Inspired by Julia Child and adapted by Ina Garten, this recipe should be rated as one of the most challenging I've tried! If you haven't already, pick up a copy of "Julia and Julia", and inspire yourself to take a stab at recreating this slow-cooked comfort dish. My motivation was to create a dinner just for Angela, and the hours poured into preparing this meal were well worth it. Gathering the ingredients alone was already a challenge, as shown below:
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
The first step was to dice the applewood smoked bacon and sautee in a pan.
Next, the beef cubes were seasoned with salt and pepper and seared.
I decided to add some cucumbers and italian squash for a better variety of vegetables, and also because I like my dishes colorful! These were all chopped and stir-fried in a skillet.
I had fun finding out exactly what cognac was suitable for cooking, and went with Hennessy. This was added to the huge pot of veggies.
And of course, a whole bottle of pinot noir.
Look good?
Next, the mushrooms and onions were chopped and sauteed.
Let simmer for a few hours, however tender you like your meat to be. I left this for about 2 hours. And the final result:
Serve with a side of toasted baguette and butter.
Angela approves!!!
What a fun experience, do try it yourself if you're up for a challenging day of cooking. ;D
- Candice
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