Cabernet Beef Stew

Happy Wednesday! Hope ya’ll enjoyed Veteran’s Day yesterday – J and I sure did. We had the rare pleasure of a kid-free lunch date at the oh-so délicieux Petit Louis Bistro on the lakefront in Columbia, MD.  Petit Louis Bistro is co-owned by James Beard Finalist Cindy Wolf, who also co-owns Baltimore’s Charleston and second Petit Louis bistro location in Roland Park.

I really enjoyed sitting in the sun-filled front room of the restaurant, chatting with J. and watching passersby on what had to have been one of the most beautiful fall days ever.  We loved the gravlax (cured salmon with capers and creme fraiche), the cured duck breast charcuterie, and the apple cake. I also really enjoyed the omelet du jour, filled with roasted butternut squash and shredded chicken.

Sticking with French-inspired cuisine, today’s recipe is for a rich, hearty beef stew made with – gulp – an entire bottle of red wine. Make that almost an entire bottle, minus the glass I poured myself to sip while I was cooking. Prepare this stew when you have a Sunday afternoon to spend in the kitchen. The rich saucy beef, combined with the  pork-belly flavored vegetables, makes for an elegant family meal.

For the wine, I used  a Petit Cabernet from Boordy Vineyards, my favorite local winery. Boordy not only makes Napa-quality wines but is a worthy destination because of its beautiful grounds and full slate of events. If you’re in the Baltimore area, check out Boordy’s Guitars and Food Trucks event every Saturday and Sunday in November, or Bard in the Barn, a presentation by the  Baltimore Shakespeare Factory of The Comedy Of Errors every Sunday in December.

Cabernet Beef Stew

5.0 from 2 reviews

Cabernet Beef Stew

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

1 hour 30 mins

Total time

1 hour 40 mins

 

Cabernet Beef Stew

Author: three beans on a string

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 pounds chuck roast, cut into 1½ square-inch pieces
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• One 750-milliliter bottle cabernet sauvignon
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 ounces pork belly, diced
• 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms
• 2 cups pearl onions
• 3 carrots, peeled
• ¼ cup beef stock
• thyme and parsley for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. On the stove top, heat 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil in a large cast iron casserole over medium high heat. Add the meat to the casserole and season with the salt and pepper. Brown the beef on all sides, about 6 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and onion to the beef and cook until the onion is translucent, another 3 minutes.
4. Add the Cabernet Sauvignon, thyme, and bay leaves and bring to a boil, scraping up an brown bits from the bottom of the pot.
5. Remove the casserole from the heat, cover it and transfer it to the oven. Cook the beef until it is fork tender, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
6. About 20 minutes before the beef finishes cooking: In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 Tablespoon over medium high heat. Add the pork belly, mushrooms and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, pearl onions, carrots and beef stock and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until the broth evaporates, 10-15 minutes. Uncover, return to high heat and cook until the vegetables are browned, about 5 more minutes.
7. Combine the vegetables with the beef stew and serve garnished with thyme and parsley.

3.2.2708

 

 About the Photographs

In these photographs I used an antique grey-granite patterned bowl that made a previous appearance in the background of a previous photo in a post about seared duck breast. It’s way too pretty to be stuck in the background or to become one of those photo props that is only used once before it’s dropped off at a charity shop.  The bowl is resting on some old barn wood, and the lantern behind the bowl, borrowed from my 10-year-old son, adds to the rustic feel of the photograph.

I took these photos with my  Nikon D80, using a 28mm f2.8 NIKKOR wide angle lens.  I used a Lowell Ego tabletop light like this one, in full darkness (at about 7 p.m., with all lights in the room turned off). The light was positioned directly to the right of the food. I used a black foam board on the left side of the food to create shadow. My ISO was set at 640,  the shutter speed was 125, and the aperture was set at 3.5.

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