I made up this recipe for stew one year during Milwaukee's Summerfest, so I call it Beef Festival. It's not quite traditional, but we like it. Beef Festival 2-3 Lbs beef chuck roast, cut into bite sized chunks. 2 good sized cloves garlic 3 or 4 onions, large dice 2-3 healthy sized tsp of Paprika, if you have smoked, you can replace some or all of the paprika with that. 1 healthy sized tsp of Bouquet Garni (Penzey’s) 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp plus a coupla shakes of Worshestershire salt to taste pepper to taste 1 or 2 bay leaves beef broth or water, about 4-6 cups, depending on how thick you like your stew 4 or so strips of bacon 3-4 good sized potatoes, cut to whatever size you’d like 8 carrots, cut in good sized chunks to cook at the same speed as the potatoes 4 ribs celery, large dice parsley Brown bacon, remove from pan. Then brown beef in bacon fat with the paprika, onion and garlic till the onion is just getting limp. Toss into a pot with the broth and add veggies and spices. Cook till everything is tender, adding water or broth to make it as soupy or thick as you like it. Thicken with flour/water if you prefer. This also works fine with pork. **If using a pressure cooker, cut the veg into larger pieces and leave the garlic whole. Bring to high pressure and cook for 15-20 minutes, less if your beef is cut into smaller chunks, more if it’s bigger. Turn off the heat and let the cooker depressurize naturally. This will result in a more tender beef. I know, this is contrary to Johnliu’s recipe for pressure cooker stew, but after reading and a little experimentation, I’ve found it to be a system that works for me. If the potatoes end up a little mushy, it really doesn’t bother me, but if it might bother you, cut them bigger or add them in stages. Reduce your broth if desired, or add thickener after pressure is released. Stew is such an individual thing�"I like lots of veggies, and I don’t care for peas. So there are lots of carrots and potatoes and no peas in mine. :-) I’ve been known to chuck in some green beans, cabbage, or whatever is in the fridge after the pressure is off, during broth reduction. Cj

Linnea56: You can do just about what what you had in mind. Sub the Corned Beef for Ham. ***************************** Here is a recipe for Lou's - Pasta e Fagioli ( I've been spelling it wrong!) 1 lb. Great Northern Beans (soaked overnight & drained) 3 quarts of water Or use your canned Northern Beans or, Chick Peas ( Ceci ) 3 Garlic Cloves (chopped small) 3/4 Cup of Tomatoes, diced small 1/3 cup of shredded Carrots 2 Whole Cloves 1/2 pound of cubed Ham or more ,to taste 3/4 cup of Onion chopped small 3 Bay Leaves 1/3 cup of Instant Mashed Potatoes ( or more if needed ) 3 tablespoons of Chicken Flavored Soup Base or 2 cups of Chicken Broth. 3 cups( or more) of cooked Elbow Macaroni or # 9 Spaghetti Salt and Pepper to taste, when beans are almost done. Cooking: Put 3 Quarts of water in a pot, large enough to hold 2 more quarts. Add the beans and start cooking them. Add all the ingredients , except the Ham and Mashed Potatoes. Cook the Beans till they are almost done & add the Ham. When the Beans are cooked soft, add the Inst. Mashed Potatoes, and more if needed to thicken slightly. Add the cooked drained Spaghetti or Elbow macaroni. Add more water if and when needed. You can sprinkle some Parmesan cheese if you like , when serving. Makes about 8 servings, maybe more. Here is another dish, almost the same as Pasta Fagioli.

My DH and I like this recipe. ROASTED BEETS ON SAUTÃED BEET GREENS WITH POACHED EGGS Serves 2 Ingredients: 4 beets, roasted 4 bunches beet greens ½ sweet yellow onion, roughly chopped 3  4 cloves crushed garlic Olive oil Balsamic vinegar to taste Salt & Pepper 4 eggs *Dash hot sauce (Optional) *Sprouts (optional) *Hollandaise sauce (Optional: Can make home made or buy packaged Hollandaise sauce.) Directions: Cut greens off of the beets leaving about 1" of stem on the beet and scrub the beets. Then chop stems and greens and set aside. Toss beets in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in 350° oven until done, about 45 minutes, or you can roast them on the grill. After beets are done remove from oven, cool a little and cut off the root and stems, peel them, then cover and keep warm. Chop right before plating. In a skillet add olive oil and heat to med high heat. Sauté onion and garlic in the olive oil until translucent. Add beet stems and greens, Balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and sauté until tender. Add dash of hot sauce (optional). While greens are sautéing, poach 4 eggs. I use a wok with about a teaspoon of white balsamic vinegar added to the water. Remove eggs and drain on a paper towel. Plate: Arrange greens on plate; add chopped roasted beets on top of greens. Top greens and beets with poached eggs. *Optional:  Can add sprouts on top of poached eggs.  Can top poached eggs with Hollandaise sauce

fawnridge, "sous vide" is an unfortunate fancy name for a simple cooking method. All it means is cooking at very low temperature and for as long as you want to, depending on recipes. It has nothing to do with vacuum nor pressure. There is no way you can guarantee proper cooking temperature using normal methods, so most of the time you simply over cook to make sure of food safety. Sous vide is using advanced electronic thermostatic control to guarantee cooking temperature to less than 1 degree. Electronic controls for this used to cost over $2,000 to $5,000. So only restaurants and food manufacturers could afford the equipments. Recently, you can buy the equipment for less than $200. This makes it a very popular appliance for many home cooks. The fact that you can cook at precise temperature means you now can cook with better food safety. There are lots of information on the internet to guide you regarding temperature and cooking time to be safe. Texture, short ribs sous vide cooked to medium edge to edge, yet fork tender is a new enjoyment. How to you know the meat is fully cooked? Another feature of sous vide. It is not possible to overcook or undercook. It is truly "set it forget it" I can cook a whole turkey directly from frozen to 100% cooked without having to check with a probe, no overcooking or undercooking, the entire bird.. No need to defrost for a week in the refrigerator and still not sure if the inside is fully cooked. dcarch