It's rough in the US right now. Covid. A coup. Cold, rainy weather. But on the horizon, there's a new President who believes in science, a vaccine that shows promise. Spring will come.

So tonight... Let's make a classic, American beef stew. /1

I know. Usually my food threads are pasta. But we need stick-to-your-bones comfort tonight.

To start: Chuck steak, onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, garlic.

And more umami than Trump has frivolous elections lawsuits: soy sauce, Worcestershire, sherry, tomato paste, anchovies.

You'll need a high-smoke point oil that can handle the heat (unlike our lame duck President).

Brown that steak. Then caramelize the mushrooms in beefy oil.

After the mushrooms are done, carrots, celery, onion, garlic.

@kenjilopezalt recommends leaving the big onion whole, using it for flavor, then discarding. He, like all wise, caring people, also recommends wearing a mask. Let's take both pieces of advice.

Chop up your steak into pretty little cubes. Unlike the votes in our antiquated, electoral college, every piece matters equally.

Whisk the soy sauce, tomato paste, anchovies, and Worcestershire, then add. Diversity is a beautiful, delicious thing.

Into the pot it goes, along with our gelatin-rich beef bone stock, thyme, & bay leaves.

Unnoticed (like Biden's AZ win yesterday), I also added pearl onions.

The oven will do the rest of the work.

And... on January 20th, the Constitution will do its work.

Geraldine made soda bread to soak up all that delicious stew sauce. I roasted some crispy little potatoes, too.

American beef stew.

Like the gracious, peaceful transfer of power for every US President until this one, it's a heart-warming classic.

Make a big ol' fire outside, so you can eat it while safely socially distancing with friends.

Full recipe from @kenjilopezalt here: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/01/all-american-beef-stew-recipe.html