHa ha ha.. I LOVE what kids say 🙂 Did you use the whole bottle? Did you think it was necessary? I don’t go in liquor stores so I’d have to bribe my sister to do it – lol!
Becca @ R We There Yet Mom? says
January 20, 2012 at 3:34 AMYUM!!! Sounds so good!
~Becca
Shawn says
January 20, 2012 at 4:19 AMI made stew last week…it didn’t look nearly as delicious as yours. I need new healthy, recipes, I am so bored with the same things!
Jennifer says
January 20, 2012 at 5:46 AMDid you say wine? Bookmarking this one for sure! Just a few months ’til we share our first bottle (or 5)! LOVE your little one’s comment! Over the summer we had a similar incident with ours. He made a #2 (which he gets treats for b/c he’s one of those poop horders) and when I asked him what he would like, he said, I think I should have a beer! Too much information but too funny not to share!
Jen
SueAnn says
January 20, 2012 at 11:32 AMOh yum! I just pinned your recipe!! Definitely going to try this for sure
Thanks
Hugs
SueAnn
Katie says
January 20, 2012 at 1:30 PMOMG! too funny! I love making stews with wine! I’ll definitely give this one a try!
Kelli says
January 20, 2012 at 7:57 PMFunny kids do add a little pizzazz to the table. This dish looks yummy…I can see why you got right up and made it.
Melissa @ LoveBugLiving says
January 28, 2012 at 1:53 AMLooks delicious! Thanks for sharing!