A Winter Classic on the Warmest Day since October...
Two days ago I started working on a Classic Beef Stew thinking Winter was probably never leaving us only to eat this warm and cozy dish last night while the outside temp still hung on at 50 degrees. A big deal for us tired and cold New Englanders.

Here is what you will need:

• One dutch oven or large heavy pot
• Two tablespoons butter
• One package of boneless beef ribs (they get tender fast and little marbled fat about 1+)
• One cup flour (I used sorghum flour)
• One tablespoon Garlic Powder
• 5 Stalks Celery (love celery) 
• 4 golden potatoes (the ones with the yellow thin skin- leave the skin on please and try to buy organic for the skins sake) 
• One small turnip (don't skip this!!)
• Two med or three small sweet potato (peeled)
• Few handfuls of baby carrots or 1/2 a small bag (pre-peeled and all that) 
• One package white pearl onions (there are probably twenty that you will peel and half but they look pretty and give the right delicate flavor so be patient)
• One small purple/red onion 
• 2 (32 oz (64 total)) Beef stock (this can be homemade) 
• 2 Cups White wine  or Red (I had half a bottle on white on hand) 
• 2 oz dry sherry or sweet vermouth (either will do)
• 1/2 bunch parsley (fresh) 
• 1/4 Worcestershire Sauce  
• One large ziplock bag
• One bay leaf

Ok, you are thinking- what have i got myself into? Tons of ingredients. Not really, just lots of veggies which after stewed give tons of flavor. Let this soup do that. The longer you let is sit on low, the happier it gets. 

So, start by cubing all the veggies nice and big just like your mom used to do. The only thing that wont need this is the carrots, which are already the perfect size and of course your onions project which means peeling and halving. The only vegetable you will set aside at this point is the red onion. Other wise the celery, potato, sweet potato, turnip (peeled and cubed), all go into a large bowl raw. Throw those carrots and onions in raw as well and set aside. 

Now you may slice or dice that red onion any way you like and leave on cutting board. 

Take your ribs and cube them the same size as your veggies. 

Take the flour and put inside the ziplock bag with garlic powder and heavy salt and pepper, you may add more spice but I keep it classic. 

Start getting your pot hot at a medium temp enough to melt but not burn that butter. Add the butter to melt and meanwhile put the beef in the bag with the flour and shake the heck out of it. Now, take the beef cubes out floured and put in pot. Turn the heat to a med high to get a nice color on them. Do NOT discard the flour in the bag. Set it aside. Add the red onion to the beef after one minute. 

After browning the beef and onions, deglaze the pot with the sherry (beef still in pot) After another minute, pour in that white wine and let it cook down for ten minutes. 

Now the surprise. Add ALL the veggies in the pot and keep on med/high temp.Add bay leaf. Add both containers of stock and Worcestershire. Let the stock heat to almost a boil before turning to a low simmer. 

At this stage take a spare bowl and put the remaining flour with a few ladles of the nearly boiling stock. Whisk the two together and return to the pot. This will thicken the stew and for all your germ-o-phobes out there, the boiling stock will kill any bacteria of the raw beef in the flour, trust me it will cook off - this cooks hours.  

The Worcestershire sauce will make this stew slightly smokey while the turnip, sweet potato and white wine make it sweet so there is a balance there. If you want it more robust add red wine as opposed to white and skip the sweet potato. I can't stress enough not skipping the turnip- it makes the dish.

(This is a pic before the stew has stewed - by the way add any salt and pepper you need for taste- you will see the apple wood smoked salt i used on top due to the grey color)


Let this stew for an hour and keep out of fridge for an extra hour as it will be hot!
After shutting the burner off add the half bunch of chopped and washed PARSLEY. This brightens the dish but doesn't kill this delicate yet hearty herb too quick. Cool it and refrigerate over night. The following day take it out at very least an hour before you want to eat and follow a similar process by starting it on med heat and putting on low when it gets to the desired temp.

I served mine with GF cheddar biscuits - maybe I'll add that recipe too...