Beef Stew and Mashed Potatoes

Beef stew is comfort food at its best and I made a huge batch and had a bunch of friends over for a fall dinner.  I like to serve it over mashed potatoes, but you can also add small red potatoes 40 minutes before it is finished so they don’t get so mushy.  I make it pretty traditional with fresh thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, red wine, beef broth, onions, garlic, carrots, and celery, cook it for 2 hours and thicken it at the end with a cornstarch slurry.  I like to add half the carrots and celery at the beginning and then 3o minutes before it is finished, I add the remaining vegetables so they retain some of their texture.  I served it with a salad of baby greens with Fuji apples, scallions, candied pecans and blue cheese with a pomegranate balsamic vinaigrette and tons of French bread. Oh yes, and quite a few bottles of wine!  Afterwards, we played Love it-Hate it and had a lot of laughs.  Click here for the recipe….  Click here for the salad recipe….