• 2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 1 1/2  pounds  boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  kosher salt, divided
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 2  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
• 2  medium onions, each cut into 8 wedges
• 8  garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/4  cup  dry red wine (I like Côte du Rhone)
• 1  cup  fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
• 2  tablespoons  tomato paste
• 3  bay leaves
• 3  fresh thyme sprigs
• 1  (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 3  cups  (1-inch) slices zucchini
• 2  cups  (1-inch) slices carrots (I used whole baby carrots)

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Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; dredge in flour. Add beef to pan; sauté 2 minutes, browning on all sides. 

Place beef in an electric slow cooker. Add onions and garlic to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Add wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Place onion mixture in cooker. 

Add broth, tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme, and tomatoes to cooker; top with zucchini and carrots. Cover and cook on LOW 8 hours or until beef is tender. 

Stir in remaining 1 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

2. Cut the stems off of the artichokes and pull off the tough outer leaves. Cut about ½ inch off of the top of each artichoke to create a flat top. Make sure the bottoms are flat so the artichokes can stand up. With your fingers, spread the leaves apart as much as you can, stuffing the breadcrumb mixture between them. Put plenty of the filling on the top of the artichokes.

3. In a Dutch oven, heat the remaining ¼ cup olive oil over medium heat. Add the smashed garlic cloves to the oil and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add thyme, wine, lemon juice, and vegetable broth. Arrange artichokes in pot, cover, and place over medium heat. Simmer until artichokes are tender throughout, about 30 minutes.

I must admit, they really looked delicious when they were done, and the broth smelled wonderful.  But, as I started peeling and sucking petal after petal, I just couldn’t help but ask myself why anyone would do this?

Considering the amount of time that goes into cleaning, peeling and preparing the ‘chokes and the time it took to make the recipe- it just isn’t worth it in my opinion.

I don’t like to work this hard for my food- especially when that food is almost, uh, non-existant?! There was hardly any meat on those petals!

So while I am glad I conquered my fear of artichokes, I have decided that we won’t be making them again in this house.

We’ll be saving our artichoke consumption for the talented chefs when we dine out, or for those lovely jars of hearts at the market.

Do you make artichokes?  How do you like them?

Bring the leeks, potatoes and water to the boil in a 3 quart heavy-bottomed saucepan. Salt lightly, cover partially, and simmer 20-30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. 

Purée the soup if you wish. Taste, and correct seasoning. After chilling the soup, you may wish to stir in a little more cream. Taste carefully again, and correct the seasoning. Top each serving with a sprinkle of chives or parsley. 

1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces bacon, diced
2 ½ pounds beef chuck cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks 
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
½ cup Cognac or good brandy
1 (750-ml) bottle good dry red wine, such as Burgundy
2 to 2 ½ cups canned beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
4 tablespoon (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 pound frozen small whole onions
1 pound mushrooms, stems discarded, caps thickly sliced

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Preheat oven to 250°F.

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add bacon; cook over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until bacon is lightly browned. Remove bacon with slotted spoon to a large plate.

Dry beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear beef in hot oil 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove beef cubes to plate with cooked bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside.

Toss carrots, onions, 1 tablespoon of the salt, and 2 teaspoons of pepper into the fat in the pan and cook over medium heat 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. 

Add Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. Put beef and bacon back into the pot with any juices that have accumulated on the plate. Add wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. 

Bring to a boil, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid, and place it in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours, or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and place on top of stove.

Combine 2 tablespoons of the butter and the flour with fork and stir into the stew. Add frozen onions. In medium pan, sauté mushrooms in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, over medium heat, 10 minutes or until lightly browned; add to stew. 

Bring stew to a boil, then lower heat and simmer uncovered 15 minutes. Season to taste.  

Rub each slice of bread on one side with garlic.  For each serving spoon the stew over a slice of bread and sprinkle with parsley.