Food on Friday

Friday, January 28, 2011

Tomorrow, we are having some neighbors over for dinner. Originally, it was going to be two other couples, but one of the couples has come down with bad colds, so now it will jut be one other couple. I was going to break out my favorite dinner party cookbook (it has 40 seasonally-organized menu's complete with appetizers, first courses, main courses, desserts, and wine pairings!!!!!!! LOVE!!!!), but now I think I might make my favorite beef stew recipe (and cornbread and some kind of dessert). But it sounds kind of pedestrian (HA!) for a "dinner party". What do you think? Ina Garten always likes to serve comfort food at her dinner parties, so can I jump on her bandwagon? I promise it is an amazing recipe...

(adapted from here)

3 Tbs vegetable oil
1-2 lbs beef, cubed
1/4 cup steak sauce
1/4 cup worchestershire sauce
1 packet of stew seasoning (or 1/4 cup of homemade stew seasoning)
6 cups water
1 can tomato sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes
4 medium potatoes, cubed
2-3 carrots, chopped
1/4 cup sugar
3 Tbs butter
1 onion, roughly chopped
cornstarch (if desired)

In a dutch oven or large(r) pot, heat the oil and brown the beef tips in the hot oil. Add the steak sauce and worchestershire sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add the stew seasoning and water, stir. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook for an hour or longer, until the potatoes and carrots are tender. I like a gravyish stew, so when it is almost done, I ladle a cup of the broth/liquid into a small bowl and add several tablespoons of cornstarch. Whisk this together and pour back into the pot, and stir this around until the sauce thickens. (Repeat if desired until the sauce is how you like it.)

11 comments:

Bridget said...

I want you to come cook for me A!!

Melissa said...

Ina can never steer you wrong!

Have fun at your dinner party. I know your guests will love it.

p.s. I made the italian sausage soup you posted last week and it was oh.so.good. Thanks for posting that!!

Adele said...

That sounds delicious. And a beef stew...there's just something so secure and comforting about it. I think you can never go wrong with that. Have a good dinner party!

AL said...

I *love* beef stew, so I think it's great to serve at a dinner party. And cornbread, yum!

Coco said...

I think it's PERFECT for a dinner party! Nice warm comfort food, and good friends. What else do you need? Oh yeah, chocolate. :)

Trisha said...

That sounds yummy! Can you send some to me?

Jessica said...

MMmmmMMMMMmmGooood!
Ina's recipes are just great, aren't they? I don't think anything is wrong with serving soup for a dinner party. Yum!

Unknown said...

Sounds delishous to me :)

Rambler said...

Sounds awesome. Hope it all went well! Would love some easy veggie or chicken recipes on another installment of "Food on Friday". :)

Anonymous said...

I think it sounds yummy. Warm food on a cold day always hits the spot. I hope it goes well!

Deanna: Infertile Momma said...

What is the title of your favorite cookbook that has the complete menu? That sounds awesome!!!