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You are here: Home / Open Threads / John Cole’s Amazing One of a Kind Beef Stew

John Cole’s Amazing One of a Kind Beef Stew

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Like I said, I got some time on my hand, and I have been craving beef stew, so I thought I would cook up a big batch of beef stew to store in the freezer and have for dinner. As I was doing it, I thought “why not share my recipe since it is so easy.”

Now be foreworned, this may not be how you have had beef stew or how you make beef stew, and I am certain it will piss off the professional chefs and the recipe afficionado types, because I don’t really have measurements. I just eyeball it and go.

What you will need for this (other than a big pot, and stove, and a knife), is the following:

Big ole hunk of beef: You can use anything you like from the cheaper cuts of beef. I had a massive chuck roast in the freezer that I bought for pennies on the dollars months ago because I still shop like I lived through the depression, so that is what I used. But you can use round, sirloin, brisket (although who would do that it is so damned expensive these days), etc.

Veggies: I am sure there are official veggies for some types when it comes to stew, but my attitude is you are the one eating it, put in whatever you damned well please. Personally, I added carrots, potatoes, turnips, onions, celery, parsnips, mushrooms, and peas to this one.

Flour and seasonings: Any old flour will do, but I had some AP on hand and that is what I used. For herbs, I had some fresh parsely, rosemary, and thyme, a head of garlick, and some bay leaves.

Oil: Any old oil will do. Again, I am sure some people will bitch about using a specific type, but I just used olive oil because I only have avocado, olive, sesame, and chili oil on hand and olive made the most sense.

Misc: Tomato paste, red wine, lee & perrins, beef stock.

Directions:

Turn your sink on so it is cool, and give your beef a good wash and pat it dry with towels. Put it on the cutting board and ignore it. Fill your sink with cool water and half cup of salt, throw all your veg in it. This will serve to start the wash on your veg, firm up any loose celery or what not, get any bugs off it, etc.

Go back to your beef. Cut it up into cubes the size you want. Throw it all into a container (I just use a big cambro I have on hand). Give it a couple splashes lee & perrins, a little bit of salt, and grind some black pepper into it. Put the lid on, and vigorously shake it for a bit until the salt/pepper/wworcestershire sauce is evenly distributed it. Put it aside.

Wash your veg, drain the sink, pull the veg out and put in another container (or your stew pot). Clean your cutting board and dry it off. Begin chopping your veg.

Again, this is a personal thing as far as I am concerned. It’s stew. No one gives a shit about precision knife cuts. I personally want big hunks of veg because they all cook different. I cut all but the biggest mushrooms in half and quarter the others, and so on. Just user your own judgment this ain’t rocket surgery. Once all your veg is done, put it aside. Obviously you cut your garlic normally or use your press, etc.

Go back to your meat container, give it a shake, and throw in a quarter to half cup of ap. Shake the living shit out of it. While you are doing this, bring your skillet with the oil up to temperature. When done coating the beef with flour, start to brown it in the pot/skillet. Take your time you want it nice and browned on all sides. If you have more beef than you can do in one run, just make sure to add more oil and let it heat up. You can just go ahead and throw the browned pieces into your stew pot with your veg.

Once all the beef is done and in the stew point, deglaze your skillet with red wine. Get all that flavor out of there, add in some of your beef stock and the tomato paste, heat it up and stir until it is consistent, and then dump it into the stew pot.

At this point, everything should be in your stew pot. Throw in your beef stock. I use stock I made myself, but if you are buying it I would recommend the unsalted so you can salt to your liking. Throw in the rest of the wine, wrap your herbs in cheesecloth and chuck them in, and bring it up to temp.

And you are basically done. Once it is near a boil turn it down to a simmer, put a lid on it, and be like Elsa and Let it Go. Just fuck off for a few hours, checking every now and then to make sure you are not burning it and to give it a stir. If it seems to be too thick, add some more stock or water. Not think enough, make a roux and throw it in. If it needs salt, add salt.

When it is almost done I like to throw in a half stick of butter to give it a creamier mouth feel, but again, that is me.

Again, just have fun, this is something that is really hard to screw up.

Also, this is what mine looks right before I put the lid on it:

Reader Interactions

120Comments

  1. 1.

    WaterGirl

    Looks good.

    I have always cut parsnips into little pieces so I have never had a big chunk of parsnip like that.  What’s the texture like with a big piece like that?

  3. 3.

    Steve from Mendocino

    Not going to be active in food threads, but I thought I’d put this out there because of its similarities.  It was originally based on short ribs, but it was just too rich.  I then switched it to a small tray of short ribs plus chuck as a compromise but for simplicity’s sake I’ve eliminated the short ribs altogether.  This recipe comes from the restaurant that I owned for 7 years.
    Not going to be active in food threads, but I thought I’d put this out there because of its similarities.  It was originally based on short ribs, but it was just too rich.  I then switched it to a small tray of short ribs plus chuck as a compromise but for simplicity’s sake I’ve eliminated the short ribs altogether.  This recipe comes from the restaurant that I owned for 7 years.

    Braised chuck with Red Wine, Fennel & Carrots

    2 lb. Boneless beef chuck
    ½ cups carrots, peeled & cut into large matchstick shapes (¼ x 2″)
    ½ cups fennel, cored & cut into large matchstick shapes (¼ x 2″)
    ½ cups onion, cut into medium dice
    3 garlic cloves, peeled & crushed
    1 cups red wine
    ½ cups tomato, peeled, seeded & diced (concassé)
    1 fresh savory sprig
    1 small bay leaf
    Creme fraiche
    Grated fresh horseradish
    Sherry vinegar
    Brown rice
    Glazed parsleyed carrots

    1. Season the meat with salt and roast them on a rack with a pan underneath in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes, rotating them once about halfway through.
    2. Meanwhile in a dutch oven, sauté the carrots and fennel in olive oil until they are just barely soft.
    3. Remove and reserve for later.
    4. In the same pan, sauté (again in olive oil) the onions and garlic until the onions are soft.
    5. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes.
    6. Season to taste.
    7. Once the ribs are done roasting, place them in roasting pan(s) in a single layer.
    8. Distribute the braising liquid (if using more than one roasting pan) so that the ribs are two thirds covered.
    9. Place the roasting pan(s) on the stove top and bring the liquid to a boil.
    10. Then cover the pan tightly with foil and place in a 350 oven.  Cook for one hour.
    11. After one hour, add the reserved carrots and fennel to the pans.
    12. Recover with foil and cook in the oven for another hour.
    13. Check the doneness of the ribs and cook longer if needed (the meat should be almost falling apart).
    14. When done, remove the pan(s) from the oven, degrease the liquid, check the seasoning, and serve with mashed potatoes and horseradish crème fraîche.
    15. Trim all outer edges of the horseradish.  Grate with microplane grater,
    16. Combine with vinegar and salt to taste.
    17. Before serving, whip crème fraiche until thickened and combine with horseradish mixture.
    18. Whip crème fraîche and add horseradish mixture to taste.
    19. Once horseradish is added, whip mixture again to desired consistency, being careful not to over whip.
  5. 5.

    geg6

    That’s pretty much how I make it except I’m not crazy about turnips.  Love parsnips though.  Stew and a nice crusty bread to sop up the juices is one of my favorite meals.

  9. 9.

    JaySinWa

    I like the “not think enough” typo. kind of a compression of  “if you think it is not thick enough
    ETA although having your thoughts congeal with a roux works too.

  10. 10.

    Oklahomo

    This is basically how we do ours, subbing venison for beef, and using tomato paste we’ve made and vacuum packed.

  15. 15.

    mrmoshpotato

    Shake the living shit out of it.

    More recipes need this step!

    Shake ‘N Bake?  No!  Shake The Living Shit Out of It ‘N Bake!

  16. 16.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @geg6:

    I love all the root vegetables; my “must-haves” for a beef stew or pot roast are potatoes (I like the baby Dutch or fingerling or little reds instead of cutting up big potatoes), lots of carrots, plenty of onions, and celery. After those, it’s whatever — turnips, parsnips, rutabaga, giant mushrooms — any, all, or none. Would never put peas in a beef stew, nor anything tomato-y. But otherwise, I’m liking John’s recipe. And now that I have and am gingerly learning to use my Instant Pot, it’s much easier to prepare. This will be my Christmas dinner, with enough left over to freeze for future meals.

  17. 17.

    Z. Mulls

    Deelish.     I add a finishing touch of quartered marinated artichoke hearts, right at the end, for piquancy

  18. 18.

    BigJimSlade

    @Steeplejack (phone): ah, they have mine, so it came up for me – I’ll try pasting it here:

    TUSCAN BEEF AND BLACK PEPPER STEW (PEPOSO ALLA FORNACINA) Don’t be shy about trimming the fat from the chuck roast. Remove as much as you can, which may mean shedding about 1 pound. Pull the roast apart at the natural seams, then use a sharp knife to trim the fat and cut the pieces into 2-inch chunks.

    The simple, generously peppered beef stew known as peposo is said to have been created by 15th century kiln (fornacina) workers in Tuscany, Italy. Chianti is the best-known wine produced in that region and is the traditional choice for peposo, but any dry, medium-bodied red wine works well. Make sure to use coarsely ground black pepper, as it has more presence and better coats the beef. This recipe makes a generous amount of stew—about 2 quarts—so serve it one night with polenta, mashed potatoes or braised beans. The stew keeps well, so it can be made up to three days ahead and reheated in the microwave or in a saucepan over low.

    4 HOURS
    30 minutes active

    Tuscan Beef and Black Pepper Stew (Peposo alla Fornacina) | Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street https://www.177milkstreet.com/recipes/tuscan-beef-and-black-pepper-stew-peposo-alla-fornacina
    INGREDIENTS
    6 TO 7 POUNDS BONELESS BEEF CHUCK ROAST, WELL TRIMMED AND CUT INTO 2-INCH CHUNKS
    KOSHER SALT AND COARSELY GROUND BLACK PEPPER
    2 TABLESPOONS EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
    1 LARGE YELLOW ONION, HALVED AND THINLY SLICED
    12 MEDIUM GARLIC CLOVES, PEELED
    3 TABLESPOONS TOMATO PASTE
    2 SPRIGS ROSEMARY, PLUS 1 TABLESPOON MINCED FRESH ROSEMARY
    2 CUPS DRY RED WINE

    DIRECTIONS
    Heat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the lower-middle position. Place the beef in a large bowl, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt and 2 tablespoons pepper, then toss.

    In a large Dutch oven over medium, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion is lightly browned, 7 to 9 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until the paste begins to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Nestle the beef and rosemary sprigs in the onion mixture, cover and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2 hours.

    Remove the pot from the oven. Stir, then return to the oven uncovered. Cook until a knife inserted into a piece of beef meets no resistance, another 1 to 1½ hours.

    Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a medium bowl. Set a ne mesh strainer over a fat separator or a medium bowl. Pour the meat juices into the strainer and press on the solids to push them through the strainer; discard any solids left behind.

    Pour the wine into the now-empty pot and bring to a boil over medium-high, scraping up any browned bits. Reduce to medium and simmer until the wine is syrupy and reduced to 1 cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, if you strained the meat juices into a bowl, use a spoon to skim off and discard the fat from the surface.

    Pour the defatted meat juices into the pot. Bring to a simmer over medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened to the consistency of heavy cream, 5 to 7 minutes. Return the beef to the pot, add the minced rosemary and stir gently. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is heated, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 teaspoons pepper, then taste and season with salt.

  20. 20.

    CarolPW

    I heartily approve of using chuck roast, and it is my preferred stew meat. The rest looks fine except old celery (old enough to be limp) is really a bad idea. Look up psoralens – they are what psoriasis was named after because it resembled “celery picker’s disease.”

  21. 21.

    Yutsano

    I just ate moussaka and pita with tzatziki. Your attempt to make me hungry again has failed Cole.

    I really like the idea of parsnips in a stew. Gonna have to wait until I get my own place unfortunately.

  25. 25.

    cleek

    all that, but before you add any oil, brown and render three slices of bacon in the pot. and then use the bacon fat for the oil.

    set the bacon aside and then add it back at the last minute, crumbled.

  26. 26.

    frosty

    @mrmoshpotato: When we went to a demo at the New Orleans School of Cooking I asked the cook why the celery and onions in my red beans were still a little crunchy. Official expert guidance: “You’ve got to cook the hell out of it, hon.”

  27. 27.

    frosty

    Re: John’s recipe: IMHO stew involves whatever ingredients you have, especially for the veggies, and in whatever amounts seem (or taste) right.

  28. 28.

    Miki

    Reminds me of my go-to Williams Sonoma 20 Minute Beef Stew pressure cooker recipe. (20 minutes refers to time at high pressure.)

    I suck at paying attention to long-cooking pots on the stove – more often than not whatever is in the pot burns. My IP solved that problem for me.

  29. 29.

    Evap

    Recipe thread?  One of my hobbies is making really good vegan desserts.  I made a Mississippi mud pie yesterday that was killer, made with aquafaba (liquid from cooking chickpeas).  I had some leftover (vegan) caramel sauce in the freezer so I turned it into turtle pie –  caramel sauce and toasted pecans on the crust before I poured the chocolate mixture in.   It was a spectacular success, according to all who ate it.  (None of them vegan.)

  42. 42.

    Miki

    @mrmoshpotato: 45 minutes would turn those veggies to mush, imo. When I cook a pot roast in the IP I mostly cook the roast, then add the veg to the pot and cook it all for another 5 minutes at high pressure. Those hard root veggies only need about 5 minutes.

  43. 43.

    SpaceUnit

    Speaking of recipes, I’m going to try to recreate a smoked trout dip that I used to get at a restaurant just outside of Taos years ago.  I have no clue what I’m doing but managed to Google up a few ideas.  Cream cheese, chives, garlic.

    This could possibly be a Christmas disaster.

  46. 46.

    zhena gogolia

    @SpaceUnit: I make one with tarragon and capers. I can never remember what the binder is — plain yogurt, mayonnaise, or a mixture. Lime juice, pepper, chives if you can find them which I never can.

  47. 47.

    prostratedragon

    @Yutsano:  Are you trying to upset my plans?!!

    Have chuck roast with rutabaga,  turnips, and shallots on line,  and here you go reminding me of things.  Well,  maybe just after New Year.  My chuck,  which becomes beef stew the next day,  is much like others,  but I use dark beer in the braise. Scored some  Xingu, which is my favourite for both cooking and drinking.

  48. 48.

    SpaceUnit

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Good point.

    Actually, all I could find were some small tins of it at the grocery store.  The restaurant used to smoke their own and I have a feeling that the canned stuff might not measure up very well.

  49. 49.

    SpaceUnit

    @zhena gogolia:

    I appreciate those suggestions, especially the tarragon and lime.  I think I’ll just put on my lab coat and goggles and do some experimenting, see what I can come up with.

    Gonna try a combo of sour cream and cream cheese for a binder.

  50. 50.

    Gravenstone

    @Steve from Mendocino: It was originally based on short ribs, but it was just too rich.

    Not possible. I love me some beef short ribs braised with mushrooms. Mix the leftovers into noodles and that’s lunch for the week.

  52. 52.

    Ohio Mom

    @SpaceUnit: If you live near a Trader Joe’s, they stock smoked trout that is passably good (when you grow up in NYC, you have high standards for smoked fish). I almost bought some the other day in fact but decided I already had enough treats in my cart.

  53. 53.

    raven

    @frosty: I took a class there in 1983 and cooked jambalaya for 1000 people one time!!!  Joe Cahn owned it in those days and sold it to become the “King of Tailgaiting”. He travelled around to games and, a few years back, he was here for a promotion. I went to see him and told him I’d taken his class and did what it said of the certificate, “Spread the Joy of Cajun Cooking”. Unfortunately he passed away in 2018 but he was quite a guy!

  54. 54.

    raven

    I’m curing some turkey tasso right now and will smoke it tomorrow just in time to make gumbo to drag with us on our, gasp, trip to Virginia.

  55. 55.

    BigJimSlade

    @Steve from Mendocino: I’m intrigued by the ingredients, though the recipe I posted is so easy I’m not sure I want to try harder.

    Of course, I can’t read all your instructions, so here – I’ll post them again for you, but without all the html non-breaking spaces (“ ” in the code):

    1. Season the meat with salt and roast them on a rack with a pan underneath in a 400 oven for 40 minutes, rotating them once about half-way through. Meanwhile in a dutch oven, sauté the carrots and fennel in olive oil until they are just barely soft. Remove and reserve for later. In the same pan, sauté (again in olive oil) the onions and garlic until the onions are soft. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Season to taste. Once the ribs are done roasting, place them in roasting pan(s) in a single layer. Distribute the braising liquid (if using more than one roasting pan) so that the ribs are two thirds covered. Place the roasting pan(s) on the stove top and bring the liquid to a boil, then cover the pan tightly with foil and place in a 350 oven. Cook for one hour.
    2. After one hour, add the reserved carrots and fennel to the pans. Recover with foil and cook in the oven for another hour. Check the doneness of the ribs and cook longer if needed (the meat should be almost falling apart). When done, remove the pan(s) from the oven, degrease the liquid, check the seasoning and serve with mashed potatoes and horseradish crème fraîche.
    3. Trim all outer edges of the horseradish. Grate with microplane grater, combine with vinegar and salt to taste. Before serving, whip crème fraiche until thickened and combine with horseradish mixture.
    4. Whip crème fraîche and add horseradish mixture to taste.
    5. Once horseradish is added, whip mixture again to desired consistency, being careful not to overwhip.
  57. 57.

    SpaceUnit

    @Ohio Mom:

    Actually there is a Trader Joe’s not too terribly far away.  Thanks for the tip.  I’ve never been in there, so it will be a new adventure.

    Will probably wait until after Christmas though.  I’m done with shopping and stores and all the holiday madness for now.

  64. 64.

    geg6

    @germy:

    Probably so.  Having seen his kitchen, I can tell you that with stew on the stove, the willow will be too close to Cole.  It could go full whomping willow on him.

  67. 67.

    sab

    I love winter because we can heat the house by cooking stews slowly all day. I cook the meat, onions and carrots for many hours, and add the other stuff later.

    It is very cruel to the dog, who goes all day expecting a helping, but not possible because onions.

    But a can of Gravy Train makes it all better.

  68. 68.

    trollhattan

    @SpaceUnit: Drove past a Trader Joe’s today and the line to enter the parking lot blocked part of the arterial for a block.

    Good thing I was headed to Home Depot.

  69. 69.

    trollhattan

    @sab:

    Want to learn braising but the house is down to but a single meat-eating human, me. Nevertheless, leftovers are fine presuming the original dish wasn’t a writeoff.

  74. 74.

    trollhattan

    December 23, 2021 at 12:48 pm EST By Taegan Goddard

    “The Marine Corps discharged 66 Marines in the past week for refusing to get the coronavirus vaccine as mandated by the military, outpacing the other services at discipline related to the shots,” the AP reports.

    “The latest Corps actions brought the total number of Marines booted out of the service for vaccine refusal to 169.”

    IOW a small fraction of a percent of Marines no want Fauci-ouchie. Buh-bye.

  75. 75.

    Kent

    I do basically exactly what John does except that I aim to have all the veggies chopped to about the same size cubes so they cook evenly, and I finish the cooking in an instant pot rather than on the stove as that is so much faster and easier

  84. 84.

    delk

    Sauté a chopped up onion and brown the pieces of beef.
    Throw in instant pot.

    Add one jar of whatever salsa you like/have. (Should be a cup  If not top up with water/beer/broth/wine)

    Toss in instant pot on high for 30 minutes or whatever half hour sitcom is on.

    Natural release for 30 minutes or another episode of whatever sitcom you were watching

    Stir in a rinsed can of beans and a rinsed can of corn. (Or use frozen or whatever you have laying around)

    Eat

  86. 86.

    raven

    @WaterGirl:

    Types of Military Discharges

    There are many different types of military discharges. Contrary to popular belief there are not only the two most well-known discharges which are characterized as Honorable and Dishonorable. There are many more.

    Some military discharges are punitive, others are administrative. Some are related to medical conditions, some are for the convenience of the government. Knowing the nature of a specific discharge can help a veteran or a family member better understand what VA benefits and other options are open to a veteran who was discharged without the Honorable designation.

    It is very important to remember that several of these discharges are purely procedural and do not reflect poorly on the veteran, but where the military discharge is punitive, the phrasing of that discharge is usually a very good indication of that, especially in the case of those characterized as Dishonorable.

  87. 87.

    raven

    @raven: “The Marine Corps has approved 1,007 exemptions from the mandate, with 3,144 requests for religious accommodation still in the works. The Marines who are being separated are receiving discharges that are general under honorable conditions, a Marine Corps spokesperson said. Such a discharge keeps the Marines from losing post-military benefits.”

  88. 88.

    raven

    General Discharge Under Honorable Conditions
    A general discharge under honorable conditions means that your service was satisfactory, but did not deserve the highest level of discharge for performance and conduct. Many veterans with this type of discharge may have engaged in minor misconduct. While a discharge under honorable conditions may not be what a veteran wants on his or her resume, it qualifies for VA health care, TRICARE’s Continued Health Care Benefit Program (military health insurance), VA disability compensation, VA pension, VA home loans, and all other veterans benefits except for educational benefits under the Montgomery or Post-9/11 GI Bill. (For the Montgomery GI Bill program or Post-9/11 GI Bill program, you need an honorable discharge.)

  90. 90.

    Another Scott

    @trollhattan:  To put that number in context… CNA.org (32 page .ppt from 2008):

    Between FY00 and FY02, the overall [Marine Corps] separation rate varied between 16.6 and 16.7 percent. It was low in FY03 because of stop loss. It then increased in FY04, fell slightly in FY05, and peaked in FY06 at 17.1 percent. In FY07, however, when the Marine Corps got permission to formally increase end strength, the separation rate fell almost 1 percentage point to 16.2 percent. By FY07, Marines had been at war for 5 years. However, the significantly more generous Selective Reenlistment Bonus program and the work of commanders and retention specialists to encourage Marines to reenlist likely caused the separation rate to fall.

    With 180,000 some-odd active duty Marines, 169 isn’t even a rounding error out of 15% or so (27,000) – it’s tiny. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if most of the refusniks were planning on leaving anyway.

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  91. 91.

    raven

    @WaterGirl: I think so, anything more drastic and they’d be martyred (not that they won’t anyway). Losing the educational benefits is pretty substantial. I don’t know where they are going to go with the benefits now that we’re not “at war”. Leto?

  97. 97.

    raven

    @scav: We had a fridge delivered the other day and one of the guys was wearing a US Navy hat. I asked him what he did in the Navy and he said he was a “medic”. I said “ah, a corpsmen, worked with marines”? He smiled and said “yea, three tours, on of Afghanistan and two Iraq”. They guy was really nice and seemed really bright. I wanted to ask him if he was using his bill but I didn’t. It was funny, they installed the fridge and an hour later we opened it and they left a DeWalt impact driver in it. I thought about it and figured they were sub-contractors and the equipment was probably theirs so I drove out to Lowes the next morning and took it to the dock in the back. He wasn’t there but the guy obviously knew him and said “yea, they have to supply their own tools, thanks for bringing it”. Proly more than you were interested in.

  100. 100.

    Gin & Tonic

    My 25-yr-old wife and my 49-yr-old mother in law are now required to register for Ukraine’s military draft, according to a new regulation.

    You wanna know when this whole situation hits hard? Now, that’s when.
    — Nolan Peterson (@nolanwpeterson) December 23, 2021

  105. 105.

    scav

    @raven: I’m sure there loads that are bright — and forgetful, if not budding absent minded professors no less — just a gut instinct about the respect formal education is awarded by those insisting on doing their own viral research.

  106. 106.

    Another Scott

    Speaking of Mr. Frog, …

    I found the cutest little frog in the bottom of my romaine lettuce tonight- it’s too cold to set him outside (27 degrees), but he’s been living in the lettuce in the fridge for several days now- does anyone know what I should do so that he doesn’t die? pic.twitter.com/usaCIEWaLv

    — Simon Curtis (@simoncurtis) December 21, 2021

    (via JJMacNab)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  109. 109.

    Miki

    @raven: A very close friend thought her general discharge was the equivalent of a dishonorable discharge and believed she was not eligible for any benefits. (Circumstances of discharge involved brutal sexual abuse and addiction.) Took some time but she finally did some research and learned she was eligible for VA health care and got excellent care for Hep C. She convinced me to sign up for VA health care and that’s where I get all my care now – it’s excellent.

    IOW, it’s a lot more nuanced than most vets know. But the information is out there if you know what to ask.

  110. 110.

    raven

    @Miki: I try to tell people that but not many vets want to hear it. I pursued hearing aids through the VA on the advice of a Nam vet/VA audiologist I met on a hearing aid blog. He told me how the system worked and, while it took nearly a year, I got $3k hearing aids (I’m on my third pair” at no cost. You can lead a horse. . .

  111. 111.

    Miki

    @raven: There’s a lot of bad press out there, enough of it to cause folks with choices to pause. But my experience has been entirely positive. I went through a breast cancer and uterine cancer scare the last couple of years and received incredibly supportive care at the Minneapolis VA. Add in my local VA clinic and I have to say the socialized medicine I get is fantastic. Sometimes I’m embarrassed by the excellence. We all deserve that kind of affordable care.

  112. 112.

    raven

    @Miki: Well I am fully insured with Medicare and the supplement but when I went to an audiologist he said “I’d love to sell you hearing aids but you need to go to the VA”. I had to go through the whole disability process and then a full physical and the doc asked me if I wanted to have the VA as primary. I declined and then he referred me for the hearing aids. Because I was “in-country” I qualify regardless of income so I stuck with it and got them. I’ve had nothing but positive experiences there but I go to a small satellite and think going to Augusta would be different.

  113. 113.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    This thread is probably dead, but just wanted to add that I add anchovy paste to my beef stew, to up the umami.  Got the idea from Cook’s Illustrated.

  114. 114.

    Grover Gardner

    Can’t. Wait. To. Make. This.  Wife has gone vegetarian, but she doesn’t mind if I pick out the meat. ;-)  This looks like a nice “veggie stew” for her and “beef stew” for me!

  117. 117.

    xjmuellerlurks

    Great recipe and thread.  Stew is great because you can literally use whatever you like or have on hand.  I prefer putting dishes like this in a slow oven (300f) rather than simmering them.  I think Steve from Mendicino said the same earlier.  It works better for me because I can never seem to get the flame under the pot just right.  This is my go-to technique for stews and braises.  Works well for pot roast, carnitas, and Goulash (Hungarian: gulyás).  My wife, who is an excellent cook, likes to Instapot (pressure cook) stuff, but I like the low and slow – get better flavor result I think, although I might just be biased.  Mrs Xj uses the Instapot to cook beans in about an hour that are as good or better than slow cooked methods.  It’s just another tool in our arsenal of kitchen appliances designed to make me eat too much.

    Echoing the wisdom of John Cole, we have a saying in our house:  “If they don’t like it, they can eat a fucking hot dog.”

  118. 118.

    xjmuellerlurks

    @sab:  Put one in a stew, tomato sauce, gravy, or broth you’re making.  They add a something (umami?), but basically disintegrate during cooking and you won’t realize it’s in there.  (Bay leaf is similar, except laurel doesn’t disintegrate – you don’t notice when you don’t add  it, but it adds a little something when you do.)  We have a small bottle of them in the fridge and use them sparingly.  They do have a long shelf life in there.

  119. 119.

    J R in WV

    @xjmuellerlurks:

    Anchovies are great in salad dressings of all sorts as well. Fresher anchovies we encountered in Spain, France and Italy were wonderful in innumerable ways, alone or as part of a complicated dish of some sort.

    I can get them here if I ask the local Steak and Seafood shop to order a container, not salty like American canned anchovies… but a special order. I don’t have to take the whole container, they split off as much as you want, other folks enjoy them too.

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