06 February 2010

boeuf boogie meal

Well, we did it -- invited Julia Child into our kitchen last weekend.



Julia Child's Beouf Bourguignon
  • This recipe takes the better part of a day to prepare. It requires putting things in an out of the oven multiple times and also requires several pots to create: braise the onions, sautee the mushrooms . . . la, la, la.  It is not for the weak.
  • Those are the best mushrooms I have ever tasted;  don't crowd the mushrooms & use butter -- Julia knows best.
  • It requires nearly a bottle of wine. 
  • I don't like beef stew.  This dish, however, is now at the top of my list of favorites.  We ate it for three days straight. I stuck to rice while Richard changed to pasta -- ugghhh. . . he can't help himself, well, and neither can I.
  • I made my first herb bouquet with cheesecloth.  Go, Me!
  • My Young One watched the movie with us, so she knows the dish -- calls it "Boeuf Boogie Meal."
  • I lost interest in the photography about half-way into the day.
  • Richard and I had a great time together in the kitchen. That's a first in a very long time: fun in the kitchen . . . together.  I am hoping for more visits from Julia in the weeks to come.  Richard is talking of ducks while I am hoping to keep it simple with chicken.  We watched an episode of The French Chef this morning and will likely try to prepare her stuffed mushrooms and green beans tomorrow.
  • I am now really ready for a road trip to France in April.
  • I received a copy of Julia Powell's book for my birthday & am off right this very minute to get it started.
Bon Appetit!

11 comments:

  1. This is so awesome! I read both of the books this summer after I heard about the movie. I like Julia's book better (My Life In France), but I liked Julie Powell's character more in the movie. I can't wait to hear about the stuffed mushrooms.
    Oh, and I am always up for a trip to France; I don't care what people say about the French, it is an amazing country.
    Happy Cooking and Go Saints!

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  2. Looks delicious! May I ask which cut of beef you used? The couple of times I've made beef stew here I didn't like it at all because of the texture of the meat, but I don't know what to ask for.

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  3. I made the bouquet garnie too! Didn't you just *love* it?!? I thought it made all the difference in this dish. I made B.B. using a Cooking Light recipe first then made Julia's on Christmas day. I thought the cloves in the bouquet garnie were key - I could really taste cloves. Mine was tasty, but it didn't come out exactly right. I couldn't get the sauce to thicken with that butter/flour paste she calls for. I also didn't have time to cook the sauce down to 3 cups. I'm very much looking forward to trying this recipe again. Better hurry, spring is right around the corner and this dish seems very wintery to me..

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  4. Sounds wonderful and how fun to make it a whole family ordeal.

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  5. Hi Susan -- ditto on the French. I long for an assignment there, but it likely won't happen in my lifetime.

    KC -- I asked Richard, to which he replied "manzo." So when I explained in detail what I really was asking, his response was that the beef in Naples just isn't any good. On the 3rd request, he told me he didn't know the cut but would pay attention next time he was in his favorite grocery store. We usually buy beef from the commissary bc it generally is better. . . I'm not sure how or why that is so, but it seems to be so.

    Hi Katy --
    Ahhh, it was so darn good but took so darn long to make. You know, our sauce was a bit thin as well, even after reducing it quite a bit. Ricahrd put a little flour in it (gasp!). We didn't eat it right away, and it thickened as it sat.

    Hi Chocolate Mama --
    You are so right -- the family ordeal was the best part.

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  6. You ate flowers with your boogie meal:)? We haven't cooked together in over a decade, that's something to remember.

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  7. Dana, so true, the beef around here tends not to be very good!

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  8. Looks amazing! Beef can be difficult but we found a great place called DImocar- they use meat from Buona Carne. It doesn't have that strange irony flavor.

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  9. Looks amazing! Beef can be difficult but we found a great place called DImocar- they use meat from Buona Carne. It doesn't have that strange irony flavor.

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  10. Looks amazing! Beef can be difficult but we found a great place called DImocar- they use meat from Buona Carne. It doesn't have that strange irony flavor.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Looks amazing! Beef can be difficult but we found a great place called DImocar- they use meat from Buona Carne. It doesn't have that strange irony flavor.

    ReplyDelete