‘Status Stew’ from the cookbook “for people who cannot cook & do not want other people to know it.”
The Madison Avenue Cook Book , a parody that appeared in 1962, could credibly claim a prize for one of the funnier books written in the culinary idiom. Against odds however it also contains some good recipes, including this one. Four servings of elegant stew.
- ¼ cup diced lean bacon
- 2 lb “elegant rump steak” cut into 1/½ inch cubes
- 2 oz unsalted butter
- 2 big sweet onions, like Vidalia, sliced into thin crescents
- generous cup sliced mushrooms
- 3 smashed and minced cloves garlic
- 1 Tablespoon flour
- 2 teaspoons bouquet garni ( see the Notes)
- 2 teaspoons good salt (like Maldon)
- a bottle of good red wine
- salt and pepper
- about 2 teaspoons mushroom ketchup
- about two dozen tiny onions (thawed from frozen are fine)
- chopped parsley
- Brown the bacon over medium low het to render and crisp it
- Remove the bacon, increase the heat to high and brown the beef in batches if necessary; do not crowd the chunks or they we steam and toughen.
- Remove the beef and sear the mushrooms until streaked deep gold
- Decrease the heat to medium, or medium low if necessary to prevent scorching, and sweat the onion until limp.
- Add the garlic, stir it around for a minute or so, then stir in the flour.
- Return everything cooked to the pot and douse it with enough of the wine just to cover the stew.
- Add the bouquet, salt, pepper and mushroom ketchup.
- Simmer the stew until the meat is tender, usually in about two hours, topping up the wine if needed.
- Throw the onions into the pot and simmer for another fifteen minutes or so.
- Serves the stew showered with parsley.
Notes:
-Bouquet garni should include bay and thyme and may also include basil and rosemary. Dried herbs other than rosemary are more than acceptable.
-If you have no mushroom ketchup substitute about a Tablespoon of Worcestershire.
-A cheaper cut of beef, brisket or chuck, really is good notwithstanding the admonition of the Madison Avenue Cook never, never, never to spare expense.
-The addition of a ribbon of orange or, better, buttons of dried Chinese tangerine peel, would be a welcome addition with the wine. Be sure to fish away the peel before service. It is a most Madisonian move because nobody will identify the flavor as such, further enhancing the culinary reputation of the otherwise inept cook.