I'm sure you recall that I LOVED this movie & would see it a million times. And, that it inspired me to start cooking for REAL. I have had a great time in the past few weeks, trying out new things, moving towards fresh, real ingredients & away from packaged & processed goods. (Don't get me wrong -- my Diet Coke is still by my side as a type) I've made my own salad dressings and I will never go back. I've made homemade ice cream twice & am still fiddling with the ingredients & method. We now actually have other vegetables than steamed broccoli every night!
I also read Julia Child's My Life in France, which was an inspiring and eye opening look at Julia's incredible dedication to the art of cooking, especially the crafting of Mastering the Art of French Cooking .
So, with all of this in mind, I plunged into my first Julia Child recipe, Boeuf Bourguignon, this week, while being snowbound (you might have somehow missed it, so I'll let you know -- here in the DC region we've received over 40 inches of snow in the past 2 1/2 weeks). I was really nervous, as Julia makes so clear that she crafted every recipe with incredible attention to the exact way to proceed so as to get the perfect result. I felt that if I deviated, I would be disrespecting her work!
Here goes....
Patting the meat dry -- if you don't pat it dry, it won't brown -- who knew?
The browned beef.
Adding the wine to the beef, onion, carrot & bacon mixture. Did I mention the bacon? It makes the recipe to die for.
Sauteing the mushrooms in a little bit of butter.
The finished result. Do you see that rich glaze over the meat & vegetables? Mmmmm...it's making me hungry, just looking at it. I served it over noodles, with peas on the side, as per the recommendation.
The great news? Even though it was time consuming (put aside an afternoon if you decide to make it), it wasn't hard at all. And, very worth it.
If you are interested in making this, the recipe can be found here. I also found a helpful blog post at The Old Hen Blog which shows a real person making the dish, with photos.
Bon Appetit!
