Boeuf Bourguignon

Have you seen the movie, Julie and Julia?  If so, you will have heard of Julia Child's famous Boeuf Bourguignon.  It certainly sounds fancy (and half the fun is saying the name of this dish! - BEUHHF BOAR-GEEIG-NOAN), but basically it is a fancy beef stew.  And it tastes delicious!  What makes it special is the addition of red wine, as well as bacon, and then sauteed mushrooms.  It is not difficult to make, but it does take time.  After preparing most of it on the stove top, I used a regular casserole dish and my oven to finish the cooking.  It tastes great atop mashed potatoes and because the flavor is so good, this is definitely company worthy :)

Ingredients:

6 oz. bacon (* I used what I had, which was diced pancetta, Italian bacon)

1 Tb. olive oil

3 lbs lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes (I waited until this was on sale)

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

1 onion, peeled and sliced

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 Tb. flour

3 cups red wine (a full-bodied wine like Bordeaux or Burgandy or Chianti)

2-3 cups Beef Broth (you may not need all of this; I didn't)

1 Tb. tomato paste

2 garlic cloves

1 sprig thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 bay leaf

(the original recipe includes braised onions, but I skipped this step)

For the Sauteed Mushrooms:

1 lb mushrooms, quartered (I sliced mine)

2 tsp. unsalted butter

1 Tb. olive oil

Note: I have simplified the original recipe by late Julia Child

Saute the bacon until crisp.  Set aside.

You may wonder why I am posting this particular recipe at this time...firstly, I have some red wine in my cupboard, and if you know me well, you know that I use red wine for this recipe.  And secondly,  I noticed stewing beef was on sale, so that timing seemed good :)

Dry off the pieces of beef.  I used paper towel to do this, putting the beef on top of the paper towel, and then putting some on top of the beef (and pushing down).  It's important to saute the beef in small amounts, not all at once.  You can use the bacon fat and or olive oil to saute them, a few at a time until nicely browned on all sides.

Turn them to ensure all sides are brown and then remove.

Saute onions and carrot in the same pan, with the same oil

Remove the onions and carrots to another container. Return beef and bacon to pan and add salt, pepper, and flour to combine.

Add the garlic, bay leaf, and thyme (Note:  I would not crush the bay leaf as it makes it next to impossible to remove later.  Trust me, leave it whole).

Add bottle of wine

Return carrots and onions to dish, and add tomato paste.  Add enough beef stock to ensure that meat is covered.  In this case, I did not need all of the beef stock.   Heat.  Meanwhile, heat your casserole dish in the oven (especially if it is glass). You can do this in the pre-heated oven (325 degrees F).

Add Boeuf Bourguignon to heated oven-proof dish

Cover and heat in a 325 degree oven and cook for 3-4 hours, or until the meat is tender and a fork can pierce it easily.  If you have a Dutch Oven, you can use this or you can also make this in your slow cooker.  It may take longer, depending on the temperature.

Doesn't it look amazing? (You can remove the bay leaf at this point)

While the Boeuf Bourguignon is in the oven, prepare the mushrooms.

Melt butter and add mushrooms; saute until brown.  Add to finished Boeuf Bourguignon.  Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt or pepper.

Serve atop mashed potatoes

These are great for leftovers, too!

I added canned peas, which had been sauteed with frozen veggies (onion, carrot, celery mix), with some Italian spices.

These are great for those nights when you don't want to cook or don't have the time.  These are also fabulous to share with friends and relatives who could benefit from some home-cooked frozen meals.

Delish!