A few years ago, after watching the movie "Julie and Julia," I decided to take another look at the "From Julia Child's Kitchen" cookbook that had been gathering dust on my kitchen bookshelf. I also went out and bought "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" volumes 1 and 2. While some of her recipes are very labor-intensive, her Boeuf Bourguignon is worth the effort. I am posting her recipe below, but I am also posting Ina Garten's recipe as well. While both are similar, I have used some elements from each to make my own recipe. For example... Julia's recipe has you peeling and braising the pearl onions. In Ina's recipe, she uses frozen onions... so much easier and just as good! I also posted a crock pot recipe under "Crockpot Beef Bourguignon with Red Wine" (Nov. 11, 2012) that is very good. Look at all the recipes and take what you like from each and come up with your own Boeuf Bourguignon! Oh... and don't forget a good red wine and crusty French baguette to go with it!
Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon Recipe from Mastering the Art of French CookingCourtesy of http://www.the‐cooks‐corner‐blog.com
As is the case with most famous dishes, there are more ways than one to arrive at a good boeuf bourguignon. Carefully done, and perfectly flavored, it is certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man, and can well be the main course for a buffet dinner. Fortunately you can prepare it completely ahead, even a day in advance, and it only gains in flavor when reheated.
Vegetable and Wine SuggestionsBoiled potatoes are traditionally served with this dish. Buttered noodles or steamed rice may be substituted. If you also wish a green vegetable, buttered peas would be your best choice. Serve with the beef a fairlyfull‐bodied, young red wine, such as Beaujolais, Côtes du Rhône, Bordeaux‐St. Émilion, or Burgundy. Serves 6
Kitchen Supplies:• 9‐ to 10‐inch, fireproof casserole dish, 3 inches deep
• Slotted spoon
Boeuf Bourguignon:• 6 ounces bacon
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil
• 3 pounds lean stewing beef , cut into 2‐inch cubes
• 1 sliced carrot
• 1 sliced onion
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 3 cups full‐bodied, young red wine , such as a Chianti
• 2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 cloves mashed garlic
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• Crumbled bay leaf
• Blanched bacon rind
• 18 to 24 small white onions , brown‐braised in stock
• 1 pound quartered fresh mushrooms , sautéed in butter
• Parsley sprigs
Remove rind from bacon, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water. Drain and dry. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef. Dry the stewing beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.
In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat. Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.)
Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees. Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. (See recipes below.) Set them aside until needed. When the melt is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat. Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned
bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.
For immediate serving: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorated with parsley.
For later serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.
FOR MORE GREAT BEEF BOURGUIGNON RECIPES, VISIT OUR WEBSITE:
http://beef‐bourguignon.blogspot.com/
Brown-Braised Onions
18-24 peeled white onions about 1" in diameter
1 1/2 T. butter
1 1/2 T. olive oil
9-10" skillet
When the butter and oil are bubbling in the skillet, add the onions and sauté over moderate heat for aboout 10 minutes, rolling the onions about so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect to brown them uniformly.
Then pour in 1/2 cup of beef stock OR red wine. Salt and pepper to taste and add a medium herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, 1/2 bay leaf, 1/4tsp. thyme tied in cheesecloth). Cover and simmer slowly for 40-50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove the herb bouquet. Add to the Boeuf Bourguignonne.
Mushrooms Sautéed with Shallots, Garlic, and Herbs
1/2 lbs. fresh mushrooms, whole if small, quartered if large
1 T. olive oil
2 T. butter
3 T. minced shallots or green onions
Optional: one small clove garlic, minced
Sauté the mushrooms in oil and butter until lightly browned. Stir in the shallots, or greens onions, and optional garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Add to the Boeuf Bourguignonne.
Ina Garten's Beef Bourguignon
Copyright Ina Garten, All Rights Reserved
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 15 min
Level: Intermediate
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients
1 tablespoon good olive oil
8 ounces dry cured center cut applewood smoked bacon, diced
2 1/2 pounds chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
1/2 cup Cognac
1 (750 ml.) bottle good dry red wine such as Cote du Rhone or Pinot Noir
1 can (2 cups) beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound frozen whole onions
1 pound fresh mushrooms stems discarded, caps thickly sliced
For serving:
Country bread or Sour Dough, toasted or grilled and rubbed with garlic clove
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, optional
Directions
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
Heat
the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium
heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly
browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.
Dry
the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and
pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3
to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to
the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is
browned. Set aside.
Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 tablespoon of
salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to
15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly
browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac,
stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. Put the
meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add the bottle of wine
plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste
and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and
place it in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours or until the meat and
vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork.
Combine 2
tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew.
Add the frozen onions. Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter
for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew. Bring the
stew to a boil on top of the stove, then lower the heat and simmer for
15 minutes. Season to taste.
To serve, toast the bread in the
toaster or oven. Rub each slice on 1 side with a cut clove of garlic.
For each serving, spoon the stew over a slice of bread and sprinkle with
parsley.
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Here's a family favorite dessert recipe that I've made for over 38 years... and it's still a winner!
French Coconut Pie
1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup white Karo syrup
4 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon, but do not beat. Add 3/4 cup warm water and mix well. Pour into a 9" uncooked pie shell. (I use Pillsbury roll out pie crusts that you get in the dairy case, but you can make your own pie crust if you prefer.) Bake at 375° for 45 minutes or until golden brown on top. Enjoy!
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And here's a recipe that Rich found in the Wall Street Journal recently. We have a store here in Champaign... Cheese and Crackers... that brings in fresh seafood several times a week from Chicago, and we got some wonderful Chilean Sea Bass from them and made the following dish. It was outstanding!!
Chef Cathy Whims's Sweet and Sour Pan-Fried Sea Bass
An easy, elegant recipe from Cathy Whims of Portland's Nostrana
Nov. 1, 2013 12:46 p.m. ET Wall Street Journal
PESCE IN SAOR ,
or marinated fish, is a classic of the Venetian table. "It began as a
method of preserving," chef
Cathy Whims
explained. "Basically, it's putting fried fish in an acidic
marinade and then serving it at room temperature." The vinegar-based
marinade, typically bolstered with shallots, raisins and pine nuts, has a
remarkable capacity to embolden fish without overpowering it.
Ms. Whims is known for reproducing
Italian classics to the letter at her Portland, Ore., restaurants
Nostrana and Oven and Shaker. But her second Slow Food Fast
contribution, a recipe for fried sea bass in tart-sweet saor, deviates
from tradition ever so slightly, with delicious results.
Ms.
Whims begins by dredging the fish fillets in flour and then pan-fries
them to a golden-brown crisp. But, instead of allowing the fish to sit
in the sauce for a couple of days (or even just a few hours), she spoons
the warm sauce over the fillets immediately before serving.
"Caramelized flour has a nice flavor and texture," she said, "so I want
to preserve that." Other amendments are small but effective: Orange
juice mellows the sauce's abrasive quality, while a glug of olive oil
adds extra body. Cranberries stand in for raisins—Ms. Whims loves the
color they bring to the dish—and Sherry vinegar makes a more nuanced
base than white vinegar.
"It is
obviously a culture of fish in Venice, and this technique was a useful
one before refrigeration," the chef said. With this contemporary
rendition, Ms. Whims shifts the emphasis from utility to sheer pleasure.
—Kitty Greenwald
Sweet and Sour Pan-Fried Sea Bass
Total Time: 25 minutes Serves: 4
Ingredients
3 tablespoons dried cranberries
¼ cup Sherry vinegar
Four 5-ounce sea bass fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup olive oil
½ cup thinly sliced shallots
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Good pinch red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons Italian parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
What to Do
1.
Place cranberries and vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-high
heat. Once vinegar comes to a boil, remove from heat and set aside.
2.
Pat fillets dry and season with salt and pepper. Place flour in a
shallow bowl. Dredge fillets through flour and shake off excess. Heat ½
cup oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, fry fillets
until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Flip and fry reverse side until
golden, about 3 minutes more. Transfer fish to a plate and discard
frying oil.
3. Wipe
frying pan and set over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. Once hot,
add shallots and sauté until translucent but not browned, 3 minutes. Add
garlic and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Stir in pepper flakes,
cranberry mixture, pine nuts and orange juice, and cook until reduced by
a third, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, season with salt and whisk
in remaining oil and parsley. To serve, spoon sauce over fish.
