Beef Stew

It is cold and rainy tonight which is a rarity in Phoenix, so I decided to take advantage of it and make beef stew. Stew is a winter favorite of mine. I saw this recipe in my new Barefoot Contessa cookbook and knew that it would be perfect tonight. Warning: This recipe is very time consuming. For those of you that work full time, I would recommend that you save it for a day off. I would also omit the red wine the next time I make it. The taste of the wine was very over-powering!

Parker's Beef Stew
Source: Barefoot Contessa: Back to the Basics

Ingredients:
2.5 pounds good-quality chuck beef, cut into 1 1/4" cubes
1 (750ml) bottle good red wine ( I used 1/2 of the bottle)
3 whole garlic clove, smashed
3 bay leaves
6 oz bacon, cut into 1" pieces ( I used center cut bacon)
2 cups + 2 tbsp A/P flour
salt & pepper
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
olive oi ll
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1.5" chunks
1 pound small potatoes, halved or quartered
1 (14.5) oz can of beef stock ( I used 32 oz to sub for the remaining wine)
1 large branch of fresh rosemary( I omitted)
1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained (I used 1 small can of fire roasted tomatoes to cut back on oil)
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 (10 oz) package of frozen peas ( I omitted)

Directions:

Place the beef in a bowl with the red wine, garlic clove, and bay leaves. Cover the bowl and marinate overnight in the fridge.

Brown the bacon in a large saute pan until crispy. With a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a Dutch oven. Combine 2 cups of flour, 1 tbsp salt & 1 tbsp pepper in a bowl.
Lift the beef out of the marinade and discard the bay leaves and garlic, saving the marinade. In batches, dredge the beef cubes in the flour an then shake off the excess. In the same saute pan, brown half of the beef over medium for 5-7 minutes, turning to brown all sides.
Place the browned beef in the Dutch oven with the bacon and brown the remaining beef. Add the second batch to the Dutch oven.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Lower the heat under the saute pan to medium-low, add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, adding extra olive oil if necessary. Add the minced garlic and saute 1 more minute. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Place all of the veggies in the Dutch oven with the beef. Add 2.5 cups (I used 1 cup) of the reserved marinade (discard the rest) to the saute pan and cook over high heat to deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping all of the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Add the beef stalk, rosemary, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and s&p. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables in the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover the pot and place it in the oven for 2 hours, until the veggies are tender, stirring once during cooking. If the stew is boiling rather than simmering, lower the heat to 275 degrees.

When the stew is done, discard the rosemary branch. Ladle 1 cup of the pan juices into a bowl and whisk 2 tbsp of flour into it. Pour it back into the stew, stir gently, and simmer for 3 more minutes, until thickened. Stir in the frozen peas, season to taste, and serve hot.

Note: I eliminated the entire last step. I thought that the stew was thick enough without adding the extra flour.