When we were growing up, we watched a lot of Rachael Ray. Every night when mom was cooking dinner, or we were hanging out on a weekend, 30 Minute Meals was on. We bought the cookbook, and when I moved out on my own that was the first one I bought for myself. Basically, Rachael Ray is life. Deal. Mom used to make this beef stew when it was cold outside, and it always brings me back to sitting in our kitchen at the island bugging mom while she cooked. I remember having leeks for the first time, probably in this stew, and wondering why mom never put them in. (In case you were wondering, it’s because they were sold in packs of 4 and we only needed 1, so we just skipped it.) The stew is hearty and delicious. It definitely needs some bread to sop it up. Sometimes I do a white bread, but this time I went with a jalapeno cornbread. My husband loves spicy, I love cornbread. (PS Mom, I’m low on cornmeal)

Beef Stew

• Olive oil
• Beef Sirloin (24 oz, cubed)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 leek, cut in half, sliced, and rinsed really REALLY well.*
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 3 ribs celery, diced
• 1 lb small red skinned potatoes, quartered
• 4-6 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 tbsp grape jelly

You’re going to need your big pot for this. I used my Le Creux dutch oven because it’s super easy to clean and cooks really easily. While you’re heating your olive oil in your large pan of choice, cube your meat and salt/pepper it. When the oil is heated, you’ll cook the meat until just browned on the outside, then take it out and set it aside in a small bowl. It will finish cooking later.

Add your butter in the pot, along with leeks, carrots, celery, potatoes,garlic, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs. Salt and pepper them. Cook your veggies about 10 minutes before you add the flour. You’re using that flour to coat the veggies, so you get a good sauce.

After you’ve added your flour, add your red wine. We totally used the sparking shiraz for this, because it was surprisingly dry. I like to use whatever wine I’m going to be drinking later for cooking. The rule of thumb is “if it’s not good enough to drink, it’s not good enough to cook with” and I 100% agree.

Once the wine has reduced for a minute or so, add your broth and jelly. Then put your meat back in the pan. Let everything simmer for a while, until your vegetables are cooked through and soft, and your meat is whatever you want it to be.

*I’m not sure you understand how dirty a leek is, friends. when you cut that thing, make sure you separate all the layers and mix them around in a colander while under water. They are so dirty.

Jalapeno Cornbread

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup all purpose flour, sifted
• 1 cup cornmeal (I will always use JT Pollard, no matter how much my mom has to send me)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup drained white corn
• 1/4 cup chopped, drained, pickled jalapenos
• 1/4 cup chopped, drained roasted pimientos (which we found by the pickles)

Preheat your oven to 375 and rub your cast iron skillet with butter. Ours is 8 inches and is perfect for cornbread.

Sift your flour, cornmeal, salt, and garlic powder together. Mix your melted butter, eggs, and cream in a separate bowl. (I added the cream a little at a time to the butter to adjust the temperature so nothing would do weird stuff.)

Mix your liquids into your solids, and add your corn, jalapenos, and pimientos. This is going to be super thick, but so good.

Dump it into your skillet and spread it evenly, cook for about 50 minutes.

Seriously guys, this cornbread is so good. Just make it with whatever. The corn is sweet, and the peppers give it an extra kick.

Sparkling Shiraz

I was really surprised at how well this melded into the stew for this week. I was initially hesitant about using it, because it was a sparkling. I went with my gut and used it anyway and it totally worked. It has just enough of that usual Shiraz: the dryness, the fruit forward. Add that to the unexpected bubbles and the texture that it adds. This particular wine was a south Australian wine, which I didn’t know much about. I enjoyed how balanced it was, and how enjoyable it was to drink!