Brunswick Stew

One of my favorite things to do on Twitter is enter contests for some free goodies, even though I never usually win anything.  So one day I saw a chance to win free tickets to some chef demo at Bloomingdales with chef Virginia Willis.  It seemed interesting so I retweeted @AtlEvents' tweet and 5 hours later I somehow was the winner of these tickets!! I didn't really know the details of this event at all, but I just showed up with my friend in the Home section of Bloomy's and just went with the flow!

When we got to the event, we saw tables around for wine tasting, so we tried some different kinds of wine and walked around in awe of all the different kitchen appliances.  I wanted so bad to be able to buy every single thing in that store! I mean who doesn't need a 5 slotted toaster with 15 different settings for your toast?!  So we eventually found the area where the cooking demo was to be performed and watched hungrily as the Chef cooked up some sweet tea brined pork tenderloin, sweet potato grits, and mushroom ragu.  After we got to sample the wonderful food, I was able to purchase her lovely cookbook where all this goodness was documented and I was able to talk with Chef Willis and have her sign the book!  Turns out she was from Georgia and even studied history at UGA!! Go Dawgs! So this whole long story brings me to Virginia Willis' Brunswick stew recipe.

As I was flipping through her book looking at the pictures, I freaking fell in love with the pic of her BBQ stew.

It looked sooooo good and I knew it was going to be the first recipe I tried from her book.  So here we go!

2 Tablespoons of canola oil
1 onion chopped (preferably a Vidalia)
1 poblano pepper or a green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 cup dry white wine
8 fingerling potatoes
6 cups of chicken or beef broth (I used beef)
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes with juice
2 cups of fresh of frozen butter beans
2 cups of corn
Bouquet garni which is 8 sprigs of flat leaf parsley, 6 sprigs of thyme, 2 bay leaves, 10 whole black peppercorns tied together in cheese cloth
1 pound boneless, skinless breasts or thighs cut into 1 inch pieces (I used thighs)
1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into medallions

I started off by making the Bouquet garni.  It may be hard to find the cheese cloth in the grocery store, but it's pretty cheap and you get a lot for what you pay for.  It can also be good for straining, which I will be doing while making my thanksgiving dishes!  Anyway, make your little bouquet of herbs and set aside.

Next, I cut up all my veggies, the onion, pepper and garlic, and set aside so it can be ready to throw in the pan.  I like to cut the veggies before the meat so I don't have raw meat germs everywhere, so now you cut away at your meat and set that aside as well and start heating your oil on medium to high heat in a large pot.

When the oil is simmering, add the onion and pepper and season with salt and pepper.  Cook the veggies for about 5 minutes until they are soft then add the garlic and paprika and cook for another minute.  Now add the vino and cook until it is almost all evaporated, about 3-5 minutes.

Next, add your potatoes, beef stock, tomatoes with juice, beans, corn, and your bouquet garni.  Let this come to a boil and then decrease the heat to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes until the beans and potatoes are just tender.

Now season your meat with salt and pepper and add it to your soup and continue to cook for 5-7 more minutes or until the meat is done.  I also like to add a little more pepper to give it some more spice since it is Brunswick stew.  Before you serve, though, remember to take out that bouquet of herbs!

I love this recipe because it is so easy and doesn't really take that much time, and, of course, the finished product is so delicious!  I also made some cornbread because I just have to have some when I'm eating any kind of stew, especially Brunswick stew! Hope you enjoy!