On Sat, 20 Apr 2019 09:58:48 -0400, jmcquown >
wrote:

>On 4/20/2019 9:33 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>> On 4/20/2019 12:33 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>>
>>> So my question is... Do you think this will work without the potato? I
>>> could always put a small amount in such as one Russet. I think I have
>>> a few Russets.
>>
>> Sure, potatoes are more of a tradition that requirement.* Keep in mind
>> though, they do help a bit with thickening, but dredge the meat in flour
>> and get the same effect.
>
>As to the thickening, I'm reminded of the two very differet types of
>beef stew my grandmothers made. My maternal grandmother's beef stew was
>fairly thick and she topped it with drop dumplings, which further
>thickened the stew. My paternal grandmother's beef stew was more like a
>vegetable beef soup with the beef and vegetables cut into fairly large
>pieces. There's no wrong way to prepare beef stew.
>
>Jill

I often make beef stew with beef, mushrooms, some diced celery,
carrots and red bell pepper for color, and barley... we much prefer
barley to potatoes.
My mother rarely made beef stew, instead she made veal stew... I like
veal stew but it's not easy to find decent veal nowadays. I've never
seen any veal at the markets around here. My mom would make stock
from veal bones, and my father loved veal bone marrow. My mom loved
jellied veal stock. Us kids didn't want to listen to them slurping at
that... now that I reminisce it was like they were enjoying oral sex.