C'mon - that was a great Dad joke and you know it! This newsletter isn't just stews, it's about braises too. Between the craziness in this world right now and the winter weather outside, who isn't craving a little comfort food? Stews and braises are just what the doctor ordered. That slow-cooked goodness will bring a smile to anyone's face. But, it isn't just meat that can be cooked in this manner. I've even included a Thai-inspired dish that uses squash as the main attraction. 

All of the recipes below are cooked in Dutch ovens on the stovetop and/or in an oven. But if you want to speed things up, you can always use a pressure cooker. Just cut any stock in half (pressure cookers hold on to more liquid), and cook under high pressure for half the time once the recipe says to put it in the oven or brings the liquid down to a simmer. If you would rather leave it in your crockpot all day while you are working, just throw it on low and leave it in there all day at the same point. You can also do the whole thing on the stovetop if the recipe calls for the oven, but it will require a bit more "babysitting" and stirring to make sure everything is cooking evenly. 

I could go in to the technicalities of braising vs. stewing, but I won't bore you with the mundane details. Just know that the recipes below will warm the soul (yes, it's a bit cheesy, but it's true) as well as the body. I hope you enjoy. 

Tomato-Braised Pork Shoulder

Over Creamy Polenta

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For pork:

1 tablespoon neutral oil such as avocado or canola

1, 5-6 pound bone-in pork shoulder

1/4 cup diced carrot

1/4 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced onion (see one way to dice here)

2 large cloves garlic, sliced

1, 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme (learn how to mince here)

2 teaspoons minced fresh basil, plus additional for garnish

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, as needed

For polenta:

1 cup whole milk

1 cup water, plus additional as needed

1/2 cup polenta (not instant or quick cook)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus additional for garnish

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, as needed

Procedure:

Make pork:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Season pork shoulder with salt and pepper and set aside.

Place a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed, oven safe pot over medium heat. Add oil. Sear all sides of pork shoulder until golden brown (it will not be cooked through) and remove from pot. Add carrot, celery, and onion to the pot and cook until onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add tomatoes, including juice, scraping brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add herbs and stir, breaking up tomatoes into small pieces with spoon. Bring to a simmer. Add pork back to pan and cover with a lid. Place in oven for 3-4 hours, or until meat is very tender.

When meat is tender, remove from pan and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bone and shred or cut into bite-sized chunks. Return to pork pieces to pan. Bring to a simmer and heat meat back through, stirring to ensure even coverage of the meat in the sauce. Adjust seasoning as needed with salt and pepper.

Make polenta:

In a medium pot over medium-high heat, bring milk and water to a boil.  Season generously with salt. Gradually whisk in polenta.  Reduce the heat to medium-low heat and continuing stirring.

Cook 20 minutes, until creamy, stirring regularly and adding additional water as needed to prevent from drying out.

Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the pepper and butter.  Gradually stir in the cheese and adjust seasoning as needed.

To serve:

Place polenta in a bowl. Top with pork mixture. Garnish with additional parmesan and basil. Serve.

Citrus Sage Braised Chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Zest & juice of 1 Navel orange

Zest & juice of 1/2 lemon

Zest & juice of 1/2 lime

Zest & juice of 1 medium grapefruit

1 tablespoon honey (optional)

4 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 cup low-sodium chicken stock

2 teaspoons minced fresh sage, plus additional for garnish if desired

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon cool water

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, as needed

Procedure:

In a small bowl, combine all juices and zest. Taste the mixture. If it is very acidic, add up to one tablespoon of honey to reduce the acid. Set aside.

Pat chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Set a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Place thighs, skin side down in the pan. Cook until fat has rendered and skin is brown. Flip and brown the other side. Remove thighs from pan and set aside (they will not be cooked at this point). Remove all but 1 tablespoon fat from the pan. If desired, before you remove the fat, you can fry some additional sage leaves for garnish. Set aside on a paper towel to drain.

Add onions to pan and cook until translucent. Deglaze with white wine, scraping up any brown bits. When wine has reduced completely, add stock, sage, and juice mixture. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Return chicken thighs to the pan, including any juices that have accumulated. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until chicken is cooked through, flipping chicken halfway through cooking time, approximately 20-25 minutes.

When chicken is cooked, remove from pan and set aside, keeping warm. Bring sauce in the pan to a boil. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and cool water. Add to pan and bring back to a boil, stirring constantly. Once at a boil, allow to cook for 3-5 minutes to cook out the starch taste. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.

Serve chicken thigh, with sauce ladled over, and garnished with additional sage if desired.

Beef Stew with Celeriac and Parsnips

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

1 pound beef stew meat

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon avocado oil or other neutral flavored oil, plus additional as needed

2 cups large diced celeriac (about one medium celery root)

2 cups large diced parsnips (about 2 medium parsnips)

1 cup large diced onion

8 ounces wild mushrooms (such as maitake, cremini, shiitake, etc.), sliced

3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 cups dry red wine

4 cups beef stock

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, as needed

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Pat stew meat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper and toss with flour.

Place a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed, oven-safe pot over medium heat. When hot, add oil. Sear beef on all sides, in batches, making sure there is space around each piece of meat in the pan. When seared on all sides, remove from pan and continue with additional meat, adding extra oil as needed.

When all meat is seared and removed from pan, check for oil. Add enough oil to have one tablespoon of fat remaining in the pan. Add celeriac, parsnips, and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent. Add mushrooms and continue to cook until softened. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add red wine, scraping brown bits off bottom of pan. Bring to a boil, and continue to cook until alcohol smell has dissipated, about 1-2 minutes. Add seared beef (along with any accumulated juices), stock, rosemary, thyme, and Worcestershire. Season with salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil. Cover pot with lid and place in oven. Cook for 2-2 1/2 hours, or until meat is tender, stirring approximately every 45 minutes – 1 hour. Make sure the liquid is only simmering. If the liquid is boiling, reduce oven temperature to 250-275.

Once meat is tender, remove from oven and serve with crusty bread for sopping up all the extra sauce.

Curried Squash

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons neutral oil such as vegetable, avocado, or canola

3 tablespoons red curry paste

1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk

2 cups vegetable stock

2 tablespoons palm or coconut sugar (or 4 teaspoons light brown sugar), plus more as needed

2 teaspoons fish sauce, plus more as needed

3 (1/4 inch thick) slices ginger, lightly crushed (if you want to see how to peel it, click here)

2 3-inch pieces of fresh lemongrass, thick white parts only, bruised (see how to bruise it here)

Zest and juice of 1 lime, plus more to taste

2 small kabocha squashes, peeled, seeded and cut into wedges

1 cup medium-diced red bell peppers (from approximately 1 red bell pepper) (learn how to cut a bell pepper here)

2 cups stemmed and quartered shiitake mushrooms (5-6 ounces)

1/4 cup loosely packed roughly chopped cilantro (learn how to get the leaves off the stem faster here)

1/4 cup loosely packed roughly chopped Thai basil leaves

2 tablespoons loosely packed minced fresh mint leaves

Steamed jasmine rice, for serving

Procedure:

Place a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan (you could also use a wok here, but it will cook faster) over medium heat. When hot, add oil and curry paste. Toast curry until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes, using a spoon to distribute the paste throughout the oil. Add coconut milk, stock, sugar, and fish sauce. Whisk ingredients together and bring to a simmer. Add the ginger, lemongrass, and lime zest. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 8 minutes or until the curry is aromatic and begins to thicken.

Add the squash to the pot, cover, and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Add the bell peppers and simmer 3 minutes, or until beginning to soften. Add mushrooms and simmer until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes more.

Remove the pan from the heat. Add approximately 2/3 of the herbs and the lime juice. Taste and adjust seasoning with more sugar, fish sauce or lime juice if needed to balance the flavors. Remove the ginger and lemongrass and discard. Scoop steamed rice into bowls and ladle curry mixture over. Garnish with remaining herbs and serve immediately.