Chef Big Monkey's Beef Stew

Last night I prepared a delicious beef stew for my family. I found the recipe on the Food Network's web site, and this is the second time I have made it - Red Wine Beef Stew with Potatoes and Green Beans. If you click on my link, you can see the ingredient list complete with instructions. I will be giving my two cents worth of advice to guide you through the process. The recipe says it takes 2 hours and 20 minutes total time, but I would allow 4 hours. The potatoes I used (Yukon gold) take much longer to cook than they say. I supersized many of the ingredients using lots more carrots and potatoes than the recipe called for.

Here I am browning the beef. Normally I don't use real butter, but I did follow the recipe in this instance. Browning the beef in butter adds a great flavor to the stew.

I'm cooking up the carrots and onions in the leftover beef juices. The aroma is just incredible!

I used a Cabernet Sauvignon for the red wine. The key to the wine is use something you would like to drink. When I sent my assistant to get ingredients Sunday morning, she was quite perturbed because she had forgotten that Florida doesn't allow alcohol sales before 11:00 am on Sundays. Duh! She had to return for a second trip later in the day. If you are a wine buffoon like Laura, just pick a medium priced bottle that has a cork instead of a screw top. Removing the cork was an ordeal in itself, but I won't go into that. Very important - drink the leftover wine during the cooking process.

Four hours later... hiccup! Here's my finished stew pot. Doesn't it look divine?

Finally it's time to eat! Since it took so long to prepare this stew, I made sure we had plenty of leftovers for future meals. I think it will be even more savory after sitting in the fridge for a couple of days.