Text 24221, 107 rader
Skriven 2015-02-20 23:26:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
Ärende: bitter experiences 245
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 ML> Not yet. Soon, I promise (tomorrow to be exact). I was going
 ML> to head out either to the grocery or a restaurant today, but
 ML> it being ridiculously windy (a solid 30 mph augmenting 13F cold)
 NB> Pretty severe conditions y'all are having, to be sure... I heard

The conditions in Washington were nothing that would faze
an upstate New Yorker. This winter in Boston, another
story altogether.

 NB> flights were cancelled there, too... 

Thousands a day during the worst days. In Washington,
again, nothing so severe as Boston, but enough so that
I had a couple segment runs cancelled, and without them
it'll be hard for me to make status again on US Air.
I hear tell of friends and acquaintances who were stuck
in particularly inconvenient or peculiar places, far
worse than my own inconvenience.

 ML> I was compelled to stay inside and rely on my brother's
 ML> stash for sustenance, which consisted of Hormel HOT chili with
 ML> beans, something I've written about uncomplimentarily before.
 ML> It's now quite different from when I'd last had it.
 NB> Gone from bad to worse, I see....

Definitely worse.

 ML> It's soupier than before and with less meat. Actually, I
 ML> first thought it had almost no meat - what there was was
 ML> little crumbs rather like what you'd find in a specially
 ML> ungenerous Campbell's soup, but when I heated up the second
 ML> half of the can (I could tolerate only one half at a time) I
 ML> found that a bunch of protein had fallen to the bottom - this
 ML> in the form of undense, almost fluffy, bits of mystery meat
 ML> with virtually no taste. 
 NB> It settled in storage, apparently...  One needs to either shake the
 NB> can before opening, or stir it well before taking one's half... 

Having to shake a can of chili would be new to me. To be
fair to Hormel, it might have been quite an old can, given
my brother's habits. To be fair to my brother, it could
also have been Hormel's fault.

 ML>> I really do err on the generous side with onions, more even
 ML>> than with garlic. OOC I just looked on culinarylore.com, which
 ML>> has a picture of what it characterizes as medium onions, and
 ML>> they're tiny and pathetic.
 NB>> How big are (or aren't) they...?  ;) 
 ML> I'd say, eyeballing it, a quarter pound tops, more like big
 ML> shallots than even pygmy onions.
 NB> So, maybe a couple inches diameter or so...?  Sounds like small onions
 NB> at best to me...  :)

3" I'd say. Under any criteria way too small.

Irish Stout Beef Stew
categories: Ireland, Singapore, main
servings: 6

1 1/2 kg beef chuck
1 onion, diced to 1cm cubes
5 shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced to 1" cubes
1 1/2 c sweet young green peas
500 g white button mushrooms
400 ml stout, about 1 bottle
2 c beef stock
1 c chicken stock
2 Tb honey (brown sugar works in a pinch)
2 bay leaves
15 sprigs fresh thyme, tied into bundle with butcher's twine
1 ds cayenne
2 Tb tomato paste
5 Tb bacon fat-infused oil
Salt to taste

Brown beef in oil, salting liberally, searing quickly on
all sides, working in batches. Set aside and reserve in
a large pot.

Using the same browning pan, fry up the garlic, onions,
and shallots till soft and caramelised, about 5 min on
medium-high heat. Add carrots and fry till slightly
softened, 2 min. Add mushrooms and fry until water
released is almost all evaporated.

Add tomato paste and cayenne, stirring through and
frying until it smells toasty.

Add stout and stir honey till it melts.

Add thyme bundle and bay leaves.

Transfer to the pot with the beef, topping up with beef
and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then simmer for
at least 6 hr. If prepping in advance, bring to a boil
then take off heat, and pop it into the fridge to steep
overnight. Heat up on low heat for 5-6 hr the next day.

Add peas in the last 25 min before serving.

thehungrybunnie.blogspot.com

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