July 13, 2004

Beef Bourguignonne by Brian

Brian's inspiration for this dish comes from his trusty Julia & Jacques: Cooking at Home. What follows is my perception of how he made it -- Nora and I arrived when the pot was already in the oven and he, in bits and pieces, told us of his process. We trotted in and out of the kitchen enjoying wine, bites of seeded baguette, brie, and some very good sweet french butter.

He parboiled some salt pork, then used the remaining liquid as a base for his braising liquid. The beef -- tenderloin or sirloin -- is nicely browned on the outside. Then, tumbled into the salt pork water with the cut up salt pork, a cheesecloth-bundled set of aromatics: carrots and celery and parsley and possibly leeks and other herbs, and a bottlesworth of red wine. That sits in the oven for 2 hours at least on lowish heat while he gets the other ingredients ready: blanched and peeled medium pearl onions; crimini mushrooms; a roux of softened butter and flour; some thick Eliche pasta. He cooks the onions and mushrooms in some butter, some of the braising sauce and a pinch of brown sugar until they are soft. Once the stew is out of the oven he removes the cheeseclothed bouquet garni, and then uses a bit more of the sauce to melt the roux and folds that mixture back into the pot holding the meat. The pot goes onto the stove and Brian tinkers with the sauce until it's reduced a bit and thickened to his liking. He feels like adding a little more flour and water, etc., and so it goes until he feels it's ready for us.

He brings out that amazing pot, out to the living room where we gather, bachelor-style, around the coffee table. He portions pasta into bowls, ladles us some of the bourguignonne, sprinkles parsley on top. We gobble this down with glasses of red wine -- the meat is oh so tender and flavourful, the soupy sauce just the right flavour and thickness and seems to be getting more delicious as it sits. It is an absolutely perfect French country meal.

That is, perfect French country, with a side trip to the Hawaiian islands, where Nora had made some yummy Haupia pudding for us.
Posted by claudine at July 13, 2004 11:58 PM

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