Alie Ward and Georgia Hardstark, a.k.a. Alie & Georgia, host Cooking Channel food-travel seriesTripping Out with Alie & Georgia. Visit PEOPLE.com every Thursday for their playful spins on celebrity recipes, cocktails, entertaining ideas—and, of course, lots of laughs!
Now that the temperature is dropping, it’s easier to justify drinking a glass or two of wine when you get home — you know, to keep cozy. Sure.
But if you tend to have half a bottle of wine leftover, sitting on the counter staring at you and making you feel wasteful: We have a solution! Boil some meat with it! Kind of.
Okay, braise rather than boil. Because the best thing about the arrival of winter is the excuse to make a slow-cooked wine-braised roast or a stew. Make one stew like this, and it’ll quickly become a cold weather staple — it’s even fun to peek in the fridge and pantry and see what veggies and herbs you can experiment with. Here’s how you go about it.
What you’ll need:
½ onion or 2 shallots2 tbsp. olive oil4 cups water2–3 lbs. of meat (chicken, pork or beef)4 bouillon cubes2 tbsp. fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme2–3 potatoes3–4 carrots2 cups leftover wineSaltPepper
1.Coarsely chop an onion or a few shallots and add them to a heated pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Cook over medium until translucent.2.If you have leftover white wine, use chicken. Red wine: go for a cheap cut of beef or pork. Ensuring the meat is thawed, sear on all sides in the onions and oil.3.In a slow cooker, add 4 cups of water and 4 bouillon cubes. Add meat and onions.4.Toss in some washed, coarsely chopped root vegetables such as potatoes and carrots and a few tablespoons of fresh chopped herbs, like rosemary or thyme.5. Let simmer for 2–3 hours until meat is well cooked and becomes tender.6.For the last hour, toss in 1-2 cups of wine. Let cook on low another hour and salt and pepper to taste.
Now you have a hearty, tangy easy stew — and no sad bottles of wine abandoned on the counter. Unless you open another and don’t finish it. In which case, repeat these steps each day until it’s spring again.
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source: people.com
