A deeply flavored, rich, and cozy beef stew is usually an all-day, multiple-pan affair. But this recipe simplifies the steps so that you can have this stew, which is mostly hands-off cooking, on the table in a maximum of 2 hours. #meandthemoose #beefstew #dinnerrecipes #beefrecipes

Weeknight beef stew

March 24, 2022 by Rebecca Davis in Cooking, Fall, Food, Kid eats, No refined sugar, Nut-free, Recipes, Toddler eats, Winter

A deeply flavored, rich, and cozy beef stew is usually an all-day, multiple-pan affair. But this recipe simplifies the steps so that you can have this stew, which is mostly hands-off cooking, on the table in a maximum of 2 hours.

Take me to the recipe!

Okay, so I’ve tried every beef stew recipe out there. (No, I haven’t, but I’ve tried A LOT.) The best ones require time and effort: Multiple cooking methods, multiple steps, multiple pans, etc. And the results have largely been worth the effort. BUT, if you have a busy family, young kids, a demanding job, or just don’t feel like tending a stew all day, there is a simpler beef stew option!

I did a bunch of research and tried a bunch of tricks. My goal was to achieve a rich flavor without using every pan in my kitchen and without requiring a ton of work. Some of my shortcuts worked and some didn’t. I think I’ve landed at a happy medium that isn’t exactly “set it and forget it” but that will get you a lot more bang for your flavor buck than a quick stew made in, say, the slow-cooker.

My first shortcut was to brown the meat in one batch in the oven instead of searing it in multiple batches on the stovetop. I know searing is the way to lock in moisture and to achieve some caramelization on the outside of the meat, but it takes me FOREVER and my hand gets very tired from holding the tongs and rotating the cubes until they’re evenly browned. So instead, I patted everything dry and roasted it at high heat in the oven for a few minutes to get that caramelization.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT SALT: I found that if I didn’t salt the meat at all before the roasting, the end results were slightly bland. However, when I over salted the meat before roasting, it dried out because too much moisture came out during that initial cook. So, use a judicious pinch of salt before roasting and then generously salt the rest of the dish at various points in the cooking.

Then, I stirred in some flour right after that initial roast and along with the onions and carrots. I found that adding in the flour at this stage rather than at the end, allowed the flour to cook and thicken the sauce without any added fuss.

My next major shortcut was to whizz a majority of the ingredients in a blender and pour it all over the meat and veggies before a long, slow braise. Less chopping! No garlic fingers! Win win! But, if you don’t want to dirty your blender or food processor (which I completely understand) a traditional chop will do just fine.

Weeknight beef stew

Time: 1 3/4- 2 hours
Yield: 4-6 servings

2 lbs stew beef cubes
1 Tbsp kosher salt, divided (see note above)
3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
2 cups beef stock
1 cup red wine
2 anchovies
6 large garlic cloves, divided
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 large onion
2 large carrots

Optional topping:
1/2 lb mushrooms (optional)
1 Tbsp olive oil or butter, or a combination
1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 500. Pat the beef cubes dry. Add in a single layer to a large Dutch oven. Top with 3 Tbsp of butter cut into 6-9 small cubes. Sprinkle very lightly with salt. Roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.

While the beef is roasting, add the beef stock, wine, anchovies, 3 cloves garlic, thyme, 1-2 very large pinches of salt, and pepper to a blender or food processor and whizz for 30 seconds.

Once the beef is quickly caramelized, turn the oven down to 375. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of flour over the meat and mix. Add the onions and carrots and remaining 3 large garlic cloves to the pot. Sprinkle with another judicious pinch of salt. Stir.

Top with the liquid and bake in the oven, uncovered, for 1¼-1½ hours, stirring once halfway through the cooking time. The dish is done once the liquid has cooked down and thickened into a gravy-like consistency.

Optional topping:
While the beef is cooking, chop or slice the mushrooms and sauté in butter and olive oil. Once they have released their water and that water has evaporated, add the vinegar and cook for 1-2 more minutes until the vinegar has also evaporated.

Creamy mushroom soup

February 28, 2022 by Rebecca Davis in Cooking, Gluten-free, Recipes, Toddler eats, Winter

This creamy mushroom soup is a far cry from the gloopy, gray stuff that comes in a can, but is almost as easy to make.

Take me to the recipe!

Two mushroom recipes so close together, huh? Yes! But hear me out. This recipe is so unctuous, so creamy, so warming, and so filling, that I couldn’t hold onto it any longer.

What makes this better than the canned version? Well, the color, first of all. The golden sautéed mushrooms, the purple shallots, and the red paprika lend this soup a much richer and nicer color than the gray stuff (it’s not delicious).

A note about adding dairy to hot soup: It’s possible to split the cream if you add cold dairy to other hot liquids. Split dairy basically looks like you’ve added thousands of little dots of cream rather than the soup looking uniformly creamy. Does that makes sense? It’s totally fine to eat and will taste good, but it sometimes doesn’t look as appetizing.

To avoid this, you can either heat up the dairy or cool down the base soup. The fattier the dairy, the less likely it is to split, so if you’re using heavy cream as I recommend for this recipe, let the cream sit at room temperature while making the rest of the soup. If it still feels chilly when you’re ready to add it, microwave it for 30 seconds before adding. If using a lighter milk or non-dairy milk, I would actually heat it to just simmering in a separate pan on the stove or significantly cool the base soup before adding it.

The texture is also completely different to the canned version. Theoretically, you could throw the mushrooms into a food processor and whizz for a few seconds to quickly chop the whole lot, but I like to cut them myself to get a range of sizes and shapes. I halve the really small shrooms, quarter the medium sized ones, and chop up the large ones. Remove the stems or don’t- that’s entirely up to you.

A note about how I tell if my mushrooms are cooked enough: I cook the mushrooms until they release some water and then that water evaporates. They will have cooked down significantly.

Creamy mushroom soup

½ cup heavy cream
24 oz mushrooms, cut into various sizes
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
Heaping ½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp paprika
2 tsp kosher salt
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2-3 large shallots, minced
½ cup white wine
4 cups stock (chicken, beef, or vegetable)

Time: about 45 minutes
Yield: 5-6 cups of soup

Measure out the heayy cream and let sit at room temperature while you make the rest of the soup. See note above about using other types of dairy in this soup.

Chop the mushrooms in varying sizes (see note above).

In a large pan, melt 1 Tbsp of butter and 1 Tbsp of olive oil over a medium flame. Once the pan is heated, add the mushrooms and cook over a medium flame, until the mushrooms have released their liquid and that liquid has evaporated, about 8-10 minutes.

Prep the rest of the ingredients while the mushrooms cook.

Once the mushrooms are relatively dry, add the thyme, paprika, salt, garlic, and shallots. Cook until the garlic and onions are fragrant and translucent, about 3 minutes. If the mixture seems very dry, add another Tbsp of olive oil.

Add the wine and stir, while scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the stock and increase the flame to medium high. Bring to a boil. Lower the flame all the way and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Add the cream and stir.

This warm, simple salad is so special thanks to the maitake mushrooms and the variety of textures and flavors. Made from expensive ingredients, this salad is meant for special occasions (or just the occasion of treating yourself), but I promise it’s worth it! #meandthemoose #salad #maitakemushrooms #warmsalad #saladrecipes #sidedishes

Maitake mushroom salad

December 20, 2021 by Rebecca Davis in Gluten-free, Holidays, Recipes, Vegetarian, Winter

This warm, simple salad is so special thanks to the maitake mushrooms and the variety of textures and flavors. Made from expensive ingredients, this salad is meant for special occasions (or just the occasion of treating yourself), but I promise it’s worth it!

Take me to the recipe!

This salad is based on my best memories from a tiny little restaurant in Brooklyn called Little Dishes that I used to frequent with my husband before it tragically closed. I remember running to this place in the thick snow when someone was having a craving for their Mac and cheese. Their food was so simple, but so thoughtfully prepared that the dishes ended up being much greater than the sum of their humble parts.

Maitake mushrooms, sometimes called Hen of the Woods, are my absolute favorite variety. They’re meaty and slightly herby with a wee bit of forest floor funk. I state from the outset that this is an expensive salad because maitakes definitely don’t come cheap and I wouldn’t substitute any other mushroom variety here. I mean, you CAN, but your salad with end up fine, instead of ethereal.

The original recipe used a local cheese that was somewhere between parmesan and gruyere. Use either in this recipe or any other favorite cheese that falls in the nutty, slightly dry realm.

A couple of notes:

Cooking the mushrooms: I like to leave the mushrooms in slightly large pieces. It will feel awkward to cook them at first because they’re pretty stiff until they heat up somewhat. Once you sear them on one side, the mushrooms will get much floppier and easier to cook.
Cooking the radicchio: I seared half of the bitter lettuce and left the other half raw for a bit of textural difference, but you don’t strictly need to do this step. I left the lettuce in pretty large pieces for the photos, but definitely slice them much thinner for the real salad.

Maitake mushroom salad

2-3 large maitake mushrooms, each cut into about 4 large pieces
1 small head of radicchio, sliced into very thin wedges
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
4-5 cups arugula (1 small bag of pre-washed lettuce is perfect)
Shallot vinaigrette (recipe below), to taste
Parmesan or gruyere cheese, to taste

Shallot vinaigrette
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp sherry or red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp minced shallot
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp mayonnaise
1 large pinch of salt

Heat the butter in a large skillet over a medium high flame. When the butter has begun to bubble and brown slightly, add the mushrooms and cook, turning every 1-2 minutes, until well browned on all sides and very floppy, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the mushrooms to a plate and sprinkle with salt.

Add the olive oil to the pan and heat until very hot, but not smoking. Sear half of the radicchio on one side and then flip to the other side and sear again. If the pan is hot enough, this should take about 5-6 minutes. Turn off the heat and sprinkle with salt.

Add the mushrooms back to the pan with the radicchio to warm back up, but don’t turn the flame back on.

Add the arugula and the raw radicchio to a large plate or bowl. Add half of the dressing and toss well. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Top with the warm mushrooms and radicchio. Pour on more dressing to taste.

Add large flakes of the nutty, salty cheese on top to taste. Serve immediately.