Slow Cookin'

IT'S BEEN RAINING a lot lately -- so much that it has given me a craving for beef!

We don't cook a lot of meat at home, but on cold, dreary, raining afternoons I get in the mood for some slow-cooked meat. So on one of these days last week I asked Patrick if felt like helping me make a big pot of beef and vegetable stew while Kerri and the other two kids were out doing some errands. He thought it would be a good idea but wanted to make the entire dinner so we run down to the supermarket to get what we needed. 4 hours later we sat down for a delicious dinner. Our menu de jour:

• Chianti-marinated beef stew with vegetables
• Mixed gree salad with carrots and pine nuts
• Fresh bread with and cheese

And that's it! What more do you need on a lazy afternoon? Photos and brief comments follow:

Our main dish. We kind of made this up as we went along. The key: we never let the stew boil rapidly -- just a long slow simmer!

The delicious Cantal cheese -- cantal fermier, to be precise. I think I love this cheese so much because it's like eating a bit of French history. It's one of the oldest in France, dating back to Gaul. I think Pliny the Elder wrote about it (seriously).

The chef just before dinner. (I served as sous chef on this day)

CJS