Date: January 6, 2014 | Story: Hannah Walter | Styling: Chip Jones | Producer: Chip Jones |
Chef, photographer and blogger Brian Kelley shares a nostalgic favorite family recipe–perfect for cool winter days
Growing up in Pine Bluff, Brian Kelley became accustomed to roast, cornbread and other traditional Southern recipes made by his mother and grandmothers. Following in their culinary footsteps, Kelley is now the house chef at P. Allen Smith’s Moss Mountain Farm. Here, he has cooked for hundreds of people and mastered both Southern and French cuisine. In addition to his skills in the kitchen, he is an avid photographer and blogger—writing two local blogs, Life in SoMa Little Rock and Brian’s Style Guide.
During the winter, Kelley reverts to his roots and enjoys cooking the recipes his mother once prepared for him. One of his favorites, shared here, puts a tart and tangy spin on a classic dish and conveniently “makes good leftovers,” he says.
Spanish Stew
INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs beef stew meat
2 lbs Yukon gold or red potatoes
2-3 yellow onions
1 lb baby carrots
1 (10 oz.) jar of pimento-stuffed green olives
1 (16 oz.) bottle of Catalina dressing
kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Cut the potatoes, onions and carrots into bite-size pieces, and place them in a large Dutch oven. Cube the stew meat into one-inch chunks, season with salt and pepper and add to the pot, along with the drained jar of olives. Finally, pour the entire bottle of dressing over the contents of the Dutch oven along with water to cover. (Kelley suggests using the dressing bottle and filling it up twice with water.) Place the container in the oven on the middle rack and cook for three hours or until meat is tender.
Follow Kelley’s blogs, Life in SoMa Little Rock (somalittlerock.blogspot.com), which chronicles his experiences in Little Rock’s SoMa neighborhood, and the newly launched Brian’s Style Guide (briansstyleguide.blogspot.com), which offers up cooking, travel and fashion inspiration.
