Chianti beef stew for a fine winter meal

   

Chianti Marinated Beef Stew
Hello again my faithful followers! I hope everyone is having a good new year. What, with the economic and political climate the way it is, how can we not be, right? We certainly are doing OUR best here in this house to eek by! With the budding personality our little one shows, our life is very enjoyable. And after a second surgery for a torn Meniscus I am back in action! The surgery and recovery are going      very well. Thanks to everyone for kind your support.

Yesterday! Yes, yesterday afternoon I started by browning the beef brisket for this unbelievable Chianti beef stew. All I can say is wow! The flavor came mostly from the Chianti and the canned beef broth.  I used only 1/4 tsp. of salt and 1/8 tsp. of pepper for 1-3/4 lbs. of brisket. The small amount of garlic gave some flavoring but the 2 sprigs of Rosemary gave the stew the balance and depth to the stew. I was Mr. Mom while my wife Ann took a few things to Kangaroo Kids, a children's  resale shop. So I put the Sophster in the highchair for a snack while I browned the meat and chopped the Pancetta, and chopped up some Cantaloupe for a snack for the wee tyke to keep her happy.  So I got the carrots and celery out and browned the Pancetta while Winne the Pooh was playing in the background. Then I couldn't put off Sophie any more, all my diversions had been used up in that 20 plus minutes. But I got the carrots, celery, garlic and liquids in the pot and even transferred the growing stew to a large stock pot. Next we got a chair and pulled it up to the sink and she watched me cut green beans with Winne and crew still in the background. She did really good too!! I only had to remind her not to dance while on a chair four or five times, not too bad in my book. I did work at a feverish pace because I know how it is. Hey, I wanted to dance too. With the stew on and not a drop of drinkable wine in the house yet, we read a couple of books and then MOMMA came home. Yeah, momma is home. So while those two cuddled and put away the groceries I got the Kalamata olives out of one of the bags, ah yes, and a bottle of Merlot, cracked that baby open, poured us each a glass, added the olives and sat down for a few minutes. After an hour on the stove I sampled the stew broth, because frankly I thought I would need to add some seasoning to the stew. It was incredible! I didn't change at thing! So after simmering for another hour we all sat down to eat. Ann is not a big eater but we both went back for a second helping. By the end of the meal we both agreed, it was delicious. The only thing I did differently was to marinate the brisket for 26 hours.

So here are the ins and outs: I used a bottle of Bolla Chianti in the stew, on sale from our grocer. I paid $8.99 for a $15 bottle of wine and for the meal I picked up a bottle of Colli Senesi Chianti from Garland Wines in St. Louis, MO.  I only paid $17.99 for the 750 ml bottle and I must say it was a big wine, smooth on the palette with a lingering after taste. I would definitely recommend this Sienese Chianti for a pairing such as this or just to enjoy at the end of the day. So, in closing I wish to thank Giada DeLaurentiis for this awesome Italian stew. Her recipe is easy to follow and the ingredients for the meal only set me back about $26.00 and at about an hour to prepare, it was well worth it.







ingredients 
4 to 6 servings

2 ½ to 3 pound beef brisket 1 (750 ml) bottle Chianti wine 4 tablespoons olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 (4-ounce) piece pancetta, cut into ¼-inch pieces 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces 1 stalk celery, chopped into ½-inch pieces 2 cloves garlic, peeled ¼ cup (1 ½ ounces) kalamata olives, halved 6 ounces green beans, halved 4 medium red potatoes, quartered 2 sprigs rosemary 2 sage leaves 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes 4 cups beef broth Chianti Marinated Beef Stew Place the beef in a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish. Pour the wine over the meat and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 1/2 hours. Turn the meat over and marinate for another 1 1/2 hours.  Remove the meat from the wine and pat dry with paper towels. Reserve the wine.  In a large Dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Season the meat on all sides with salt and pepper.  Using tongs, place the meat in the pan and brown on all sides, about 2 minutes each side. Remove the meat and add the remaining oil.  Add the pancetta and cook, stirring frequently for 2 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, garlic, olives, green beans, potatoes, rosemary, and sage. Cook for 3 minutes. Pour the reserved wine, tomatoes, and beef broth into the pan, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the meat to the pan and bring the liquid to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until the meat is very tender.  Remove the meat and the rosemary sprigs from the stew. Place the meat on a cutting board and cut into quarters. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into bite-size pieces. Add the shredded meat to the stew and cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes.