UFOs. What Would Rosie Do?

Rosie is sitting at her kitchen counter,

looking out at the water, contemplating.

What to do?
What to cook?

I don't know whether you've noticed or not,
but Rosie doesn't eat all that much meat,
unless it's recently been swimming.

Every now and then,
I do have a craving for red meat,
generally in the form of a bloody rare steak,
or some type of offal,
and I'm looking here at livers, either calf or chicken.
But lately, nada.

Which brings me to our meal today.
It's Beef Stew.

How did Rosie get to Beef Stew?

That's a good question.

She was freezer diving.
And she came up with some UFOs.

That would be Unidentified Frozen Objects.

The bottom is a sirloin; the top, I think, a Denver steak.

We bought this meat months ago,

 back when we still had a taste for meat.

And here's the thing, and part of the reason

I don't eat much red meat anymore:

The meat I get at the supermarkets lately,

has not been all that good, flavor-wise or texture-wise.

So, yeah.
 I'll freeze it for later use.

Like it's gonna get better. 

As I'm known to say,

"That meat wasn't good when it was good.

So I starts a-thinkin' about how I can rectify this sitchayshun

and make this meat something one would want to eat

and have it, you know, taste good.

I came up with UFO Stew.

And it was good.

Rosie's UFO Stew
Makes 2 quarts and 1 pint.


1 sirloin steak, cubed
1 Denver steak, cubed
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
pinch or two of sugar
1 TB unsalted butter
1 TB peanut oil

1  13.7 oz. beef broth
1 320oz. can peeled plum tomatoes
3/4 cup Cabernet Sauvignon

1 15.25 oz. can corn

1 white potato
1 sweet potato

1 cup chopped red onion
1 cup chopped peppers (I used a combination or green, yellow, orange, and red.)

1 cup dried beans, cooked
(If you must use canned, rinse them extremely well, and don't tell me about it.)


Rosie Note:  With this "recipe" as with most of what I prepare, I cook as I go along, adding this, and Oh, Look!  Let's add that!!!   Would I have done anything differently?  Yes.  I would've started with more meat.  I would've DOUBLED the meat.  And it doesn't have to be sirloin or Denver steaks. You can use pretty much any beef steak.

Trim and cube the meat.  Mix together cornstarch, salt, and pepper.  Sift over meat cubes, tossing to coat.

Heat butter and oil in large stock pan until almost smoking.  Add in meat and sprinkle a little sugar over it.   Sear meat, stirring as needed, then add in broth, scraping up the "goodie bits" on the bottom of the pan.  That's where the flavor is.  Pour in the tomatoes, rinsing out the can with water into the pot.  Bring to boil, reduce to low simmer, cover, and cook about one hour.

One hour later:  Pour in the wine.  Cover and cook another hour.

One hour later:  Add in can of corn and its juice, rinsing with water.  Add chopped onion and peppers.
Add in diced potatoes.  Cover and cook another hour.  Season to taste with salt.

One hour later:  Add in cooked kidney beans, heat, and season to taste.

Heat through and serve.

I had some toasted homemade ciabatta slices on the side for one serving; the next meal, I served it with corn muffins.

Enjoy!

I mixed the cornstarch with salt and pepper, then sifted over the meat cubes.

Toss.

And sear.
Scrape up those goodie bits!

After stewing for a few hours, the meat is fall-apart tender.

And now, it has ...  FLAVOR too!