Beef and Barley...dare I say SOUP?

photo credit www.the kitchn.com

My husband is not a fan of just having soup for dinner, but will certainly eat it as a side.  He works out big time and needs a lot of calories and substance to fill him up, and soup doesn't cut it! In fact, I have not met a guy who IS a fan of just eating soup for dinner.  And this video assured me of this.  Anyway, I still crave homemade soup and get urges to cook it for my own sake.  But I try to find recipes that are so thick and hearty that you could disguise it as a meal, if you had to, by serving it on a plate!  Well this healthy and hearty stew (adapted from www.thekitchn.com) certainly fit the bill as I served it in a bowl, and Israel dumped it on a plate as that made more sense to him.  With homemade buttermilk biscuits (with fresh roll butter from a local farm and strawberry rhubarb jam from farm as well) and steamed veggies, this meal was quite satisfying.  Quinn really enjoyed it and thanked me for dinner.  (Awww.) I think the Dutch Oven is the key here.  Anything cast iron will really bring out the flavors!

Beef and Barley Stew
Makes 6-8 servings

2 pounds stew meat, bite-sized pieces
1 large onion, diced
4 celery stalks, sliced

5 carrots, peeled and sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup red wine (I used sherry)
2 cups beef stock (I used 3 beef bouillon plus 2 c water as I didn't have beef stock)
2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cup barley
salt and pepper

Film the bottom of a large dutch oven with canola oil and set over medium-high heat until the oil is hot. Working in batches, add a single layer of meat to the bottom of the pan. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes until the cubes loosen and are seared golden-brown. Flip the cubes and sear the other sides. When all sides are seared, remove the meat to a clean bowl or plate. Sear the remaining meat in batches. If there is any liquid in the pot after the last batch is finished, pour it over the meat.

Heat one teaspoon of canola oil in the pan and cook the onions with a pinch of salt until they are translucent and brown around the edges. Add the celery and carrots and cook until just softened.

Clear a space in the middle of the vegetables and sauté the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the thyme and bay leaf, and stir all the seasonings into the veggies.

Pour the wine into the pan to deglaze, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan as the wine bubbles. Let the wine reduce down until most of it has evaporated or been absorbed by the veggies.

Add the meat and any drippings back to the pot. Pour in the stocks and top with enough water to cover the meat and veggies about about a half an inch. Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce the heat to very low.

Cover the pot and let it simmer for 1 hour. Add the barley and cook for another 45 minutes or so until the barley is cooked and the meat is almost falling apart (check by piercing it with a fork or knife. There should be no resistance and the meat should flake apart with pressure). Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.

Bulgogi

I tried this yummy new recipe, Bulgogi, on the grill. It was scrumptulescent. Quinn helped me quite a bit. I was trying to get him to pose by the grill but all he wanted to talk about was the plane going by overhead.

(from Charity)

Bulgogi Recipe – Korean Barbequed Beef

Ingredients

1-1.5 lbs. of thinly sliced rib-eye steak purchased from a Korean market. Or you can slice your own rib-eye or sirloin steak across the grain in paper thin slices. Partially freezing the beef helps with cutting clean slices.

1/3 cup of soy sauce-I prefer Korean soy sauce but all will work, I also prefer light soy sauce

3 Tbl white sugar

1 Tbl sesame oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 of a medium yellow onion, halved and sliced into medium moon shaped slivers

2 green onions including the white parts, finely sliced into small pieces

2 Tbl toasted sesame seeds

2 pinches of black pepper

*optional 1/4 tsp. of ginger, finely minced

Directions:

Whisk all the ingredients together in a medium bowl except beef and onions. When most of the sugar has dissolved, add beef and onion slices to the bowl and massage the marinade with your hands into each slice of beef. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. To pan fry, place a few slices of beef in single layers and completely flat on a hot oiled frying pan and fry each side until cooked. Some people prefer to cook the bulgogi until some of the edges have turned dark brown and crispy. Serve with a bowl of hot rice. Enjoy!