“Boots” courtesy of saracino. “Cowboy Slang”
By Edgar R. Potter
Hard up: His boots were so frazzled he couldn’t scratch a match without burnin’ his feet.
Crazy: As crazy as popcorn on a hot skillet.
Fast gal: Must think her butt is a gold mine since everybody’s a diggin’ at it.
Lazy: Quit spittin’ on the handle an’ get to work.
Hot: Hot ‘nough to sunburn a horned toad.
Talking: His tongue would get a real frolicsome.
Coward: All gurgle an’ no guts.
Braggart: Had callouses from pattin’ his own back.
Women: I don’t like to have my haunches spurred by no drip-nose of a gal.
Grub: To make a sonofabitch stew yuh throw everything in the pot but the hide, horns an’ beller.
In the bowl:
Beef stew with red wine
Adapted from Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten
Serves 6 to 8
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces bacon, chopped
2 1/2 pounds beef chuck, cubed
salt
pepper
1 pound carrots, sliced into 1-inch chunks
2 onions, sliced
2 teaspoons garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 cup Cognac or brandy
1 bottle red wine (I used a Malbec)
2 to 2 1/2 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 pound frozen pearl onions
1 pound mushrooms, stemmed and thickly sliced
Preheat oven to 250 degrees
Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven. Add bacon and cook until browned. Remove. Salt and pepper beef and toss it into the bacon fat. In batches, sear the beef. Remove to the same plate holding the bacon.
Throw the carrots, onions, 1 tablespoon salt and 2 teaspoons pepper into the pan and cook for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. Put the meat back in the pot. Add the wine and enough broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring the pot to a boil, cover it and put it in the oven for about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours or until meat and veggies are tender. Remove from oven and place on the stove.
Combine 2 tablespoons of butter and flour and stir into the stew. Add onions. Saute mushrooms and add to the stew. Bring to a boil, then lower flame to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Spoon into bowls and sprinkle chopped parsley on top.
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