Fall colors / Moose Stew

Hey! I bought LAND. I'm a LANDowner.

Well, not quite yet. I still have to inch my way through the ten million and one tiny and not-so-tiny steps required to become a landowner with a little house built on said land. But it's okay. I'm working my way through the process. This real estate thing has not been kind to me. I've hit some bumps in the road. I've gotten really good at hastily putting my head between my knees till the fainting spell wanders away to sneak up on some other poor unsuspecting soul (there's a pregnant woman in Office 385 -- go nauseate her, why don't you?). I'm no longer shy about hobbling out to the co-workers desk in a fog of stress and anxiety and saying, "Calm Tab me, quick."

Look how far I've come: just a week ago I was wandering hither and yon in search of LAND, stopping along the way to take photos of the pretty fall colors and seeing places I never even knew existed till now:

I mean: Please. How freaking lovely is that bucolic little scene there?

And this little house by the lake with the very informative signpost, and the mountains and the fog in the distance:

Go ahead. Admit it. I live someplace beautiful.

View from the upstairs bedroom:

Does it make you want to eat pumpkin pie? Because that's the effect it has on me.

And while I'm showing off the photos, I might as well show you this one (I promise I'll move on to food in just a sec -- bear with me). Here's an owl glowering at me with much, much owl-ly intensity:

I took that one on a hike. That thing was as big as a cat. A big cat.

The only thing driving me on my land-search was my quest for a spot to call home and... well. Stew. Stew was driving me on. This stew:

I needed to come home to a big bowl of this stew with dumplings and a glass of red wine. Or two.

I didn't even know I liked stew until I made this recipe on a whim one day many, many years ago when faced with a freezer full of moose. I've made it countless times since. The stew of my childhood was always boring and a bit tasteless. Large hunks of stringy meat. Thin broth. Just not my cup of tea back then. Not so with this recipe. It's the perfect thing to tackle on a Saturday or a Sunday when you have the house all to yourself. The way it smells up the house... oh so good. I love the look that sweeps across other people's faces when they come home, open the door, step in, and get a whiff of the beautiful aroma of this stew.

Don't skip the dumplings. I used moose meat but you may, of course, use beef instead. You can even save money by buying a cheaper cut of meat because it roasts long enough in the oven (about two hours altogether) to tenderize shoe leather. Now, doesn't that sound appetizing.

I meant like top-of-the-line shoe leather like you'd smell when you opened the box of a pair of Blahniks. Not the battered sort of shoe leather a hobo might wear with the soles coming loose and... never mind. You get my point. Make some stew this weekend! You'll be glad you did (unless you're a vegetarian). Invite a hobo over for dinner. He'll be glad you did.

Moose Stew with Herbed Dumplings

Serves six

Stew ingredients:

4 lbs. boneless moose or beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 T olive oil

4 thick-cut slices of bacon, chopped

One large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 t dried thyme

1 bay leaf

5 1/2 c beef broth

1 14.5 oz. can crushed tomatoes

6 medium carrots, peeled and sliced (or you can use whole baby carrots)

3 medium rutabagas or 1 large potato, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces

3 T cornstarch

Dumpling ingredients:

2/3 c milk

2 eggs

3 T minced chives

2 T minced fresh Italian parsley (I've used all dried parsley rather than the chives/parsley mix and it's good too)

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

4 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and place rack in center of oven. Sprinkle moose with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large overproof pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook beef until brown, working in batches if necessary, stirring occasionally for about 8 minutes. Transfer meat and juices to a bowl.

Add bacon to same pot and saute until crispy, about 5 minutes, scraping up any browned bits. Add onions, garlic, thyme and bay leaf, cover and cook until onions are tender, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.

Return moose and juices to pot. Add broth and tomatoes with puree. Cover and bring to a simmer. Transfer pot to oven and bake, stirring occasionally for about 1 hour.

Add carrots and potatoes/rutabagas. Cover and bake for about 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake for about 25 minutes. During this baking time, prepare dumplings.

Whisk milk and eggs in a medium bowl to blend. Stir in herbs. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes or so. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add milk mixture and stir just until blended.

Remove stew from oven and using a ladle, transfer about a half-cup of broth from the stew pot to a medium bowl. Stir in cornstarch into the broth to blend. Bring stew to a simmer. over medium heat and gradually stir in cornstarch mixture. Return stew to a simmer, stirring gently until sauce thickens.

Spoon dumpling batter in 12 dollops atop simmering stew. Cover tightly and simmer until dumplings are puffed and tester inserted in center of dumplings comes out clean, about 15 minutes.

Comments

[Val]

My God.

Yum.

See? This is why I can only come here when I'm full.

[lyra]

So, can you mail stew? Cause that looks scrumptious....

[Lisa]

That looks and sounds so scrumptious. You take gorgeous photos.

I love that kind of dumpling! My mom used to make those (with Bisquick, of course). Nothing better on stew. I'll have to try making them your way, with herbs. Yum yum yum.

[Deborah Dowd]

We camp a lot and this looks like great camping food for fall... though I will have to supplant the moose with venison or buffalo. I love (and envy) your photos!

[Emily Roland Saenger]

Just moved to Alaska (two weeks ago), just had our first friend give us our first moose meat, and just made this stew (or close to it!). Turned out great! (In line with the 'normal' food blog response... here are my alterations - a bunch of red wine, 4 leeks with the onions, buttermilk biscuits on the side.) Thanks for the recipe!