Deconstructing Boef Bourguignon

I've always loved Boef Bourguignon. My mom made an abbreviated version of it while I was growing up, using 2 different kinds of canned soup. Once I started to cook on my own, I wanted to do it the correct way. I've followed (almost) the recipe of the original celebrity chef, Julia Child, for many years.

If you read this blog, I've written about my love of Julia and all things French several times. Here's my original Boef Bourguignon post from a while back. I still love that recipe, but I decided to tinker around with it a little bit.

Since I love to cook, and it was my birthday, I got to cook and eat what I wanted. That's always been our family tradition: You get to pick your birthday dinner and eat what you want on your special day. My husband can make a great breakfast, and is an excellent sandwich maker, but I pretty much rule at dinnertime. SO, I did exactly what I wanted to do this past weekend: I tinkered around with a recipe and made what I wanted, and what I did was to deconstruct Boef Bourguignon.

What I mean was that instead of using bits of stew beef or the end of a larger roast, I used a whole steak. I got the idea for this watching Ina Garten, my current favorite Food Network chef, making a dinner to deliver to a friend for a dinner party. Ina was a caterer first, so I figured she'd know all about celebratory meals and presentation. I've altered her recipe a bit, eliminating some of the butter and thickening agents she recommended. I used my favorite cut of steak, an inch thick piece of tenderloin. In the original recipe, the beef is summered a long time in rich, wine gravy and then served over something, either noodles, or potatoes, or even rice, as my mom served it. In this version, I seared the steaks, made a delicious sauce and served it with mashed potatoes. This recipe has the advantage of allowing you to serve the steaks RARE, which is the way I really enjoy them. It was a winner! I wrote this recipe for 2, since only my husband and I were at home, but you could easily double it. Using a whole steak per person made it seem like more of a celebratory meal unlike a stew, which while delicious isn't the most elegant meal. This meal has the added bonus of one that is very easily made in advance. You only have to heat the sauce and finish cooking the steaks at meal time.

Deconstructed Boef Bourguignon with Mashed Potatoes

Deconstructed Boef Bourguignon

For 2

2 1" thick pieces of beef tenderloin

2 rashers of bacon

2 T. butter, divided use

1 c. dry red wine

1/2 cup beef broth, stock or consomme' 

1 tsp. minced fresh garlic

6 - 8 baby carrots, thinly sliced

3 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 T. tomato paste

12 oz. cremini mushrooms (baby portobellos)

12 pearl onions (frozen is fine, that's what I used)

Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Mashed potatoes, baked potatoes or egg noodles for serving

First and very importantly, dry your steaks by draining them on a paper towel. They won't brown properly unless you do this. I know that the picture is kind of gross, but this is a very important step. 

Dry those steaks! 

While the steak is drying, mince the garlic and clean the mushrooms. Cut them in half or quarters if they are very large. Dry them as well, draining on a paper towel. This is important for the same reason as the beef, they need to be dry to cook properly. NEVER argue with Julia. 

Heat a medium sized frying pan over low heat. Choose a pan at least 3" deep, with a heavy bottom, so that the steaks will brown evenly and not stick. Add the two rashers of bacon and fry them until crisp. 

Remove the bacon to drain on yet another paper towel. Pour off almost all the bacon grease from the pan, leaving just enough to keep the steak from sticking. Turn the heat up to medium and add the steaks. Cook the steaks about 2 minutes per side, turning once. you only want to sear them. 

Sear steaks briefly, only a minute or 2 to brown them.

After searing put the steaks aside on a plate, and add 1 T. butter to the skillet. Scrape up all the browned bits in the bottom. Don't let the butter burn! Add the garlic and sliced carrots to the pan, and keep stirring and scraping for a minute or so. Add the red wine and keep on scraping and stirring. Let it come to a boil and then add the beef broth. Drop the thyme and tomato paste into the sauce. Sprinkle in 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt and a few grindings of fresh black pepper. 

Fresh time and tomato paste going into the sauce. 

Bring this to a boil, cover the pan, turn it down to low heat and let the sauce cook for 20 - 30 minutes, stirring every now and again to make sure nothing is sticking. This will smell heavenly and make everyone in the hungry. While the sauce is cooking, melt 1 T. butter over medium heat, in a small non-stick skillet. When the butter is melted and the foam has subsided (wait for the foam part, or Julia will haunt you), and then add the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms until they are lightly browned, stirring them to make sure each surface area is browned. Turn them off while waiting for the sauce to finish cooking. When the carrots are tender, add the mushrooms, crumbled bacon and the pearl onions to the sauce.

We love mushrooms! The pearl onions make it seem special. 

Doesn't that look good? Cover that pan once again, and let the flavors come together, cooking for at least 10 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning, adding a little more salt and pepper as needed. Be careful here, you may not need any more (I didn't). It depends on how salty your beef broth is, how strong the wine flavor is and how much liquid the mushrooms give off. TASTE! Don't just add. You can remove the thyme stems if they are still whole and visible. The leaves will just fall off. 

At this point, you can refrigerate everything (Separately! Don't put the steak in the sauce until you are ready to reheat it!) and heat everything up later in the day, or even the next day. When you are ready to eat, get the sauce hot again, and add the steaks into it. Cover and let them cook for 4 - 5 minutes for rare steaks, 6 -7 minutes for medium. If you like your meat well done, don't bother with tenderloin, just follow the first, original recipe. No need to spend the extra money on good steaks! 

Serve along side mashed potatoes (our choice) or over baked potatoes or egg noodles. 

I promise, this was YUMMY!

In a chicken breast rut?

Do you buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts from the big box stores, frozen in a big bag? I do and have done so for years. It's an economical way to stock your freezer and they are pretty healthy, as meat goes. The easiest way to deal with them is simply to marinate them in Wishbone Lite Italian dressing and grill them. When my children were little, we cooked that alot, once prompting my husband to declare, "If I see another grilled, boneless, skinless chicken breast, I am going to puke!" I believe that was in the "grilling them to leather stage", his own fault, as he would not listen to me about length of cooking time, etc. Fortunately, he's gotten over it, now pays attention to the amount of time you should cook them, and we get much better results!

Speaking of MUCH better results, here's a delicious take on those ubiquitous breasts, pan fried and simmered briefly with a herb infused mushroom wine sauce that is a great dinner for two or more! I combined several recipes I looked up -- don't you just love epicurious.com? I didn't have EVERYTHING for any one of the recipes I liked, so I "winged" it. Don't you love it when your kitchen experiments work out deliciously? We'll definitely be having this again!

Chicken breasts with Mushrooms and Wine

Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms and Wine

Serves 2

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed if frozen
1/4 c. all purpose flour, mixed with 1/2 tsp. kosher salt and a pinch of black pepper
1 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
8 oz. creminini "baby bella" mushrooms, sliced
1/4 c. Vidalia or other sweet onion, or shallots
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T. chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 c. dry white wine (I used pinot grigio)
1/2 c. low sodium chicken broth or stock
In a large, non-stick pan, melt the butter with the olive oil, over medium-high heat. Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour mixture, and place them in the pan. Cook the breasts for 4 minutes on each side. They should be lightly browned. Remove and set them aside. Add the mushrooms, onions, garlic and herbs to the pan (if you need to, you may add another tsp. of olive oil).

Mushrooms, onion, garlic and herbs

Cook the vegetables and herbs briefly, 3-4 minutes, stirring them around. Add the wine and broth to the pan. Bring this to a boil. Turn it down a little and let the mixture reduce for 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed (how much depends on your broth). Put the chicken back into the pan and cover it.



Chicken breasts simmering in wine and mushroom sauce



Cook for 8 more minutes and voila', perfectly cooked chicken and mushrooms. Serve with brown rice and steamed broccoli with little cheese grated over it.



Chicken and Rice and Everything Nice!

Cooking Like Julia

As I mentioned on the occasion of Julia's 100th birthday (here), I've had out my "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", reading it for pure pleasure and inspiration. I have the Anniversary Edition, given by my loving son a few Christmas's ago. It includes a lengthy introduction written by Julia herself, toward the end of her life, as well as a section written by her editor Judith Jones. If you love to cook this is a must own cookbook. I was given "The Joy of Cooking" when I first set up housekeeping over 30 years ago, and while that book is invaluable as to the mechanics of cooking, this book is invaluable if you want to cook with style.

Yesterday, I prepared Saute de Boeuf a la Parisenne, which simply translated means Beef Saute in the Parisienne Style. The Parisienne style is apparently, with cream and mushrooms. This is, essentially, a French version of Beef Stroganoff and was written before sour cream was widely available to the home cook. 

Julia's introduction for this recipe praises it's quick preparation and the advantages of prepping ahead for serving to company. I totally agree that it came together very quickly, but must comment that it is not the prettiest dish I've ever prepared. However, having said that, I must also admit that the taste was ABSOLUTELY DIVINE! I had some beautiful, new potatoes, freshly dug by my step-father on his nearby farm, so I opted to use those, as opposed to rice or risotto. Julia mentions all three as possible accompaniments to this dish, and I think buttered egg noodles would work as well.

I used exactly the cut of beef suggested by Julia and made only one small adjustment. The original recipe called for Madeira, which is fortified wine from Portugal, or dry white vermouth. When I went to the grocery store, they did not have Madeira. I thought I had dry white vermouth at home, but I was mistaken: I had sweet vermouth, which is used in making Manhattans. The two can NOT be substitued for one another. SO, I googled substituting something else for Madeira and discovered what I believe was a good alternative. It's amazing what you can find on the internet!

The directions to this dish are very particular, a trait shared by all of Julia's recipes. She was first and foremost a teacher, long before the days of celebrity chefs! Her advice for drying the mushrooms and the beef thoroughly before cooking is invaluable to the success of this dish. She also specifically mentions allowing the foaming of the butter to subside before adding the ingredients, an indication that the pan is at the correct temperature to begin cooking. That's a great tip, especially for a newer cook.

Remember what I said? It's not the prettiest dish I've ever made! Let me also say that I halved this recipe, so the prepped mushrooms and beef pictured below are less than the amount in the recipe.

Saute de Boeuf a la Parisienne, served over lightly mashed new potatoes

Beef Saute with Cream and Mushrooms
First, prepare the vegetables:

1/2 lb.cleaned,  fresh mushrooms, dried on a paper towel( halved and quartered)

2 T. butter                                                                             

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

3 T. minced shallots or green onions

1/4 tsp. salt and a pinch of pepper

Heat a large, heavy skillet and melt the butter and oil. When the foaming of the butter begins to subside, add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring and tossing to brown them on all sides. Add the onions or shallots to the pan and cook for another 2 minutes (I used sliced green onions). Remove the vegetables to a dish.

Next, prepare the beef and sauce:



Drying the cut beef, not too pretty, but necessary!

2+ lbs. tenderloin of beef; the tenderloin butt and the tail of the fillet are usually used, excess fat and white tendon removed, cut into pieces that are about 2" long and 1/2" thick, drained and dried on a paper towel

2 T. butter

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 c. Madeira OR 1/4 c. dry white vermouth OR 1/4 c. dry red wine + 1 T. balsamic vinegar (this is the sub that I found by googling, and I had both things in my pantry)

3/4 c. beef stock or canned beef bouillon

1 c. heavy whipping cream

2 tsp. cornstarch blended with 2 T. of the whipping cream

Salt and Pepper

1 T. butter

To Serve:

Cooked, slightly mashed new potatoes OR steamed rice OR risotto

Top with some fresh parsley for garnish or a few snipped chives

In the same pan you prepared the vegetables, melt the butter and oilover moderate heat. When the foaming subsides, add the prepared beef, in  a single layer. (My pan was large enough to do this but if you use a smaller pan, saute the beef in batches so that it sears correctly.) Season as you cook with a little salt and pepper. Cook the beef for only 3 - 5 minutes, so that it is browned but still rare. Remove the beef from the pan and set aside. Pour the wine and beef stock into the pan and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Boil it rapidly so that it reduces to about 1/2 cup of liquid. Whisk in the cream and the cream and cornstarch mixture. Simmer 1 minute and add the mushrooms and onion back into the sauce, for another minute or 2. The sauce should have formed a liaison (thickened slightly, Julia's own description). Taste the sauce for seasoning and add a little more salt and pepper if needed.

At this point, you can add the beef and turn it off and save the dish to be served later, OR heat it briefly and serve immediately. When reheating, cover the pan and heat only 3 - 4 minutes, being very careful not too cook it too long. You just want to warm the dish. The beef should be rosy red in the middle when you serve it. Add 1 T. of butter at the very end of the cooking, to add extra richness to the dish ( I eliminated this step, and it was plenty rich, believe me!).

Serve the beef in a casserole or on a platter, surrounded by steamed rice, risotto or lightly mashed new potatoes. Decorate with parsley or snipped chives.

Serves 4 - 6

Julia recommends serving this with some fresh green beans or peas. I opted for a salad, since I've got tons of lettuce in my garden. She also recommends a Bordeaux wine. We had a bottle of Pinot Noir, so that's what I served.

Bon Appetit!

Make your pizza at home tonight!

Here is it --  All ready for the oven!

Why not make your pizza at home tonight, save a little money and control what you put onto it? When I've got a little of this and a little of that, I often make pizza! It's great if you have just a little leftover spaghetti sauce -- not really enough for another meal, just a cup or so. You can always add a little pizza sauce from a jar or some tomato sauce. You generally need about 1 -1 1/3 cups of sauce per pizza and at least 2 cups of cheese. Then pile on whatever you've got around. We like mushrooms, pepperoni, olives, peppers -- banana, green, roasted red, jalapenos -- and anything else YOU like. I've posted my homemade crust recipe here -- don't be intimidated about making pizza crust! It's easy, I promise! Your family will eat it up, I promise! I always put the cheese on top of the sauce and THEN add the extras, to keep the cheese from getting too browned. The more toppings you have, the longer you'll have to cook it. Then, at the very last minute, save just a handful or so of cheese to sprinkle on top, for that extra gooey facor! Delish!

Gooey, cheesey, homemade goodness, your family will love it and you!