Saturday, December 5, 2020

Braised Beef & Root Vegetables And Covid-19 Hits Close

We last made this dish in March, 2018 and decided it would be a good meal for our Thursday delivery on a cold December day.  I had adapted the recipe from Emeril Lagasse and used the same one again but made 1½ recipes so we would have some as well.  I won’t reproduce the recipe here but it can be found at this LINK.   I only used four cups of beef broth and thickened with seven tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with some water before adding the root vegetables and it was just right.

I used five pounds of well trimmed sirloin, cut it into cubes, seasoned with salt and Emeril's Essence, browned it in three batches, and removed it to a plate. 



Then I cooked the mirepoix (French speak for carrots, onion, and celery) until it was tender and stirred in the herbs and spices. 


After that, the meat was returned to the pan along with wine and beef broth and it simmered for 90 minutes to tenderize the meat.

Finally the root vegetables went into the pan to cook until tender (about an hour).  I used sweet potato, winter squash, and carrots but had to omit the parsnips as the local store had none.  I’d say there is little demand for them in this tiny southern town - turnips are more likely around here. 


We served it over wide egg noodles and once again, it was very good and something to keep on the make again list.

Covid-19

After nine months of just reading and hearing about Covid-19, it has finally impacted people we know.  Our neighbors and close friends have advised us that the family of Steve’s son have all tested positive along with one of their close friends and, even closer to home, Cindy has it in California while visiting her daughter.  She apparently got it from her local son the day before she left and now her daughters family has all tested positive.  So far, Cindy has had very mild symptoms and hopefully it will stay that way and since she went from her son’s house to the airport, she had no interaction with us.  So, I made a major trip to the store, cancelled a doctors appointment and a foot surgery, got a very short haircut, and we now plan to hunker down thru the holidays then see where things are.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

12/3/20 meal date

8 comments:

  1. That gravy sauce looks wonderful bet that meat was fork tender!

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  2. Larry, Braised beef with root vegetables over noodles, definitely cool weather comfort food! Sorry to hear about Cindy's travails as well as Steve's family. We are also hunkering down for the rest of the year...although we've pretty much been this way since March! We're in a vaccine holding pattern... Stay Safe and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  3. Another great meal. We have lost a family member to COVID. We continue to be anti social except Zoom and being outdoors. Hopefully a light is at the end of the tunnel.

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  4. It most certainly seems that the virus is closing in around us ... even as careful and quarantined as we've been, sometimes I wonder how we're NOT going to catch it. We spent Thanksgiving alone and we'll spend Christmas just the two of us. I'm glad to hear you're battening the hatches at your house. That stew looks wonderful Larry.

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  5. The braised beef looks comforting. It hit close to home for me too. My family was exposed in Idaho when we were there moving my mom last month. Three of my sister's family members and my son tested positive. We were in lockdown at my home for 3 weeks. He is feeling much better and only has a slight cough now. Thankfully, my daughter, husband, and I avoided getting it and tested negative twice during the lockdown. Sending love to your family--I hope everyone heals quickly.

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  6. Great dish, Larry, it looks delicious! It's a scary thing with covid, we know someone too who had it. We are definitely hunkered down here too. Take care and be safe.

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  7. I was preparing to leave for the Smokies for a week with my oldest son's family, when the second to youngest called and said he was on the way home from a work assignment, possibly with COVID. I got out a day early, we went on vacation, then when Ryan's test came back positive, I went to get tested (thankfully negative), and stayed away for an extra week. Now I'm home and we are all hunkered down (with negative tests), and eagerly awaiting the vaccine. Stay safe, Larry; sooner or later it has to be over!

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  8. Covid is definitely scary, we know of several cases among our friends but thankfully and hopefully we will remain healthy. It is times like this that we need comforting meals and this is certainly one of them. Stay safe.

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