Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon

Sorry about the pix - it gets dark so early now and I broke my indoor lighting contraption. Just know this tastes better than it looks!

Thanks to our conversation in culinary school the other day, I FINALLY cracked open myMastering The Art of French Cooking book. I am embarrassed to admit that I’ve never made a Julia Child recipe before. I am happy to report that it certainly won’t be the last.

Julia’s Boeuf Bourguignon has seen a resurgence in popularity recently due to the book/movie Julie and Julia. It’s a cute book and a cute, albeit totally different, movie (due partly to the fact that it was based on both the Julie/Julia book and Julia’s My Life in France. I highly recommend both (well, all three).

This is good stuff. It’s pot roast on crack.

Or I guess, pot roast you wouldn’t be embarrassed to serve to company.

But first, a few things about Julia’s writing.

Her recipes are…a little vague. Meaning – she gives you leeway as the cook to use your own judgement. Thing is…most recipes that I am used to are written assuming I am a cooking novice. Directions are spelled out in such a way that I can’t mess it up. Julia kind of assumes I’m not a dummy…even though sometimes…

Case in point:

She tells you to crank up the oven to 450 degrees when you put the beef in. I thought, huh, that seems really really high. Then she says to make sure the beef is at just a simmer – adjusting the heat accordingly. I kind of don’t like that because I don’t like opening the oven door and releasing the heat.

I mean, just TELL US what temp you want it to cook at, ‘mkay?  And ok, I just sorta forgot to turn it down… So the heat remained at 450 degrees.

At the two hour mark, I thought MAYBE I should check on it.

THANK GOD I DID because it had already formed a black crust on top. Another twenty minutes and it would have been burned to a crisp. I had saved it just in time.

And oh my goodness. Wow. Rich. The sauce had thickened perfectly and coats your tongue. The meat was meltingly tender. I cannot tell you how good this was.

What else did I learn?

Two-buck Chuck is maybe a wine that doesn’t age well? Ha! Just an FYI. We don’t drink wine at our house so whenever we get a bottle, it sits around. I’m not sure, but I think we had this wine maybe 3 years? There was some heavy duty sediment in the bottom of the bottle. I honestly don’t think this is because it was “well aged”. Anyhoo, it did no harm. Maybe it added some good flavor?

Oh – and I screwed up the pearl onions part. I searched for frozen pearl onions because I did NOT want to go through the trouble of peeling the little buggers, but I could not find them. Alas, I got frustrated, the onions weren’t cooked correctly, yadda yadda.

And my final screw up? Due to the fact that I essentially overcooked the dish, there was no straining of the sauce at the end. Which maybe turned out to be a benefit since, like I said, I was frustrated by the end of my cooking expedition (note: maybe making Beef Bourguignon, Bolognese sauce and Sourdough bread all at the same time is A LITTLE overboard… so take what I say about being frustrated with a grain of salt).

Anyhoo, because the recipe is lengthy and I want to give you the full experience of Julia’s recipe writing (read: I am l.a.z.y), here’s a link to the recipe in Julia’s own words.

Julia Child’s Beef (Boeuf) Bourguignon

Beef (Boeuf) Bourguignon recipe

Brown-braised Onions (Oignons Glaces a la Brun)

Mushrooms sauteed in butter (Champignons Sautees au Beurre)

And finally, just an FYI – what kind of cuts of meat are appropriate for this dish? This is what Julia says:

(From Mastering the Art of French Cooking)
The better the meat, the better the stew. While cheaper and coarser cuts may be used, the following are most recommended. Count on 1 pound of boneless meat, trimmed of fat, for 2 people; 3 if the rest of the menu is large.
First choice: Rump Pot Roast—Pointe de Culotte, or Aiguillette de Rumstek
Other choices: Chuck Pot Roast—Paleron, or Macreuse à Pot-au-feu
Sirloin Tip—Tranche Grasse
Top Round—Tende de Tranche
Bottom Round—Gîte à la Noix

Enjoy!

Ms. Pantry Raid

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Gnocchi with Mushrooms, Sweet Corn and Sage Brown Butter

A lighter interpretation for gnocchi.

Ack! All you bloggers out there – ever make a dish and somehow forget about it in your stack of “to post” items? I have no idea how I forgot this one as it’s one of my all-time favorite dishes, but I found it yesterday in my blog photos folder.

And once again…a post from Sunday Suppers at Lucques: Seasonal Recipes from Market to Table. My favorite cookbook evah.

This recipe is typical Goin fashion – a bit overachiever (shocking, I know). First, she wants you to make your own gnocchi. And yeah, making your own gnocchi is HIGHLY recommended. But sometimes on a weeknight, it’s just not going to happen. These are times when I cheat and call in reinforcements. She also wants you to shuck your own corn. Again, I cheat here too. Ok, AND she wants you to use Chanterelle mushrooms. I think they are kinda pricey so I cheat and use Portabellas.  But first…

What are gnocchi?

Gnocchi are Italian dumplings – little pillows of light dough – served in a manner similar to pasta. They are traditionally made with potatoes, but can also be formed from ricotta cheese, semolina, squash, um…I’m sure there are probably other options I don’t even know about. Purists like the potato variety, but I’m a convert to the ricotta kind because:

1. They are way WAY easier to make and

2. I think they are lighter. And that’s really the goal – to make them light.

But we aren’t going to talk about making them here. That’s for another day.

So, ok.  Back to the recipe. This is a dish that is rustic, yet impressive enough for a casual dinner party. And the sage thrown in towards the end makes your house smell just lovely. And you can be a lazy butt like me and make them with fresh/frozen gnocchi purchased at the store. Which just makes things easier during the week.

Gnocchi with Chanterelles, Sweet Corn and Sage Brown Butter

Adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs (I like Panko)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
7 T unsalted butter
3/4 pound chanterelles, cleaned (I use portabellas cause I am cheap)
1 T thyme leaves
1 T sliced sage leaves
3 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 4 ears – or do like I do and use a can of corn)
2/3 cup diced shallots
1 lb fresh gnocchi (I used dried -either way, cook thoroughly and set aside)
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps:
First – toast the breadcrumbs:
1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Toss breadcrumbs with 2 tablespoons olive oil.

3. Spread them on a baking sheet, and toast 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until golden brown. Set aside.

Then:
4. If the mushrooms are big, tear them into bite-size pieces (or chop).

5. Heat a large saute pan over high heat for 2 minutes.

6.Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and heat another minute.

7. Swirl in 1 tablespoon butter, and when it foams, add the mushrooms, half the thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a healthy pinch of pepper.

8. Saute the mushrooms about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they’re tender and a little crispy.  Don’t be tempted to move them around in the pan too much in the beginning: let them sear a little before stirring.  Transfer the cooked mushrooms to a platter.

9. Return the pan to the stove, and heat on high for 1 minute.

10. Add the remaining 6 tablespoons butter to the pan, and cook a minute or two, until the butter starts to brown.

11. Add the sage, let it sizzle, and then add the corn, shallots, remaining thyme, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and some freshly ground pepper.

12. Saute quickly, tossing the corn in the hot butter for about 2 minutes, until the corn is just tender.

13. Add the cooked gnocchi and toss well to coat with the corn and brown butter.

14. Season with salt and pepper to taste, add the mushrooms.  Toss to combine, and heat the mushrooms through.

15. Add the parsley.

16. Arrange the gnocchi on a large platter, and shower with the breadcrumbs.  Grate over some parmesan cheese if you like.

Enjoy!
Ms. Pantry Raid

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