Saveur: The New Comfort Food Read Online Free PDF Page A

each parsley and thyme and 1 bay leaf, tied together with kitchen twine)
    2 tbsp. unsalted butter
    10 oz. button mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
    32 pearl onions, peeled
    ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, for garnish
    Serves 8
    1. Heat the oven to 325°F. Cook the bacon in an 8-qt. Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 20 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel–lined plate; pour off all but 2 tbsp. of the rendered fat.
    2. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the oil to the Dutch oven. Working in batches, add the beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook, turning occasionally, until the beef is browned on all sides, 5–6 minutes. Transfer the beef to a plate and set aside. Add the carrots, onions, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and browned, about 7 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Return the beef to the pot along with any juices, sprinkle with flour, and stir until the ingredients are well coated with flour. Add the stock, wine, and bouquet garni. Cover, transfer to the oven, and cook until the beef is tender, 2 ½ –3 hours.
    3. Meanwhile, melt 1 tbsp. butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are soft and golden brown, 10–12 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl and set aside.
    4. Add 1 tbsp. butter to the skillet along with the pearl onions and 2 tbsp. water. Cover partially and cook until the water evaporates and the onions are tender, about 4 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking the onions, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, 2–3 minutes more. Transfer onions to the bowl with the mushrooms and cover to keep warm.
    5. Remove the beef from the oven. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a large bowl and cover to keep warm. Set a fine mesh strainer over a 4-qt. saucepan. Strain the cooking liquid, discarding solids, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook until reduced and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 10–12 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
    6. To serve, divide the reserved beef between 8 serving bowls and pour some sauce over each serving. Divide the bacon, mushrooms, and pearl onions evenly between the bowls, and garnish with the parsley leaves. Serve with crusty bread, if you like.

Creamy Corn Chowder
    The recipe for this summer chowder comes from the Murphy family of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia (their home is pictured during a late-summer party). Matriarch Eva Murphy, a home cook who harvests many of the ingredients for the soup from her own vegetable patch, scrapes sweet corn off the cob and thickens the soup by puréeing a little of the chowder and stirring it back into the pot.
8 ears fresh corn, shucked
    8 strips bacon, chopped
    4 tbsp. unsalted butter
    1 tbsp. minced fresh thyme
    4 cloves garlic, minced
    2 ribs celery, minced
    1 medium yellow onion, minced
    1 bay leaf
    6 cups milk
    3 medium new potatoes (about 1½ lbs.), peeled and cut into ½ -inch cubes Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
    ¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil, for garnish
    Serves 8
    1. Working over a large bowl, slice the kernels off the corn cobs, scraping the cobs with the knife to extract the flavorful juices. Halve 5 of the bare corn cobs crosswise, discarding the rest. Set the corn and cobs aside.

    2. Heat the bacon in a 6-qt. pot over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 12 minutes. Reserve 3 tbsp. bacon for a garnish, leaving the remaining bacon and fat in the pot. Add the butter, thyme, garlic, celery, onions, and bay leaf. Cover the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften, about 6 minutes. Add the reserved corn kernels and cobs, milk, and potatoes. Cover, bring the chowder to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes. Skim