Today was a beautiful fall day and I was in the mood for stew. That being said, I wasn’t in the mood for the bland canned bullshit. I wanted something that was bursting with flavor and fullness. You know, the kind of flavor that isn’t found in ready-made microwavable food. Nope. This was going to require real cooking with a guideline recipe and some time.

I haven’t made stew in what seemed like an eternity, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. The concept is simple enough and making stew is entirely within my culinary capabilities. I wanted to try my hand at a pork stew since pork is by far the most superior meat on the planet. It’s so incredibly versatile, unlike beef or chicken. Take a moment to ponder all of the flavor possibilities of pork. A pig can be broken down into bacon, pork chops, and ham. Each one with a unique flavor and texure. You won’t find this sort of flavor diversity in beef or chicken.

Long story short, the stew was pretty typical in execution. I used this recipe as a guideline but I made a few alterations along the way. I used pork rather than beef. I used a raspberry wine and chicken stock instead of the traditional red wine and beef stock. I was in the mood to break all sorts of barriers. It turned out to be delicious. Not that I had any doubts… but sometimes things go awry. It also helps that I used rosemary from my garden.