Beef Stew

Nothing warms you up all the way to your toes better than a healthy batch of old-fashioned, made-from-scratch beef stew. This issue’s recipe feature is all about getting down to our roots and, perhaps, dig into a little heritage. Being quite a bit Irish myself, I reached out to my Aunt Erin to talk to her about my Grandma Blanche’s cooking and what Grandma made that was from the roots of our Irish heritage or inspired by our heritage. I recall Grandma making so many interesting dishes, one of which she was wellknown for: the giant batch of oatmeal she made each year on Christmas.

I must say, it really was delicious and still can’t be replicated to this day. However, there was another staple to the Keller household I didn’t know frequented the

By Megan Keller

homemade beef stew. Aunt Erin sent me a picture of Grandma’s recipe card, and I just couldn’t wait to make this.

Blanche Keller was an exquisite woman — very fashionable; liked to have a lot of things; she also cared deeply for her family, always making sure they had what they needed. Her love for animals was a blessing to many, something I think I learned from her.

Anytime we went to Grandma’s house it was filled with delicious food and snacks — everything we couldn’t have on a regular day. I felt connected to her as I started to prep this meal. It was really fun to think how she may have made this herself, knowing my dad and his three sisters sat around the table and ate this very meal many times. I have made so many different dishes, it’s the ones from family that I feel are the most fun.

I prepared a simple rustic round bread recipe to accompany the stew. With four hours to wait, I went to the barn to work for a while. When I came back in, the house was filled with amazing aromas. I was taken back to my childhood at my Grandma’s, her house actually smelled like this often.

Once the stew was complete, I pulled it out of the oven while the bread was finishing. I did make a small batch of gravy to add to the stew as I think I may have used a bit too many veggies. Since this makes a healthy batch to feed four to five adults, we packaged up half the stew and bread, and dropped off dinner for the neighbors.

Making a meal and sharing it with people you care about is a great way to stay connected. I encourage you to find old recipes, try them out and have fun taking a foodie walk down memory lane. D

4-Ingredient Round Bread

Recipe courtesy of onsuttonplace.com

Ingredients

3 cups white flour

1 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups very hot water

Directions

1. In a large bowl put the hot water and yeast. Stir to mix and let set for 5 minutes.

2. Add flour one cup at a time along with the salt. Stir to combine. Dough will be shaggy and messy.

3. Cover with plastic wrap and let set for 12-18 hours. Do not refrigerate.

4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place 5- to 6-quart pot and lid in oven. Any type of pot can be used as long as it’s ovenproof to 450 degrees and has a lid.

5. Right after the pan is placed in the oven, dump dough onto a heavily floured surface. Flour your hands and shape dough into a ball.

6. Cover with plastic wrap from your bowl and let rest for the 30 minutes it takes to heat the pot.

7. After 30 minutes, remove the pot from the oven and carefully place the dough inside. Remember: It is very hot.

8. Cover and bake for 25 minutes.

9. Remove lid and bake for 10 more minutes.

10. After removing from oven, lift bread out of the pan and place on rack to cool completely.