Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Spicy Beef Curry Stew

Spicy Beef Curry Stew

Beef stew. Nice concept. Especially since stew meat is pretty inexpensive compared to most other beef.

Hoping to make something in the slow cooker that was flavorful, I searched for "beef curry" on allrecipes.com and came across this altogether reasonable-looking recipe. Curry, fresh ginger -- now we're talking. (I glazed over the jalapeno, I can't imagine even touching one.)

So I prepared the stew at night, tossing in some cut-up red potatoes, and started the slow cooker on Low the next morning. The house smelled great when I got home from work.

But that was the best it ever did. My sons tried it only under duress, meaning, I won't make them anything else to eat unless they really try something. And they did try, and they really didn't like it. I'm not surprised; so far they've never liked anything with curry. But I have to keep trying.

My husband, who stiffens visibly at the mention of any traditional American beef stew ( a holdover from his Midwestern upbringing), made an effort, but it was still too Dinty-Moore-ish (my term) for him. The sauce did have that distinct "beef stew"ness to it, despite the very present ginger and curry. Maybe it's the beef broth, I don't know. In any case, he ended up supplementing his dinner with an old bachelor standby: Ramen and Tyson chicken. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree: my older son earned himself some TJ's chicken nuggets as an alternative.

Too bad, it's a nice idea, and easy to make. But I need a new angle on "beef stew" if it's ever going to fly around here.

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