After reading the book, "Julie & Julia," and then seeing the movie recently, I was determined to attempt at least one of Julia Child's famous recipes. So I warbled my way through a good 4 hours in the kitchen yesterday making Julia's Boeuf Bourguignon from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" (page 315 in my copy).
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| Assembling the ingredients |
It is truly delicious, although I used nearly every pot and pan in the kitchen -- and some of them twice.
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| Sautéing the bacon and beef |
It's not a difficult recipe, just time intensive. Everything is cooked in a different skillet or sauce pan before all coming together in one dutch kettle at the end.
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| Sautéing the carrot and onion |
I chopped and sautéed and braised.
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| Braising the pearl onions |
I had a glass of the burgundy while I cooked. Peeling all those little pearl onions took some time.
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| Sautéing the mushrooms |
We served it over long grain wild rice with dinner rolls and a glass of wine and, yes, it was absolutely wonderful! I loved, loved, loved the mushrooms sautéed in butter, of course. And the sauce is amazing.
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| Boeuf Bourguignon over Rice |
After all is said and done ... and eaten ... and cleaned up, here are some thoughts:
- This is a dish to make when you have lots and lots of time.
- This is a dish to make for people you love more than anything or very, very special company.
- According to Julia, "...you can prepare it completely ahead, even a day in advance, and it only gains in flavor when reheated." I would definitely make this the day before company is being served.
- It is rich and satisfying -- I would classify it as comfort food.
- For being a home-cooked meal, it is not inexpensive to make. I think the ingredients ran around $25.
I know this will probably sound weird, but I love going outside and coming back into the house after a meal like this -- the fragrance is fantastic and the house continues to smell like heaven for hours and hours!!!
6 comments:
Sounds amazing! Did you drink out of the wine bottle during commercial breaks, too! Lol I have hope that I'm not the only weird one in the family when it comes to great smells - it's almost addiction level with me. I will follow people who wear wonderful perfume. My family says things like, "She's doing it again....."
You know you're making this next time I vist, don't you?
Only if you strap on an apron and cook with me! Sounds like so much fun!!!
I tend to be more attracted to food smells like Cinnabon and Starbucks. And I would have chugged right from the wine bottle but did you see the size of that thing? Couldn't chance hurting my wrist -- too much knitting to do.
I agree wholeheartedly with everything you said! Just posted an entry about Boeuf Bourguignon on my own blog tonight, in fact! www.zenfoodist.wordpress.com.
Amy, your blog is delightful. I got some great tips off this particular post -- thanks for that!
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