Stoofvlees...An Adventure In Culinary Arts

I love stoofvlees. Really. It's one of the first things that I ventured to try in a local restaurant after we moved to Belgium, and it's delicious. Sadly, great taste does not come without a hefty price. And that price, in this case, is not pretty. I finally acquired the recipe for stoofvlees through a friend, who got it from a very talented local cook. I can't tell you how excited I was about this. (Did I mention that I LOVE stoofvlees?) Anyhoo, I decided to surprise the family with this home made local delicacy the other day. I followed the recipe precisely in every detail. It looked pretty much like what I had eaten locally, but there was something else that I didn't know about beforehand. A side effect, if you will. The hubby arrived home from work, opened the front door and paused. There was a strange expression on his face as he stood there. Finally, he said "Is everything OK?" "Yes", I answered. I have no idea what he's talking about at this point. "What's that....smell?" he said. I informed him that I'd been cooking for quite some time, and dinner was almost ready. I told him that we were having.......stoofvlees! He cautiously made his way to the kitchen. He took one look in the pot and said, "In over 20 years of marriage, I've never complained once about anything that you've cooked, but please....PLEASE ....never cook this again!" Hmmmm. Maybe it does smell a little foul. Did I mention that stoofvlees is boiled beef, and it's boiled in...beer? Just imagine walking into a hot, dirty bar, on the morning after a wild party where beer was poured all over the floor and left to swelter in the heat. That's kind of what stoofvlees smells like when it cooks. Like I said, it's not pretty, but boy does it taste good. *heavy sigh* Oh, well. I guess I'll have to stick to just ordering it when we go out to eat. I aired out the house, but the memory of stoofvlees lives on. Just in case you are feeling a little adventurous yourself, I'll pass the recipe on to you. If you can get past the whole HOLY COW THAT STINKS part of the cooking process, it really is delicious.

Stoofvlees

• 2 lbs beef stew meat
• 2 large onions
• 1 bottle dark beer
• 2 cans mushrooms
• 5 bay leaves
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 tsp vinegar
• salt or bouillon to taste
• pepper to taste
• slice of old bread with mustard spread on it

Saute onion in olive oil. Brown meat. Add in rest of ingredients, except bread with mustard. Cook for 20 minutes, and then add bread with mustard to thicken sauce. Remove cloves and bay leaves before serving.