{"id":26462,"date":"2020-12-15T01:26:43","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T01:26:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/?p=26462"},"modified":"2020-12-15T01:26:43","modified_gmt":"2020-12-15T01:26:43","slug":"dijon-mustards-and-cognac-beef-stew-white-polenta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/?p=26462","title":{"rendered":"dijon mustards and cognac beef stew; white polenta"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This was one of the tastiest, most successful winter entr\u00e9es I’ve ever put together.<\/p>\n

Even if Sunday wasn’t actually very wintry.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the month, on the first cold day of the season, I had brought home a package of prized beef cubes, frozen, from some of my favorite people in the Union Square Greenmarket, the owners of\u00a0Riverine Ranch<\/a>, intending to make a hearty Sunday stew that, with luck, might be enjoyed while it snowed outside.<\/p>\n

The weather didn’t cooperate: The temperature was in the 50’s all day, but I hadn’t anticipated that when, a\u00a0couple days before the planned date, I defrosted it in the refrigerator.<\/p>\n

I also didn’t know at the time what recipe I would use. I don’t cook stews often, so I didn’t have much of a file to work with.\u00a0I considered a couple more conventional recipes I found on line before I focused on this one<\/a>, mostly because it seemed just a little twisted (plus I had all the ingredients). There was also that seductive introduction from its author,\u00a0Regina Schrambling.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was really easy to prepare, there was no stress, its perfumes filled the apartment for hours. It was a huge success, the decision to include polenta making it a perfect meal. We finished it all (yup).<\/p>\n