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beef stew recipe

stream of conscious recipe by: Michele kitagawa

Ingredients:

2 lbs of beef stew meat (could be boneless chuck roast cut)

Cut into 1 inch pieces cubes

Generous pinch of kosher salt

fresh cracked pepper

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar

1 yellow onion sliced

8 carrots peeled and quartered

4 stocks of celery washed and cut on the bias

8 cloves of garlic minced

1 box beef broth

2 bay leaves

1.5 cups of red wine (optional) add more broth if you want to make it without

bag of frozen peas

bag of egg noodles

horseradish cream:

1 cup sour cream

2 tbsp Horseradish (up to you how spicy you like it) start with one spoon and then add more to your liking

pinch of kosher salt

pinch of cracked pepper

How to:

in a non-reactive bowl (like a glass one) Mix the dry ingredients (salt, pepper, cornstarch) with the meat and then add the olive oil and red wine vinegar.

let it sit.

Meanwhile you can chop up your vegetables (onions, carrots, celery, garlic).

In a large heavy bottom Dutch oven pot brown your meat.

Add all your vegetables after 10 min of browning your meat. Mix veg and meat together to coat. Cook for 5 minutes before adding broth.

Add 1 box beef broth

1.5 cups of red wine (optional) OR add more broth if you want to make it without alcohol

Add 2 bay leaves

Place a lid on your pot. Cook on the small burner on low heat for 2.5 hours stirring occasionally

Set a timer for 2 hours.

After 2 hours add your bag of frozen peas.

Cook and set timer for an additional 30 minutes.

At the same time in a separate, pot boil water and then add your egg noodles and cook as directed.

Drain and cool your noodles with cold water twice so they don’t stick together so you can have them for future unless you’re going to use them immediately.

Use this time to mix your sour cream and horseradish and salt and pepper to make your finishing horseradish cream dollops.

Plate your noodles. Spoon a hearty portion of your stew and dollop your horseradish cream sauce on top!

If you make this, take a pic and tag me. I love to see your creations!

Instagram: @stellarmich #astellar

It’s too hot to cook…

astellar seared scallops served over a simple arugula salad lightly dressed with maldon salt + olive oil + red wine vinegar + cherry tomatoes tossed in olive oil + garlic + fresh basil + squeeze of lemon + salt + pepper + freshly grated parmesan over the hot scallops.

Yum! Make this dish and tag me on Instagram!
@stellarmich
#astellar

sweet potato hash

I bought waaaaaaay too many sweet potatoes this past thanksgiving with the intention of making 3 different kinds of pies. Pumpkin. Apple. And sweet potato. 2 x pumpkin pies happened and the rest did not because the reality is, baking is very labor intensive and I ran out of time this holiday.

So, cut to today I’m staring at a bunch of unused sweet potatoes and decided to whip up some sweet potato hash. I’m on a big zero food waste mission in this household.

Super simple.

astellar sweet potato hash

Ingredients:

2 x large peeled and julienned sweet potatoes

2 x tablespoons neutral high heat oil (I like grape seed)

salt and pepper

Heat large pan with oil.

Add julienned sweet potatoes. Toss with oil. Add salt and pepper.

Sauté until brown and crispy.

I topped my hash with a crispy fried egg, avocado slices, and chives.

Yum!

astellar chicken + wild mushrooms + white wine pan sauce + garlic butter egg noodles

I made this recipe on Instagram stories the other night. It was really delicious. I am making a point of using my early hours to do this instead of the mindless other things I have been doing with my weird sleep schedule early morning wake ups.

So here you have:

astellar chicken + wild mushrooms + white wine pan sauce + garlic butter egg noodles

ingredients:

6 x mary’s organic boneless skinless chicken thighs

garlic butter from diablo foods (you can make your own)

2 cups of sliced wild mushrooms shiitake | oyster  | baby shiitake

1 x yellow onion diced

6 x fresh carrots peeled and sliced

washed and chopped bunch of rainbow chard 

2 cups of  dry white wine (I used a sauvignon blanc)

2 cups of chicken stock

few springs of fresh thyme chopped 

kosher salt + fresh ground pepper to taste

1lb wide egg noodles (cook as directed separately)

how to:

pat chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and salt + pepper them.

heat a large pan on a medium flame.

add 2 x tbsp of garlic butter.

add chicken thighs to pan.

sear chicken for 6 minutes on each side. the goal is to brown the chicken.

take chicken off  the pan. let it rest on a plate.

add onions + carrots to the pan and a little pat of garlic butter to sauté your vegetables on a low flame.

you want to make sure you pick up all the brown bits from searing the chicken in that pan on your vegetables.

after the carrots and onions have sautéed for a few minutes, add your mushrooms and sauté for another 4 or 5 minutes.

slowly add about half of your white wine and half of your chicken stock. about 1 cup of each. turn up the heat to a medium flame and cook your vegetables and add a few sprigs of thyme to your sauce.

make sure your whole meal is timed properly so it’s time to…..

cook your egg noodles in a separate pot of salted water as directed and set aside. add a little garlic butter and/or olive oil and salt and pepper after you have cooked and drained the noodles to make sure they don’t stick together. 

ALSO, the CHICKEN. Time to slice up those chicken thighs you set aside. They will NOT be cooked so after you slice it up, throw it back into your pan with all the vegetables.

add your chopped rainbow chard to the pan.

add the rest of your white wine and chicken stock and simmer for an additional 20 minutes.

salt and pepper to taste.

plate your buttered egg noodles and top with your delicious chicken + wild mushroom sauce!

if you make this recipe, tag me in your picture: @stellarmich I would love to see your creations. xo

Here are the Instagram story videos: helpful for the visual. Bon appetit!

dream job

There is something very magical about Pescadero. The pristine pacific coast provides the perfect weather for growing certain varietals of flowers and vegetables. I stumbled across the adorable (very Michele) Pescadero Flowery. They give you a bucket and some scissors and you get to pick your own dahlias in their very colorful abundant garden. Butterflies buzz around you while you harvest your floral haul. Truly heaven! What a great concept. I think this would be fun for a group or if you are doing your own wedding floral. This will be definitely be me in the future.

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