Chef of the Future

   Brand Seasonings

Let the stew cook on low heat (covered) on the stove or on high in a Crockpot for a minimum of 3 hours. (6 hours is normal) It will be done when the beef is tender. Stir occasionally so that all the ingredients get an equal chance to cook in the juices.

You will notice that I did not include potatoes in this stew.  Potatoes are normally added to stews as a means to stretch the stew and allow more servings for less money.  I tend to find them not as pleasing as serving them on some Cajun Basmati Rice.  Cook the rice, 1 cup rice, 2 cups of water 1/2 Tbs. Olive oil in the water for 20 minutes.  Bring the water to a boil, add the Olive Oil, our Cajun Seasoning, stir, then add the rice, stir again, cover and turn the heat down to low, the lower the better. Do not remove the cover until the 20 minutes are up.  The rice will be done and should have "Rice Eyes", small depressions where the water bubbled up, but no water remains in the pot.

Add the Seasonings

Add 2 large or 3 small bay leaves, and cover with the mixture.

Cook the Andouille Sausage (preferred) and pan cook them over a low-medium heat, just until they are slightly browned.  (you can use Hot Italian sausage, if Andouille is not readily available )  Andouille Sausage is a Cajun sausage that is primarily made from smoked pork shoulder (butt) then coarsely ground with chili pepper and other seasoning, formed into links and then smoked again.

Mix in the seasonings thoroughly, add the stewed tomatoes, cut in thirds, without the juice.  Don't worry, there is enough water in the vegetables to make it saucy when they cook down, without being soupy. 

Cut the Peppers into 1" - 1.5" pieces and one Large Yellow Onion also cut to the same size. Add the vegetables (I know, peppers are fruits) and 2 Tbs of olive oil to the fry pan and sear them as well.  Sprinkle them with about 1/2 tsp of Kosher or Sea Salt. This will help them to brown by extracting some excess water.

Let them cool a little on a cutting board and cut into bite sized pieces.  The beauty of this stew is that it's really chunky. Each bite of the different ingredients brings different flavors to the palate.

2 lbs. Stew Beef
5-6 Garlic cloves
1 Green Pepper
1/2 Yellow Pepper
1/2 Orange Pepper
1/2 Red Pepper
1 Large Yellow Onion
1 lb. Andouille Sausage (or substitute 1 lb. Hot Italian sausage if Andouille is not available)
2 14.5 oz cans of Low Sodium Whole Stewed  tomatoes
1 T Chef of the Future Cajun Seasoning
1 t Chef of the Future Floribbean Seasoning
1/2 t Chef of the Future SouthWestern Seasoning 
Bay Leaves
Kosher or Sea Salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Basmati rice (plus 1/2 T Cajun Seasoning for the rice)

Procedure:

Cut the Stew Beef into 1"-1.5 " cubes. Sear the beef in 3-4 Tbs Olive Oil with the garlic (minced) in a large fry pan. After searing, place the beef in a crock pot (Low Setting) or in a large pot on the stovetop on low

It was on October 29th in 2011 that a freak Ice Storm left us without Electricity for 5 days.  I fired up my campstove and created Blackout Stew.

Coincidentally, exactly one year later on the same date, Hurricane Sandy struck and left us without power for 7 days.  It was then that Blackout Stew became a Winter Tradition.

Add the Sausage to the Beef, and Vegetables .

Blackout Stew

When they are a little browned, remove them from the pan and place in the crock pot or stovetop pot with the beef.