Michael wrote:

> I need a good chicken stew recipe

Cut up a chicken. Sprinkle it with salt and sugar and let it sit in the
refrigerator for an hour. Rinse chicken.

Heat canola oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add a layer of chicken
pieces, skin-side down. Grind black pepper over the top. Cook 4 minutes,
turn chicken, and cook another 4 minutes. Remove chicken pieces to a bowl.
Repeat browning with remaining chicken pieces.

When all chicken pieces are browned, add chopped onion, celery, and carrots.
Lower heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove
the chicken meat from the bones. Remove the vegetables from the pot and put
them in a bowl with the chicken meat.

Increase heat to medium-high, and make sure there's still a bit of oil in
the pan. (If necessary, add a tablespoon of oil.) Sprinkle two tablespoons
of flour into the pan and whisk vigorously until the flour starts to brown.
Slowly add a cup of chicken stock and a quarter-cup of sherry, whisking
continuously to dissolve the lumps that will form. Scrape the bottom of the
pot to remove the browned bits.

When the pot has been thoroughly scraped and no lumps remain, slowly add
another three cups chicken stock. Return the chicken and vegetables to the
pot; cook another fifteen minutes or so to marry the flavors and finish
cooking the chicken. Remove from the heat and stir in a half-cup of cream.

Serve immediately with noodles or potatoes.

Bob