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Q I plan to make your Ragout of Beef with Cranberries and Wild Mushrooms (from
Falling Off the Bone) for a company dinner. It serves six but I will have 12 people
who will want seconds. Any suggestions for doubling? I don't want to overpower
the flavor with too much wine, cranberry sauce, etc. And speaking of the wine, a
couple of my guests are former alcoholics. Will the dish have a noticeably strong
wine flavor? Thank you!
– L.S. Arlington, VA
A The problem with doubling stew recipes is that you usually end up with too much
liquid, so here's what I'd do when doubling the Ragout of Beef with Cranberries and Wild Mushrooms:
- Use 2 cups dry red wine only.
- Use 1 1/2 cups whole cranberry sauce but keep 1/2 cup in reserve and add at the end, if needed for flavor.
- Use 2 1/2 cups beef broth but keep an extra 1 cup in reserve and add some or all of it at the end, if needed to give the stew's gravy the proper consistency (should be like a nice beef gravy).
- Use 1 1/2 teaspoons salt but season to taste just before serving.
As for the wine, all of the alcohol evaporates. Moreover, if you use only 2 cups wine in the doubled recipe, the wine flavor will be subtle.
Doubling stew recipes is tricky. Just taste as you go and if the stew seems thick near serving time, you can always add the reserved beef broth.
Good luck and let me know how this turns out. As I said above, this is the way I'd double this particular recipe.
LS I know you must be very busy, but I have one more question. Should I double
the shallots and onions? Seems like a lot. Double would be 8 large shallots and 4 large yellow onions. Thanks for your time!
JA I'd say double the shallots but NOT the onions, which will exude quantities of
juice. Let me know how it goes.
LS I made the dish today and it was incredibly good! So tender, it was heavenly. Everyone loved it so much and took leftovers home. I want to try more of your recipes in the book, particularly the Indian ones (love Indian). Great advice for doubling the recipe, because there was quite a bit of liquid (which eventually cooked down). I'm so glad I contacted you about this.
JA Thanks a mill for reporting back. I'm so pleased the recipe was a hit. I, too,
love Indian food and have ever since I spent time in India on article assignment
Note: If you’d like to try my Ragout of Beef with Cranberries and Wild Mushrooms, see Recipe of the Month.
LETTERS AUTHORS LOVE:
“Hi -- I have an old edition of THE FOOD OF PORTUGAL, given to me by my brother-
in-law before he passed away. You really captured the Portuguese cuisine to a T. I’m
from the Azores island of Santa Maria, but have lived in Canada all my life and cook Portuguese food most of the time. I enjoy the book so much I wanted to know about
you and your books, so I’m going to try an English store called Indigo. Since I live in the province of Quebec, mainly French speaking, I want to get a few books. I love cooking
for my family and friends, especially the Portuguese breads.”
– Lucilia de Sousa, Ste. Sophie, Canada
Note: To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the publication of my THE FOOD OF PORTUGAL,
I’m featuring it on the What’s New? page. Still going strong, the book is generating an avalanche of reader e-mail, so if you aren’t familiar with what’s been called “Western
Europe’s least known cuisine,” I thought it appropriate to introduce you to it in this new
edition of my website. Do try the two soup recipes I’ve included. They’re nutritious,
delicious, and utterly unique.
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