Elio's Stew

1 lb. stew beef	1 bottle red wine	onions
1 lb. stew veal	1 head fennel	carrots
1 lb. pork sausage (Italian sweet)	salt	celery
assorted mushrooms	pepper	peppers
4 oz. pancetta	potatoes

Prick sausage skins with fork and boil 20 min. Remove skins and cut into ¹/4" rounds. Set aside. Coarsely chop onions, carrots, celery and peppers. Coat with Essence of Elio (see recipe below) and sauté in oil until tender, but not mushy. Repeat with mushrooms, fennel, and potatoes. Trim fat from stew meat, coat with Essence and brown in hot oil. Transfer all ingredients to a dutch oven, add some wine, and let cook until tender. Mix butter and flour together and add to stew to thicken.

Essence of Elio

garlic powder	parsley	olive oil
onion powder	fennel seeds	basil
rosemary (if cooking pork)	salt	pepper
thyme all-spice (optional)

Grind all ingredients except oil to a fine powder with a mortar and pestle. Add oil and mix. Use to dip meat and vegetables in before cooking.