My Christmas project this year was to make a double batch of chicken pot pies for the holidays. I put two chickens and double veggies into the roaster, but I make the dough in two separate batches for ease of handling.
I also started a batch of beef stew – I usually make it over three or four days. The recipe comes from an article Julia Child wrote for Food & Wine Magazine years ago. I’ve modified it to resemble the beef stew at Liberty Cafe (same place that makes the chicken pot pies). It consists of tender stew meat, a thick, rich gravy, pearl onions, and sliced portabella mushrooms. I serve it over mashed potatoes. I don’t like beef stew with a bunch of overdone, mushy vegetables in it.
Today, I put the raw stew meat into my favorite Le Crueset soup pot along with thinly sliced onions and carrots, salt, cracked peppercorns, crushed garlic, sprigs of thyme, olive oil and red wine vinegar. After tossing everything together, I put in into the refrigerator, covered, to marinate for the night.

• My Best Beef Stew (Food & Wine, January 1996, p.34)