Stew

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large onions, chopped fine

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Kosher salt and pepper

2 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, pulp grated on large holes of box grater, and skins discarded

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 cups dry white wine

1 1/2 cups water

1 large sprig fresh thyme

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 1/2 pounds boneless beef short ribs, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes

Picada

1/4 cup whole blanched almonds (I actually used pecans for this, because we have an abundance of them)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 slice hearty white sandwich bread, crust removed, torn into 1-inch pieces (I used 2 pieces of Scharr gluten-free bread-because generally gluten-free slices are small-and left the crusts on)

2 garlic cloves, peeled

3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1/2 pound oyster mushrooms, trimmed (I used Baby Bellas instead)

1 teaspoon sherry vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)