Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Mahogany Beef Stew and Never Fail Biscuits


Doggone it's been cold here.  We probably don't have as much snow on the ground as some of our southern and western cousins do, but we sure have plenty of the low double and single digit temperatures.  Once we get chilled, the cold goes to the bone, and it seems to take forever to thaw out.  (Have you ever noticed that in some places folks use the colloquialism  unthawed, such as unthaw the meat, when they really mean thaw? I digress but felt a need to point it out, grins.)

It's a good day to turn the oven to bake something hot...


and set a pot on the stove to simmer something long and slow and comforting...

It was just one of those days when no one minded the kitchen being heated up.

For a short while during the Depression years, my grandfather cut wood for a living and, in conjunction,  my grandmother ran a small boardinghouse of sorts where the workmen could stay and she'd feed them. She provided very simple fare she told me, but her baking powder biscuits were a staple, and her biscuits were her pride and joy.  To this day I don' t know of anyone who can make them higher or fluffier or more golden.  I can still see her knobby knuckles, splayed fingertips, the heavily veined hands, working the flour and lard together until "it felt just right."  Brows furrowed, no measuring, just working quickly.

I did not inherit the baking powder biscuit gene.  I have to give my beloved, sainted grandmother credit; she did try to teach me.  I made rocks, hockey pucks, door stops, cannon ballast, but not biscuits.  I gave up. years passed.  And then I saw this recipe on Allrecipes.  And you know what?  They're just as advertised.  They are no fail!  I've made them a dozen times at least since discovering them and every time they have risen beautifully, are tender and flaky, and taste (not quite like Gram's, must be the lard!) good.

Cold weather inspires heartier meals.  I like cooking with wine; it makes the recipe seem so much more elegant, but I mostly cook with white wine, sherry, the occasional Merlot, and of course champagne in my mimosas.   As I'm not a huge beef eater and as Ole Sweetie-Pi isn't much for gussied up food, red wine stays on the shelf until it becomes vinegar.  So, when I found this recipe for Mahogany Beef Stew with Red Wine and Hoisin Sauce on Epicurious I didn't have the recommended Cabernet Sauvignon  and had to substitute Merlot.  I think the Cabernet might have been a better choice, as this stew was a bit too sweet for my tastes, but Ole Sweetie-Pi gave it a big thumbs up.  This stew has a decidedly different, but delicious, flavor because of the hoisin sauce ~ sweet, rich, hearty, winy.  It's not the beef stew I grew up with, but one that I would make again.

37 comments:

  1. Katy,
    I can almost smell the aroma of that stew. Yum! Your biscuits look incredibly light and flaky; I need to try that recipe.
    Merry Christmas to you and your family.
    Mimi

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  2. Katy..it's almost lunch time and I'm a hankerin' for some of that stew and those fluffy biscuits!
    I love that you add little stories to your post..well done girl!

    Merry Christmas!

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  3. That is my favorite biscuit recipe too! Easy and fluffy... I might have to try that stew - I love red wine and beef together, simmered until all tender and yummy! Gads - I'm making myself hungry!

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  4. I use that bisquick recipe all the time! it's great isn't it.

    I wanna come over to your house so I can listen to more stories, eat beef stew and biscuits. I'll wash dishes!!

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  5. oops I ment Biscuit, not bisquick..lol

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  6. biscuits to sop up that gravy sound wonderful... and I have a feeling we are going to be getting plenty of snow in a couple days

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  7. Oh, how I love biscuits. This recipe is similar to the one I use, except I use buttermilk. I would love your weather. It doesn't get cold enough here for my taste. Merry Christmas to you and your Sweetie Pi!

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  8. An interesting recipe with the addition of the hoisin sauce. It looks positively delicious and those biscuits!! Wow!

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  9. BWAHAHAH on "unthaw" :))

    I love the biscuit recipe too--very similar to my favorite one by Homesick Texan. Yours look yummy!

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  10. I agree with a reader above; I feel as if I can smell this! MMMM it smells divine too :) hehe Merry Christmas to you and your family. May your holidays be blessed and special xo

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  11. The stew looks amazing and I love the biscuits! I've actually made a beef stew with hoisin sauce before and love the flavors with it! Happy holidays!

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  12. Both looks delicious and yummyyy.

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  13. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! XO
    Nina

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  14. Katy, the stew looks really good....I wonder how good your beef stew would fit my plain pasta. ;-)

    Merry X'mas!

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  15. I have NO luck with biscuits either! I am going to check out that recipe.

    The mahogany stew sounds amazing! Perfect for the freezing weather we've been having.

    Happy holidays Katy!

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  16. Fabulous Photo! This stew sounds fabulous. I have some Hosien sauce I need to use, so this will be perfect!!!!! Thanks and Merry Christmas.

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  17. The stew looks delicious and the biscuits look great too!!! I would love to dip the biscuits right in there!!! Have a very happy holiday Katy!

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  18. Great post! I vividly remember how my great grandma's hands looked as we were working together in the kitchen.

    You had me laughing at rocks, hockey pucks, etc. Looking at these biscuits you'd never know that it was a bit of a journey for you to acheive this perfection. : )

    Oh, and this stew sounds really good too. I can definitely imagine all of these flavors together.

    Hope you're having a wonderful holiday!

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  19. The perfect antidote to the Christmas blizzard outside! Merry Christmas!

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  20. Oh, this is the perfect meal to warm my bones!! They both look awesome :D (and yeah, to unthaw would be to freeze, LOL!!!) Happy Holidays!

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  21. Totally Gorgeous Katy ! I can gollop that whole meal in this wintry weather...and the pics are great too !...I hope you and your ole sweeti pie have wonderful, cozy and special time this christmas and new years Katy!... Hugs ~

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  22. Yum! Just right for these nasty temperatures we've gotten lately. Imagine how nice it would be to smell that when you come in the door...

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  23. Katy that stew is just screaming to me and your biscuits look sensationally perfect!

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  24. MERRY CHRISTMAS, Katy! Hope you've a fabulous time with your family & friends. & make sure you've lots of fun & food as well. Bless you all! Btw, this is such comforting meal! Thanks for sharing.
    Best wishes, Kristy

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  25. Katy- I hope you had a lovely Christmas.

    These biscuits look absolutely wonderful. You could submit them to Tastespotting. They are so fluffy!

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  26. What a hearty stew! I always serve stews with rice of couscous, great idea serving with biscuits.

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  27. I just have to try your biscuit recipe and the stew is to die for. I laughed at your comment on my post. I was wondering what ol' Dave would say too. Love that guy.

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  28. you drew me in with "never fail" biscuits! That's a recipe I could use! :) Can't wait to try it :)

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  29. Yummy! This looks like Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon! Have you seen the Julie and Julie movie yet? We just watched it, it made me so hungry for a good beef stew like yours!!

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  30. This looks like a wonderful stew. It looks like it has a rich, delicious flavor and I can imagine those biscuits were perfect for soaking up all of the goodness! We are big biscuit eaters over here. I make them every weekend. Each time I try to perfect my recipe! :D

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  31. Perfect, hearty and all the right ingredients to warm the home and heart...not to mention satisfy the stomach....grin! Yee Haw...I am back. Yep,....and loving this recipe very much! You are a hoot....love your wine discussion in the post....I too agree the Cabernet Sauvignon would have been better but then hey....a thumbs up is all that counts. I am the lucky recipient of many a home made wine this Christmas and I am thinking....hmmmm...some of might be more like vinegar already and so I shall have to see if there are recipes I can use up these spirits in....what a year 2010 will be! Happy New Year my friend to the south! BTW....my word verification is 'oveye'....amazing!

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  32. Oh my gosh - this looks perfect for these cold days! Can't wait to try the biscuits and the stew - now that you've tested the Epicurious version I'll know how to tweek it for my family's preferences. Thank you.....

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  33. one can never go wrong with beef stew and biscuits....We had this today.. :)

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  34. Katy! This sounds delish! My daughter and I were just talking about making biscuits so your recipe is most timely for me. TY! I loved your story about your sweet grandma! The beef stew sounds like a nice alternative to traditional beef stew. I look forward to trying it also! Hope you had a wonderful holiday!!!

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  35. Looks like a delicious combo to me!

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  36. I'm with Julie this looks like a winning combo AND I have some red wine to use up from another dish!

    Love the discriptions of your biscuit making attempts. Too funny. Is anything we make as yummy as our mom or grandmom's?
    ~ingrid

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  37. the biscuit looks yum..nice and fluffy and you have a beautiful picture of it there....Loving reading your posts

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