Recently I did a cooking class at a Winter Glamping blogger event at the beautiful Red Cedar Lodge in Charles City, Iowa.
Winter Camping for me was a new adventure and it was lovely. Winter walks, cozy cabins, Christmas shopping in town, baking bread and sharing this beef stew with new and old friends. Perfection.
One of my blogger friends enjoyed this stew enough to share it on her blog. I hope you enjoy as much as she and her family did. Thanks Michelle at Simplify, Live, Love!
About Michelle:
I’m a semi-crunchy Eastern Iowa mom of 4 crazy kids on a quest to stay sane and healthy. We try to live a sustainable lifestyle on 5 acres with chickens, dogs, rabbits & more! Grab some coffee or wine and hang out for a bit!
This recipe looks delicious, Mary. And Glamping is the only kind of camping I will ever do – what a cozy looking place you went! I have a question about the butter and flour – do you melt the butter before you mix in the flour? I have not thickened stews this way before and I’m intrigued.
Thanks Molly — it really gets a depth of flavor — and better if you make it in advance and warmed up the next day — adding potatoes in the last hour and peas just before serving so they have time to get warm. I would create a roux and cool it off. The trick to not getting lumps is to put cool thickening into hot liquids or hot thickening into something cool. I will say that rather than using Ina’s butter and flour — I usually use cornstarch dissolved into cold water in a mason jar. I add a little salt and pepper to the mixture — stir and shake it up really well and add it to the hot soup. Mostly because it is faster than making a roux and I have gluten sensitive people in my family.
And yup — glamping is the way to go!!!
Thanks for the clarification, Mary. I usually add flour dissolved in cold water to thicken unless we have gluten sensitive guests. Have used cornstarch, too. I like the idea of freezing portions before adding the potatoes since potatoes don’t fare well after freezing. Yeah for Glamping!
That was fun Kylie…fun to meet you and I’m glad you enjoyed the stew..