First, my apologies for how late this post is. I’ve been fighting some kind of virus and settling back into the grad school grind, so the blog hit the back burner, so to speak, but I’ve got a couple of posts lined up so hopefully we can get back to cooking!

Anyway, last week, inspired by the movie Julie and Julia and the celebration of the husband’s birthday, I decided to undertake the mother of all French recipes, at least to people who watched Julia Child growing up (I did - thank you PBS!) - Boeuf Bourguignon. I’m still recovering.

Well, not really. But seriously, consider this your warning: this recipe is a lot of work and requires some serious time commitment, so don’t try throwing it together for a quick supper - it ain’t gonna happen. However, for a special occasion this is definitely a tasty stew worth spending the time on. I’d never made it before, and the way I ended up cooking it is not exactly according to Julia’s recipe, but given her emphasis on the fun of cooking, I think she’d be okay with it. You can find Julia’s original recipes from Alfred A. Knopf at their website, here.

First, you’ll need to make the Champignons Sautés au Beurre, also known as Sautéed Mushrooms. These were very simple, and I did nothing to the recipe except halve the amounts, since I don’t need to feed 6 people. (Oh, and I added the “optional” 2 tbsp. of shallots, because I love their flavor.) Set these aside when browned; I was really pleased with how these turned out, sort of nutty brown and rich - they were tasty even to me, who doesn’t eat mushrooms!

Next, you will have to prepare the Oignons Glacés a Brun, or Brown-Braised Onions. These are delicious, but looking back I would probably cut the pearl onions in half rather than trying to keep them whole as they braise, which was hard to do and rather pointless, since both Steve and I cut them up while eating anyway. I didn’t alter this recipe besides halving it either. And these things are goooood. I ate one just by itself!

Finally, you can prepare the stew. I used Julia’s methods, but my changes to the ingredients are below. Basically, I increased the amount of vegetables, reduced the amount of beef stock, omitted the flour, and doubled the amount of garlic. To feed 2 extremely hungry people (or 4 regular people), you’ll need:

3 slices of bacon
1.5 lbs. beef stew meat, cut into cubes
3 medium carrots, sliced
2 shallots, sliced
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 cups red wine
1 cup beef stock
1 tbsp. tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/4 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
10-12 pearl onions, braised (see above)
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sautéed (see above)

Mostly, I followed Julia’s directions, but I didn’t simmer the bacon, as Julia suggests; she says if you don’t simmer it the dish tastes very bacony, but since I didn’t think that was a bad thing, I merely browned it and reserved the bacon fat. I needed to add more oil than Julia calls for when browning the stew meat; I used about 2 tbsp. of peanut oil in addition to the bacon fat, since the browning is done at very high heat. I didn’t flour the meat and didn’t notice any problems with the finished product.

After the meat was browned, I finished the stew off according to Julia’s recipe, including separating the beef from the juices and reducing them, which I have to say produced a rich, thick gravy even without any thickening agents. It’s an extra step and extra dishes, but it’s worth it.

After it was finished (5 hours and a sinkful of pots and pans later!) I served it over garlicky cauliflower rice.

Steve’s verdict was enthusiastic: he thought it was delicious and appreciated it even more when I told him how much work went into it.

Like me, he would have preferred the onions sliced or quartered rather than whole, so the next time I make it I won’t worry with braising them whole. I was really pleased with the taste of the stew, and I have to say it was almost as good as the version I had in Paris. I’ll be making it again, and I hope you will try it out too!