You can tell that the seasons are starting to shift sometimes just by the food we crave at different times of the year! Warm stews, chili’s and the like are all comfort food that give us warmth as the leaves begin to turn and the wind begins to take on a slight chill. The nice thing about stews is that they are only limited by your creativity and the ingredients you have on hand.

The greatest thing about stews is that they are very simple to make. Most stews are made in the same manner by following these basic steps:

1. Brown the meat or poultry.
2. Remove the meat from pan & sauté aromatics such as onions, shallots, and/or garlic.
3. Add hearty vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, celery along with seasonings.
4. Add stock (beef, chicken or vegetable) along with tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes (if you are doing a tomato based stew).
5. Cover and simmer until tender.

The fun part comes in by adding different combinations of spices, wine, dried fruit, herbs, varying the vegetables (perhaps try leeks instead of onions or adding fennel for a different flavor) and/or adding rice to change the consistency. The combinations are endless and the results are absolutely delicious. This month we’d like to share some of our favorite stews, both new and old, that we hope you’ll find as warm and comforting as we have.

Pork Tenderloin Country Stew

Pork Tenderloin Country Stew

Spanish Chicken Stew

Chicken Ragout

Apple-Maple Pork Stew

Asopao de Pollo (Chicken Stew)

Beef & Tequila Stew

Beef Stew with Fennel

Irish Beef Stew

Beef Stew with Apricots

Country Beef Stew

Irish Beef Stew

Peanut Butter Stew

Red Bean & Pork Stew

Seafood Stew

Enjoy!