Easy Winter Warm Up Stew

This is a great one pot recipe and you can make as much or little as you like. I would do double if you have big eaters or want leftovers.

Get your best soup pot out of the cupboard. 

Get a good loaf of bread to serve with this and you are set.

Grocery list.

Beef 3/4-1lb(stew meat or boneless beef short ribs) something inexpensive.

Creamer potatoes ( the little yellow potatoes)
Little red roasters if you can't find the creamers. Approximately 6 potatoes

2 whole carrots, a head of garlic, an orange, fresh rosmary, dry bay leaves, cheap merlot, small can of beef broth

Make sure you have a little butter, olive oil, flour, salt and pepper.

I cut all my produce first. Cut the creamer potatoes in half. Peal the carrots and slice them fairly thin at an angle. Peel two cloves of garlic and hit with back of knife to crack them. Set this aside.

Then cube beef into one inch cubes. If you bought it already cubed, you are ahead of the game. Coat with about 2tbsp flour. They don't have to be fully coated, just enough to absorb some of the moisture from the outside of the beef.

In your soup pot, heat up 2tbsp olive with 2tbsp butter on med/high heat. Once it's hot, drop the beef in to brown. While the beef is browning add 2tbsp salt anf 2tsp pepper or to taste. Let it cook on each side mostly undesturbed so that the fat renders and the meat gets nice and brown. Once the meat is half way cooked and brown all over remove meat from the pot and set aside.

Next add your carrots and garlic to the pot. Stir until the carrots have a nice shiny glow, then add 2c red wine and your small can of broth. Bring to a simmer and add the beef back to the pot.

To this add two bay leaves and about three thynes of rosmary. Peel half your orange (try to get big pieces of peel so you can find them later) and add peel to the pot. Then squeeze the juice of half the orange into the pot. Simmer this for 10 min on high. Last add your potatoes and simmer for 30 min with a lid until beef and potatoes are tender.

Dish up for a warm and flavorful dinner. If your feeling fresh, add a dollop of sour cream to finish off your plate.

Quick Tip: Warm Crusty Bread without the Burn
I always forget my bread under the broiler and end up with blackened bits. I picked this tip up from my grandma. Wrap your loaf in foil and put it in the oven on bake. The bread will be warm and have a crusty fresh baked taste, but it takes a lot longer to burn.

What do I like to eat?

I personally like everything, but you need to discover what foods make you happy. So do a little homework assignment. Get a small notebook, and when you have a dish that you really love; write it down and describe to yourself what it is that you like. Is it crunchy or soft, is it salty or sweet, or is it just beautiful to look at. As you put things together you'll find the foods that truly make you happy. Use these foods to fuel your drive to create great meals.

Approachable Gourmet

The concept of approachable gourmet has been developing as I grow in my business and in my experience as a cook. Growing up, I honestly didn't cook much. I'm surrounded by great cooks and as a kid the notion of cooking for myself was bizarre. Mom made the meals, and if Mom didn't cook; Dad did. And if Dad didn't cook Grandma or Auntie or Good old Firebaugh Restaurant were there to feed me. It wasn't until I got my first apartment that I even tried to cook. I started out making some of my favorite home meals, and I found that after being in school all day, I really enjoyed standing in my kitchen and treating my roommates and friends to something warm and homey. Needless to say, our apartment became a hot dinner spot.

As I got a little more seasoned at my craft (pun totally intended)., I began to branch out from my typical Italian and American dishes. I bought Middle Eastern and Asian cookbooks and I tried cooking anything and everything. I love to experiment with food, but time and budget are frequently an issue. So, I started taking base ideas from cookbooks, restaurants, and even home favorites and adapted them to my taste and budget. This is where Approachable Gourmet began.

Great food starts with what we know. Your family recipes are a great starting point for learning how to be a gourmet. You'll find when you go through your tried and trues that you have a wealth of knowledge and experience that will help you break down any gourmet recipe into a manageable, achievable, and delicious meal.

I hope that trying my tips and recipes will change the way you think about your kitchen.

Be brave, make a mess, make mistakes and you too can be an Approachable Gourmet.