madcity girl

If you’re looking for a hearty and classy meal to serve company—be it your colleagues, in-laws, or book club—search no further.

I first saw this recipe for Steak and Mushroom Stew with Creme Fraiche Mashed Potatoes in a Williams Sonoma catalog several years ago. I ripped out the recipe and immediately went out in search of veal demi-glace, an ingredient with which I was unfamiliar, but relieved to find stocked at Williams Sonoma. When I located the 10.5 oz. jar, I was dismayed by the $29 price tag. Surely, I can find this cheaper somewhere else, I reasoned.

What I didn’t appreciate then is the time and ingredients that go into preparing a traditional French-style demi-glace. The intensely flavorful and complex glaze is created by reducing veal stock and sauce espagnole anywhere from 20 hours to several days. Not an easy task. Now I’d gladly shell out $30 for the stuff. You can freeze it in smaller quantities and make it last for years.

But at the time, the price seemed preposterous. I wasn’t able to locate a cheaper version or amass the motivation to create my own, but I did eventually find a Williams Sonoma employee sympathetic to my cause. My friend generously gifted me a jar using her employee discount and I will forever be grateful.

And so I finally had everything I needed to start on the stew. But just knowing the value of that small jar of demi-glace seemed to keep me frozen in inaction. It’s like I had to find the perfect opportunity to make the meal. But no occasion seemed quite worthy. And so the jar sat in my cabinet. One year. Then two.

But with the “best before” date soon approaching, I was finally forced to pull the trigger. I found a wonderful occasion and group of people for whom to cook, and Larry and I teamed up for grocery shopping, vegetable chopping and meat-browning. We purchased the bacon and chuck roast from our friends the Priske’s at the winter farmers’ market. The preparations took longer than I expected for a slow-cooker meal, but proved well worth our efforts.

I’ve never been much of a fan of beef stew, but this one left me speechless. I wish I had taken a picture of the finished meal—parsley sprinkled over hot stew on a bed of fluffy creme fraiche mashed potatoes. It was beautiful. But Larry I were so busy plating stew for twelve, we had little time for frivolities like pictures. And so you’ll just have to trust me—you don’t want to miss this stew. And the potatoes? I could write an entire post on those, too.

Category: Kristin's Kitchen