Thanks for your get-well wishes. Unfortunately, it's been one hell of a weekend and I think my immune system has finally decided to crap out on me. I've noticed that I'm getting sick more and more lately and I'm not sure why. I'm increasingly tired no matter how much or how little sleep I get. I know I need to just sloooooooow down and take it easy when I have time off, but there's so much to do! Late last week I sat down and watched one of my favorite shows, Barefoot Contessa, for the first time in quite a while. I'm so glad I took the time to do so. She was making another over-the-top meal for her husband, Jeffrey, and this time around he would be on the receiving end of her amazing beef stew. Jeffrey is one lucky dude. My favorite episodes feature an overly excited Ina cooking for Jeffrey when, god forbid, he's going to be home by himself for an hour. Whatever will he eat? Oh! I know! Steak AuPoivre with a side of sauteed baby carrots and a potato-fennel gratin, followed by a mixed berry pavlova. She'll whip that right up without breaking a sweat.
Now that the seasons are starting to turn around, I thought a nice hot stew would be the perfect meal for our dinner guests on Saturday night. Ben did the shopping and I planned to make the meal after work on Saturday. While it was a great idea in theory, things didn't exactly go as planned. I failed to read the recipe first, otherwise I would have known that the meat needed to marinate (in red wine...mmmmmm) overnight and the prep time takes about an hour in addition to the two hour cooking time. Our friends would have been eating at 11:00. Not good. So, I made it on Sunday instead. Guys, if you're a fan of beef stew and you're looking for the perfect meal to feed your family or friends, give this recipe a shot. It's amazing, delicious, and incredibly satisfying with layers and layers of flavors that work so well together. 
Sunday also marked a little trip to Averill Park to see an art show put on by one of the local ARC chapters. The ARC is an organization that caters to the needs of children and adults with mental retardation. The same artists who presented work for the show in Averill Park will be showing here at my shop in early 2009 and I had promised that I'd attend the reception. I'm so glad I went. The work was incredible and while the originals were not for sale, they were selling prints at an extremely fair price. The show itself took place at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts, one of the most charming little places I've seen in a long time. What looks like an old church now houses gallery space and theater space for performing arts of all shapes and sizes. If you live in the area, I can't recommend this place enough. Check it out.
Oh, and someone recently asked me to post pictures of my house (Bronwyn, I think). I tried taking some this weekend but the lighting was off for lots of reasons so I wasn't able to get anything worth posting. I'm trying, though, at different times of day so I'll have something to show you soon. I think I'll only post photos of the rooms that are done for now and it'll be an ongoing journey as more work is completed. Sound good? I love our little house and I'm so excited by the potential it has. Now, if only we had some money so we can get this stuff done!
8 comments:
Sorry you're not feeling well. Hopefully the cooler, shorter days will inspire you to rest a bit, then again, maybe you should get some Oscillococcinum.
I love Ina, I'll have to try that recipe once it cools down a bit more.
Can't wait to see the house!
Going to google Oscillococcinum.
I used to take Colloidal Silver for colds and flu but after seeing the man who turned blue from overuse, I stopped.
And yes, you should absolutely try the stew. It's amazing what a little (or a lot) red wine can do to food.
Awww, I hope you feel better sweetie! I'd make you some nice, warm tea if I could. That always makes me feel a little better. :)
The ARC art show looks amazing! I wish our local chapter would do some events like that. I suppose I should suggest it to them...hm. ^^;
Oh, I almost forgot! I'm so excited!! I finally figured out how to "friend" you on Blogger! There was a thing on my dashboard page where I could add blogs I want to follow, and it puts a little feed of your recent posts right there for me! I don't think that option was there before...if it was, I'm really embarrassed because I never noticed it until today. So, yeah. Go me! :D
mmmm ... this looks so good, I've been dreaming about stew ...have you ever tried your beef stew recipe with venison instead? YUM!! Red wine, rosemary, blackberries, and venison was the suggestion from my friend today, served with a nice Argentinian Malbec, yum again. (Of course this doesn't really work with my recent desire to return to vegetarianism...)
PLEASE feel better soon. lots of rest and self care -- what do you need to let go of right now?
xo
Thanks, Elis. My friend Dave just told me he has some magical tea for me...hopefully I'll see him soon. I felt so horrible last night and I must have looked bad, too, because Ben asked me if I needed to go to the hospital. Eek. I can't believe I'm at work today. Oh, and yes, that "blogs to follow" thing is brand spankin' new. It's neat, isn't it???
Bronwyn, just when I thought that stew couldn't get any better you mentioned blackberries. I bet those would be amazing in the stew, and I'm sure they'd compliment the red wine nicely. And Ben suggested either lamb or venison for the stew, too. You guys think alike!
Your post made me soo in the mood for stew! I might have to make some this weekend if the weather plays nice & stays cool.
get some rest kiddo & drink lots of water...Zicam always works for me if you's like to give that a try!
Do it! Do it! You'll love it, I promise. Not sure if your son will dig it (it's very red winey), but it's worth a shot. I think this would be a great meal to serve at a dinner party.
How's the weather where you are today? It's super chilly here and there are leaves (LEAVES!!!) blowing around on the ground and into my shop. So great!
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