Left-over Red Wine? Make Beef Stew!

I'm usually in shock if there is wine left over at my place, but it occasionally happens!  I don't have a "go to" recipe for beef stew - I like to try lots of recipes and lots of different methods.  Today I decided to combine a few of the tricks I've seen and read about.  The result is a rich and hearty stew that I will definitely be making again!

Beef Stew with Wine
Ingredients:
2 lbs stewing beef, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 tbsp flour + salt & pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 large yellow onion chopped (about a cup)
5-6 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 cups red wine (I used Apothic Red Winemaker's Blend)
2 cups beef broth
2 cups baby potatoes, halved or quartered, your choice!
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 tsp dried thyme leaves, crushed
more salt & pepper to season
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
3 tbsp really good dijon mustard (i used Dijon Mustard with Black Truffle that I purchased in the Okanagan in October during my visit for Harvest Wine Festival 2011)
2 more tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
optional: truffle oil to sprinkle right before serving...

2 secret flavour-enhancing ingredients!

Method:
In a large ziplock bag, combine 2 tbsp flour, salt and pepper.  Shake your beef cubes to coat.  Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Working in small batches, brown your meat - making sure to get a nice carmelization - don't worry if you get lots of stuck bits on the bottom of the pan - that will come off later and add tons of flavour!

Add all of the meat back to the pan and add the onions, carrots and celery.  Cook until you start to smell the vegetables cooking.  Add the garlic.

Lots o' garlic!!

When things are getting nice and fragrant, increase your heat and add the first cup of wine and get tough on the bottom of the pan - release all those brown bits!  Add the next cup and then the beef broth.  Bring to a boil over medium-high.  Add the potatoes, all of the seasonings and the mustard.  Give it a good stir, drop the heat to low and partially cover.  Let simmer for about 2 or more hours, stirring every half hour or so.

flavour bits starting to loosen up!

Right before serving, take 2 tbsp butter and work into 2 tbsp flour - I think this is kind of a faux-roux... not sure, but add that to the stew and stir till melted. 

This makes the stew so nice and creamy - omg so delicious - Todd says this was one of the best stews he's ever had, so it's a good thing that I recorded the recipe for the blog!!