Drunken Beef and Potato Stew

Vancouver rarely gets really cold. Usually our winters are mild and rainy with a few periods of snow thrown in over the season. This year, however, has been colder than usual...and I'm not complaining because it has also been sunnier than usual...I'll take sunny & cold over mild  & rainy anytime!

And let's face it, cold weather is perfect for cooking up soups and stews. Stew is exactly where my mind went to when I was trying to decide on a recipe to create for The Little Potato Company. Have you heard of them? If not, you've probably seen them...they're in lots of grocery stores across Canada...even Costco. They produce over a dozen potato products and take their work very seriously to give their customers the perfect little potato. I also love that they give back to the community by donating over 25,000 pounds of potatoes to food banks every year!

Here, I used their Blushing Belle potatoes. According to The Little Potato Company, they were "...originally bred in Germany by one of the oldest breeding companies in Europe, Blushing Belle is extremely versatile, and adapts well to a variety of cooking methods. Named after its blushing red skin and buttery yellow flesh, Blushing Belle delivers a soft, light texture with mild, delicate flavour. Excellent roasted or mashed."

Image from The Little Potato Company

I used them in this recipe because they hold up well under long heat. In other words, they won't turn to mush before they make it to your plate. I also added big pieces of carrot and celery and lots of garlic! Oh and did I mention the wine? Yup, a whole bottle of dry red wine goes into this stew!

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 lbs beef stew meat
3 c dry red wine (1 bottle)
3 cups beef stock
1/3 c flour
1.5 lbs baby red potatoes
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 large leek, chopped
2 large shallots, chopped
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped into large chunks
4 stalks celery, chopped
6 gloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 inch piece of ginger, grated
1/2 c tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. On medium high heat, add vegetable oil to large sautee pan.
3. Brown beef by placing pieces of beef in large dutch oven or other bakable pot - don't crowd the meat! Work in batches if necessary.
4. Turn beef until all sides are browned.
5. Remove beef from pan and place in large mixing bowl.
6. If needed, add another tablespoon of oil to pot and add onions, leeks and shallots. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir often so they don't burn.
7. Add garlic to onions and cook for 1 minute.
8. Remove and place onions/garlic mixture into beef bowl.
9. Add tomato paste to pot and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. This will deepen the flavour of the tomato paste.
10. Add 1 cup of wine to pan and mix with paste. Stir and get all the bits stuck on the bottom of the pan off of the pan.
11. Bring to simmer.
12. Add the beef and onions back into the pan.
13. In a small bowl stir flour salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and cumin.
14. Sprinkle flour mixture over the beef and combine.
15. Add Worcestershire sauce, ginger, 2 cups wine, and stock to the pot.
16. Bring the pot to a simmer.
17. Add carrots, potatoes, and celery.
18. Cover and place pot in oven.
19. Cook for 3 hours, until beef is incredibly tender.
20. Remove from oven.
21. If it is not thick enough, mix cornstarch with cold water in a small dish until cornstarch is dissolved.
22. Add to stew and stir in.
23. Place back in oven for another 15 minutes.
24. Remove from oven.
25. Serve.

Note: As with most beef stews, this dish tastes even better the next day!

Mashed Purple Potato Salad

My 8 year old loves being in the kitchen. Last weekend he decided he wanted potato salad. We went to a farmer's market and he picked out some purple and yellow potatoes for his "creation". I usually prefer a vinaigrette type dressing on my potato salad but he was adamant that he wanted a creamy dressing. He also insisted on mashing them up vs chopped. Can't say he doesn't know what he wants! He added celery and some green onions. The dressing was a combo of reduced calorie miracle whip (you could use mayo), mustard, relish and some extra vinegar for some "zip". I gotta be honest - I wasn't convinced I was going to like it - instead I LOVED it! Not only did it taste amazing, the purple potatoes added a fantastic blast of colour. I made some one eyed purple people eater comment but obviously that song is lost on the 8 yr old set!

You can peel the potatoes ahead of time if you want but I usually just peel them after they are cooked - it's easier as long as your fingers aren't too sensitive to the heat or you have patience to wait till they cool. About 2 lbs of potatoes in total is about what you need. Serves 4-6 as a side dish.

Ingredients

6 purple potatoes, large dice
4 yellow potatoes, large dice
1/2 c miracle whip
1/4 c honey dijon mustard
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 heaping tbsp green relish
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 stalks celery, diced
3 green onions, chopped
pepper and salt to taste

Instructions

1. In a large pot, add potatoes (and salt if desired) and cover with cold water. 
2. Bring to a boil and cook until tender - about 10-15 after reaching a boil.
3. Drain potatoes, peel if not already done.
4. Add to large bowl.
5. Add onions and celery.
6. In a small bowl, combine miracle whip, mustard, vinegar, relish, and garlic powder.
7. Add to potatoes and mash together.
8. You can mash as much or as little as you  want. We left some good size chunks for texture. 
9. Cool in fridge.

Scalloped Potatoes with Boursin and Fontina Cheeses

So pretty! These are quite thin, thanks to the use of a mandoline.
A bit thicker would work too.

Warning: this is a dangerous recipe so continue only if you are willing to take the risk!

Or maybe just be smarter than me and use oven mitts and not a dish cloth - especially one not completely covering the ENTIRE handle of a cast iron pan! Who needs finger prints? It's not like I'm gonna break the law and need to be booked (is that even the right terminology??) and fingerprinted any time soon, right? 

This recipe is not one you want to make while on a diet...which means you'll probably be craving it when you are trying to count calories! It's creamy, delicious and contains mountains of potatoes and cheese - 'nough said.

Let it sit 15 or 20 minutes, if you can, before serving so it can set a bit. It is great the next day too.

If you don't have Boursin cheese, you can use cream cheese (one with garlic or chives would be good). 

Use a 10 inch cast iron pan that is about 2 inches high. If you use another type of baking dish keep it no deeper than 2 inches to ensure potatoes cook properly.

Ingredients

2 lbs small red potatoes
1 package boursin (or cream cheese)
1 cup shredded fontina cheese
1 small onion, chopped small
1 cup milk (not cream)
3 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Wash potatoes and thinly slice (1/8 inch) potatoes.
3. Place in cold water so they don't brown.
4. Saute onion in 10 inch cast iron pan over medium heat with 1 tbsp butter until translucent and just starting to brown.
5. Remove from pan.
6. Grease a baking dish (or if you are using a cast iron pan, just add butter to pan) with 1 tbsp of butter.
7. Drain your potatoes and dry them with paper towel.
8. Spread half of potatoes over bottom of baking dish.
9. Sprinkle 1/2 of onions, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese, and 1/2 tbsp of butter.
10. Layer the remaining potatoes over the first layer.
11. Add remaining salt, pepper, fontina, onions and butter.
12. In a small pot, bring milk to a simmer and add boursin.
13. Stir until melted.
14. Pour simmering milk mixture over potatoes.
15. Over medium heat, bring potatoes to a simmer.
16. Carefully place potatoes into preheated oven.
17. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. - milk will be absorbed, potatoes soft when pierced with a fork, and cheese browned. Remove carefully!! It will be HOT.