Sunday Dinner

*My mom and I at Saint Peter's Square. I felt this photo was much nicer homage to Italy than my stew that, while beyond delicious, doesn't look very pretty when captured via iPhone. I really need a good camera Chianti Marinated Italian Beef Stew
courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
2 1/2 to 3 pound beef brisket
1 (750 ml) bottle Chianti wine
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (4-ounce) piece pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 stalk celery, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup (1 1/2 ounces) kalamata olives, halved
6 ounces green beans, halved
4 medium red potatoes, quartered
2 sprigs rosemary
2 sage leaves
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups beef broth
Directions
Place the beef in a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish. Pour the wine over the meat and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 1/2 hours. Turn the meat over and marinate for another 1 1/2 hours.

Remove the meat from the wine and pat dry with paper towels. Reserve the wine.

In a large Dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Season the meat on all sides with salt and pepper. Using tongs, place the meat in the pan and brown on all sides, about 2 minutes each side. Remove the meat and add the remaining oil. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring frequently for 2 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, garlic, olives, green beans, potatoes, rosemary, and sage. Cook for 3 minutes. Pour the reserved wine, tomatoes, and beef broth into the pan, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the meat to the pan and bring the liquid to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until the meat is very tender.

Remove the meat and the rosemary sprigs from the stew. Place the meat on a cutting board and cut into quarters. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into bite-size pieces. Add the shredded meat to the stew and cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes.

*This stew is abundant with taste, the down side is the time. Start early, maybe even the day before (which is what I did). In my case, the brisket needed several hours to become fork tender (cooking time may vary). This recipe is going in my box, will definitely make again.

Treasures

Quick entry before I go walking (ugh). I inherited several treasures from my parents, among them are boxes full of  INCREDIBLE old photos. Due to my fathers job, he had the privilege of seeing most of the world. Thankfully, he had a love of photography and documented his travels. I'm not sure where this was taken, regardless the view is surreal. I do know that it was taken around the late 1940's to early 1950's. I can only imagine what it must  have looked like in color.