Before everyone’s preoccupied with Thanksgiving and, then, the long slog of gift-buying (and its ever-faithful companions, worry and guilt), I have some fun fall things to discuss; namely, stew and Michigan.
Above is the stew in question, and its origins are uncertain. I googled it and found the exact recipe on a few sites – but with no citations! Someone references her mom, and another person says that she found it “in a magazine, years ago.” I couldn’t agree more, with both.
I don’t know what’s French about the FOS besides, maybe, the half-cup of wine – since it’s certainly not the tomato juice and instant Tapioca. But who cares: it’s tasty, super easy and cheap. We’ve fiddled with the original recipe: two pounds (or less, even) of beef works fine, and I probably triple the vegetables. Just put everything in front of you and start chopping. There’s no need to brown the meat or even deal with an onion (just a bag of frozen tiny onions!). In fact, you could probably use a cleaver on everything with no loss of quality. Dump everything in a pot with two bay leaves and there you have it. Makes the house smell nice, too!
Good to know:
• Minute Tapioca and the frozen pearl onion have gotten very hard to find! I used to get these at the grocery store, but last week I could only find them at the fancy grocery store. Both ingredients are about as fancy as carrots, so I don’t understand.
• Like all stew, it tastes much better than it looks. Although, artfully arranged, well-lit, and photographed by someone who knows how to use a real camera (not me), it looks pretty good!
So, my younger sister is a doctor, can make interesting small-talk at parties, and doesn’t look awkward in cowboy boots. Surprisingly, I don’t hate her. But I do think she’s testing my limits:
She and her boyfriend took a trip to Michigan last weekend; specifically, they visited the southwestern corner of the state, which we know (and don’t pretend you don’t!) for its vineyards and wineries. They walked on little docks, drank Michigan wine, explored charming lake-side towns, and stayed in a bed-and-breakfast already decorated for Christmas! My Midwest-envy has become very acute, and if she gets to Door County before me…well, we’ll all be sorry.
You were able to intertwine both…I love it!
my solution is to wait until the last minute and swoop in for a fine feeding. that stew looks delicious, however, and much easier to make than a thanksgiving dinner.
the midwest! who knew it could be so lovely? all those lakes and b&b’s, so very tempting.