Beef Bourguignon

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.

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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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