Monday, September 17, 2012

Bon Appetit

Every since the Peep watched Julie and Julia the Sony Pictures Movie based on the book of the same name about Julie a lovely woman cooking all of the recipes in the Julia Child's  Mastering the Art of French Cooking, she has been a fan of Beef Bourguignonne.  Before she ate it the first time and definitely after.   

We have talked several times about opening the copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking we some how managed to liberate from my sweet mother in law's house and making Julia's version at home but we just never got around to it.

Last week we got a William-Sonoma catalog in the mail and it had a lovely picture and recipe for Beef Bourguignonne in it that I decided it was time to make it.  So TODAY was the day.

I really wish for your sake that my computer was enabled with smellovision.  The house smells wonderful.

I admit that I didn't follow Julia's recipe, but the WS version which follows is just as complex, and probably just as lovely, and if we end up liking it I will make Julia's next time and let you know if there's a difference.

Note- I couldn't find the veal demi-glace at the Pavillions grocery store where the Peep and I stopped on the way home from school to ingredient up for dinner- so I subbed in beef bullion.  Meh.

As I sit here though, thinking Beef Bourguignonne in the distinctly Julia Child voice, I Googled her looking for video and came across this from ABC news.  I couldn't find a date stamp on it so I am not sure when it ran, but it was a lovely seven minute or so piece on Julia.

William Sonoma Beef Bourguignonne


Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbs. canola oil
  • 4 1/2 lb. boneless chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 1 lb. button mushrooms, quartered
  • 1/2 lb. slab bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 2 tsp. minced garlic
  • 1 1/2 Tbs. veal demi-glace
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 bottle (750ml) Pinot Noir
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 1 lb. pearl onions, peeled
  • 1 bouquet garni (2 bay leaves, 4 thyme sprigs and 6 parsley sprigs, tied with kitchen twine)
  • 3 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • Boiled potatoes with parsley for serving (see related recipe at left)

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F.

In a 6 3/4-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the oil until just smoking. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown the beef on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes per batch. Transfer to a large bowl.

Add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil and the mushrooms to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 6 to 8 minutes, adding 1 to 2 Tbs. water if the bottom of the pot becomes too dark. Transfer the mushrooms to the bowl with the beef.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the bacon to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is browned and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon to the bowl with the beef and mushrooms.

Discard all but 1/4 cup of the fat from the pot. Add the yellow onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic, demi-glace and flour and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

Return the beef, mushrooms and bacon to the pot. Add the broth, pearl onions and bouquet garni. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot with aluminum foil and then with the lid. Transfer to the oven and cook until the meat is fork-tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Skim the excess fat off the sauce, and remove and discard the bouquet garni. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the parsley. Serve the stew immediately over boiled potatoes. Serves 8 to 10.  William Sonoma Kitchens


3 comments:

Hilldog said...

Man I wish you lived closer!! I miss your cooking!!

Cara Membuat Website said...

Good recipes

SEO Company India said...

wow! Yummy! Thank you for sharing this recipes.

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