Food is Cynful: Brent Ross' Beef Stew

About the Cyn

As I have added more and more recipe's to this blog I've realized that these are such sweet tender memories for me. Just as a photograph or childhood story will bring back memories, food floods me with tons of remembrances of happy times in the past! From family dinners and times with friends to Grandma making toast in the frying pan, food has brought about a way to record my family history. Food has always been and remains a huge part of our gatherings and I feel so very blessed to be able to share my memories and such terrific recipe's with my family and anyone out there who has a few minutes to spare. It is my hope that someday my children and grandchildren will prepare these recipe's and know they were special to someone!

Cynful Explanations

Al dente – An Italian expression applied in all western kitchens to pasta cooked just until enough resistance is left in it to be felt “by the tooth.” Fresh pasta can never by cooked al dente as it is too soft. The expression is also applied to vegetables that have been cooked crisp by steaming, boiling, or stir-frying.
Baste – To moisten food during cooking with pan drippings, sauce, or other liquid. Basting prevents foods from drying out.
Bias-cut - To slice food at a steep angle increasing the surface area, makes a thinner cut easier and looks better.
Butterfly- To split a food (such as shrimp) down the center, cutting almost but not completely through. The two halves are then opened flat to resemble a butterfly shape.
Caramelize – The flavor of many foods, including vegetables, meats, and seafood, is often enhanced by a gentle browning that caramelizes natural sugars and other compounds and intensifies their flavor. Meats for stews, for example, are usually browned to caramelize juices that if not caramelized are much less flavorful. Chopped vegetables, especially aromatic ones such as carrots and onions, are often caramelized—sometimes with cubes of meat—in a small amount of fat before liquid is added to enhance the flavor of soups, stews, and sauces.
Dice – To cut into cubes (unlike chopping, which cuts foods into irregular pieces).
Dredge – To coat a food with flour, any finely crumbled ingredient, or, in pastry, with fine sugar.
Egg wash – A mixture of egg or egg white, oil, and water brushed over floured items, which are then deep-fried or pan-fried in clarified butter or oil.
Fold – To incorporate an egg-white foam into an egg yolk foam or a flour batter without deflating it so that it retains its full leavening power.
Julienne – To cut into long thin matchstick size strips.
Marinade – A mixture of ingredients used to flavor and moisten foods. May be liquid of dry. Liquid marinades are usually acidic based and dry marinades are usually salt based.
Mince – To chop very fine.
Piping - To force a food (typically frosting or whipped cream) through a pastry tip to use as a decoration or garnish, or to shape dough, such as that for éclairs.
Poach – To cook completely submerged in barely simmering liquid.
Puree – To work or strain foods until they are completely smooth.
Ramekin – A small, ovenproof dish, usually ceramic.
Render - To melt animal fat over low heat so that it separates from any connective pieces of tissue, which, during rendering, turn brown and crisp.
Resting – Roasted meats should not be served straight out of the over, but should be allowed to rest in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes, loosely covered with aluminum foil. (The foil keeps the meat warm; loose wrapping ensures that the outside of the meat doesn’t steam and lose its crispness.) Resting allows the meat to relax so the juices become redistributed in the meat and aren’t squeezed out onto the platter during carving.
Sauté – To cook over high heat in a small amount of fat in a sauté pan or skillet.
Scald – To heat milk just below the boiling point. Or, to immerse a vegetable or fruit in boiling water in order to remove its skin easily.
Sear – To brown the surface of pieces of meats and or fish by submitting them to intense initial heat.
Simmer – To maintain the temperature of a liquid just below boiling.
Steam – To cook in steam by suspending foods over (not in) boiling water, in a covered pot or steamer.
Stew – A cooking method nearly identical to braising but generally involving smaller pieces of meat, and hence a shorter cooking time. Also, the dish prepared by using this method of preparation.
Stir-fry – Chinese technique of cooking think slivers of meat, shellfish, and vegetables in hot oil.
Sweat – To cook foods over gentle heat, usually covered or partly covered, until they release their moisture. Vegetables, meats, and seafood are often sweated when making soups, stews, and sauces so that the foods release their juices into the pan and surrounding liquid. Sweating is the opposite of sautéing.
Tempura – A Japanese method of cooking vegetables and shellfish. They are coated with a light cornstarch batter and deep-fried.
Wok – A round-bottomed pan, usually made of rolled steel, used for virtually all Chinese cooking methods.
Zest – The thin, brightly colored outer part of the rind of citrus fruits. The oils make it ideal for use as a flavoring. Remove the zest with a grater, citrus zester, or vegetable peeler. Be careful to remove only the colored layer, not the bitter-white pith beneath it.

This is one of my all time favorite recipe's.

Not only is it a favorite recipe but it is a favorite memory as well. More than once we gathered together as a family, on a chili Sunday afternoon, over a steaming bowl of Beef Stew that my dad had made before we went off to church that morning. I would walk into the house and BOOM, I was hit with the most wonderful aroma and I couldn't wait until my spoon hit that bowl and sure enough, every time, I would burn my tongue on the first bite! The first time I made this was as a newly married bride. I wanted my sweet Brent to be so impressed with my cooking skills. I carefully cut out all the ingredients and lovingly filled the crock pot, expecting to come home to that heavenly smell and have my brand new groom be so impressed with my culinary skills. Well the stew was bland and the meat was tough! I was an utter failure! I called my dad near to tears, nearly weeping misfortune and he simply told me two things....I was missing the secret ingredient and I was missing the point of the name. The name is STEW meaning you let it stew....all day! The secret ingredient, however, he was not so willing to quickly share. After prodding him a bit he gave in and told me that the secret was an entire bottle of my favorite BBQ sauce?! He said that besides a few bay leaves, salt and pepper, that was the only spices he added. I couldn't believe it. The next time my stew was a hit and every year when I am feeling lonely for my Daddy and the temperature is just nicely chili outside (and I find a good price on beef) I whip up a batch of the best stew out there, my Dad's! Here's how to make your stew as good as my Daddy makes his...

1 6Qt Crock Pot (or as big as you have)
6-8 Potatoes depending on size or 3-5 lbs
1lb Carrots
3 Celery Stalks
1-2 Large Yellow Onions
4-6 lb Beef
3 Bay leaves
1 Bottle BBQ Sauce (your favorite)
2-3 Cups of your favorite cheese (Brent likes Mozzarella)

Start by peeling the carrots and potatoes. Then cut everything into 1/2 inch cubes. I like to try and make everything the same size for this dish so that each bite is about the same and so everything cooks even. After cutting all the ingredients, put them all in to the crock pot and add water that just covers the top of the ingredients. Add in the Bay leaves and the entire bottle of BBQ sauce. I like to pour a little water into the last of the bottle and shake it up to get all the saucy goodness out of it! Let that stew for 8 hours on high. It may spill over so you might want a cookie sheet under your crock pot to catch any spillage. Every so often you can lift the lid and stir in around. Make sure your ingredients are always covered with water but try not to lift the lid to often. If you are leaving it for the day while you are out don't worry about having to check on it. I've left it often enough and never had a problem with it. Oh one more tip...I buy the beef that I find on sale. I've used London Broil or a roast. I've used stewing meat before but it was expensive and I didn't find that I liked the results any more than the London Broil and plus it's easy to cut up since it's not to fatty. This dish is good the next day as well but you know what the best thing about next day stew is? All the fat coagulates to the top so you can scoop it out and have it be just that much more healthy! Oh sorry one other thing...this is a bit on the thin brothy side. If you want it thicker you can add a slurry of water and corn starch and that will thicken it up a bit but we find that once you add in the cheese right before serving, it does a good job of making it just a bit thicker. I also found a great bread recipe that I am excited about trying out for next time and might add it to the blog if it comes out pretty good so if you are interested in that just click here. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have all these years.

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Brent Ross' Beef Stew

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