The best things in life are….

….made with grass fed beef!

Like this beef stew.  (Pardon me, my daughter the English major may see this:  Such as this beef stew!)  And it was only the proverbial “gilding the lily” to toss in some Hennessey’s.

We first tasted it at Linda Maurer’s house, she of Springhaven Farm near Madison (sorry, address not available), and it was absolutely the best stew we ever had.  Linda being a dear friend, and quavering only slightly due to the gun pointed at her, volunteered to share her recipe.  She called it “Parker’s Beef Stew”.

Well, being a fanatic about such little things I had to track down “Parker”.  Turns out he was a chef at The Barefoot Contessa’s former store on the island.  If you have to ask who The Barefoot Contessa is, you’re probably not reading this far anyway.

Get to the point, David!  OK!  Here’s a link to the Contessa’s recipe:

http://barefootcontessa.com/recipes.aspx?RecipeID=156&S=0

Did I mention Hennessey’s along the way?  Well, like any good cook, Linda improvises and her Parker’s Stew includes a half-cup of Hennessey’s.  Let me tell you….

And when we told the folks at the ABC store in Marshall why we wanted some Hennessey’s and the clerk got all excited and she told everyone….   And so I wouldn’t go to Marshall looking for any.