Happy Stewday Tewsday!

For the second Stewsday I observed/celebrated back in November, I did a Filipino sort of beef stew (er, not pictured above) that is kinda sorta reminiscent of a pot roast more than a stew proper. It’s this one recipe my mom used to do when I was little and, in learning it, I was surprised to discover how simple it was to make. In particular, there’s not a lot that even goes into it. Seriously. And it’s got a light gravy to it.. so light, really, that calling it a gravy seems like cheating. It’s definitely a sauce, anyway, but it’s in no way thick. This dish, if anything, barely qualifies as a stew because of the thinnish sauce but since I’ve always known this to be a beef stew variant, a beef stew it is, then.

So, there.

Neener.

Beef Stew in Worcestershire Sauce

what you’ll need

• 2 lbs beef stew meat
• 1/4 c soy sauce
• 1/2 c worcestershire sauce
• 1 large tomato (diced)
• 1 large onion (diced)
• 1/2 – 1 lb long green beans (trimmed, chopped in half if too long)
• 2-3 bay leaves
• ground black pepper
• water

what to do:

1. Throw all the ingredients into a large pot and fill with enough water just to cover everything. Allow contents to reach a rolling boil.
2. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and let stew uncovered for about two hours or until tender, stirring occasionally. Should the water level run low and the meat hasn’t yet tenderized, add more water. Do note that the flavor you’re going for will not be there until after the meat has gotten tenderized. If at that point the flavor isn’t quite yet to your liking, only then should you adjust the flavors by adding more soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, pepper or even salt. Doing so beforehand will be a futile effort as the flavors will change over time as the meat breaks down. This can be served with a side of bread but is ideally served over rice.
3. Enjoy.

I came across the above pictured at a local Stop ‘n Shop some time ago and it struck me as so terribly random that I absolutely had to take a picture of it. And, well, I did.

If anything, taking the photograph was necessary in order to prove that the encounter did in fact occur because the sight of that label just baffled me. I mean, I didn’t quite understand how to make sense of it then and to this day its meaning continues to elude me.

Extra mild? What? Or, better yet, how?

So I turn to you, O Spatula Readership, what does “Extra Mild” mean to you as it relates to hot dogs made of chicken, pork and beef? What do you think the good people at Stop ‘n Shop meant? Be serious or, hell, don’t be. Those hot dogs certainly weren’t.

(They were extra mild!)

For the last couple of years now, I’ve been trying to get a special event.. nay, culinary and gastronomical tradition.. up off the ground and celebrated in as many places as I could influence. Last year, it was all set to happen: I had a plan, a mission and I was possessed of the drive to follow through and do it. I was just going to be the one guy doing it but damn it all if I wasn’t going to through with it anyway. Somehow, though, I was thwarted. Somehow, I had missed the window of opportunity to enact this endeavor and, consequently, that year was devoid of my tasty, tasty schemings. Having failed to carpe my diem then, I had to wait until such a time when next the occasion would present itself.

..which brings us to this year. This year, dear gentlemen and ladies, I managed to do it. This year it actually happened. And furthermore, it became an effort that extended beyond just the one mere person. This year, this first year, I wasn’t alone in my pioneering travails: I inadvertently wound up inspiring a small number of people around the country (and even in Canada) to follow suit and join me in my praises. Hallelujah!

So, that all said, I began my efforts to usher in a brand new tradition this year. This year I introduced to the world the idea of Stewday Tewsday (otherwise known as Stewsday). (More…)

The finished product over penne.

What is the red stuff you put on pasta? Most people will say “sauce,” and in some cases that’s correct. In my family, the standard tomato-based sauce for pasta is called gravy. The difference between gravy and what most Americans might call marinara sauce or simply red sauce is the presence of meat. A lot of meat. An astounding quantity of meat. Our Old World relatives use the masculine nouns sugo or ragù to differentiate from the meatless salsa, which coincidentally is feminine.

Trapped inside by a horrendous downpour on the last weekend of August, I decided to take the many hours to warm the house and make a batch of gravy. (More…)

It took me a while to realize and, I guess, admit that the standard (American) Chinese fare of Beef with Broccoli is, in fact, a stir fry dish. I always just thought of it as Beef with Broccoli.. ya know, the dish.. and that stir fries as a trend (as an artistic movement?) happened way later.

Imagine my befuddlement.

Anyway, Beef with Broccoli is a classic and really easy to do stir fry dish. It’s probably the main reason I ever even buy broccoli and it’s a great excuse to get some vegetables on your plate. Its colors and textures are a great complement to the oh-my-god-it-really-is-what’s-for-dinner beef that plays center stage in this dish. And did I mention that it’s easy? Because, yah, it totally is.

Observe:

And here are our vegetable cast of characters: broccoli, onions and carrots. Scallions, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts are optional, sure, but I like to add them for the sake of variety not only in flavors but in textures as well. Another nice-to-have would be baby corn if you got ‘em. But if you’re not so daring, you’re solid just sticking to the first three vegetables.

And here we have some of the more.. saucier.. ingredients: soy sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper and corn starch. If you don’t have oyster sauce, you can always just throw in about a tablespoon of sugar to kinda sorta make up for the lack. (More…)