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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| This Week in Books |
| 2015-12-13 |
| It was my intention to be reviewing The Conquerors - How Portugal Forged The First Global Empire. However, I did not receive my copy until last Tuesday. I am shy of a quarter of the way through, sailing with Vasco de Gama. So far, I am enjoying it, but obviously I cannot review it this week. So, I am going to share my favorite part of my most re-read book. The French Recipe Cookbook Carole Clements & Elizabeth Wolf-Cohen Anness Publishing Limited, 1995 Boeuf Bourguignon, Page 158
It is a time of year when there are many potluck or bring a dish to dinner events, which means casserole season. This is an excellent alternative that can be made a day in advance, even tasting better as the ingredients get to know each other. I will put comments in after each step. Cut the beef into 2 inch pieces and dice the salt pork or cut the bacon into thin strips. Save yourself a half hour and buy the meat already cut, and use kitchen shears to cut the bacon. In a large heavy flameproof casserole, cook the pork or bacon over medium heat until golden brown, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain. Pour off all but 2 tbsp. of the fat. You are rendering fat here, not so much cooking the bacon, so low and slow. I prefer to keep all the fat, to make a heartier meal, so save enough to coat the pan to help brown the beef. If you pour it all out, substitute butter or oil. I use a large pan I can put directly from the burner to the oven. Increase heat to medium-high. Add enough meat to the pan to fit easily in one layer (do not crowd the pan or the meat will not brown) and cook, turning to color all sides, until well browned. Transfer the beef to a plate and continue browning the meat in batches. This will all go into the oven; if the pan you are browning with is not what will go into the oven, the browned meat can go right to your ovenware. In a heavy frying pan, melt one-third of the butter over medium heat, add the pearl onions and cook, stirring frequently, until evenly golden. Set aside on a plate. Now, I disagree. The onions and mushrooms should be added to the stew towards the end of the cooking to preserve their respective textures and flavors. Skip this step for now and come back after placing your ovenware. In the same pan, melt half of the remaining butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté, stirring frequently, until golden, then set aside with the pearl onions. As I said, skip for now and get the beef in the oven, it will save you thirty minutes. When all the beef has been browned, pour off any fat from the casserole and add the remaining butter. When the butter has melted, add the onion, carrot, and garlic and cook over medium for 3-4 minutes until just softened, stirring frequently. Sprinkle the flour and cook for 2 minutes, then add the wine, tomato paste and bouquet garni. Bring to a boil, scraping the base of the pan. This is a good time to quote the book: Tradition dictates that you should use the same wine in this stew that you plan to serve with it, but a less expensive full-bodied wine will do for cooking. The stew reheats very well. Just so long as the chef is able to drink it. Oh, and don't overcook the garlic. You can make your own bouquet garni using cheesecloth, though I am sure they can be bought, and there are pre-made empty packets similar to tea bags. Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and pour on the broth, adding more if needed to cover the meat and vegetables when pressed down. Cover the casserole and simmer very gently over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 3 hours or until the meat is very tender. Add the sautéed mushrooms and pearl onions and cook, covered, for 30 minutes more. Discard the bouquet garni and stir in the parsley before serving. See, three hours to prep and sauté the onions and mushrooms. When I made that adjustment I cut my prep-to-oven time thirty minutes. And yes - fresh parsley, the dried stuff does not do it. I have made many adjustments, such as trying different wines and using coarse cut onion instead of pearl onions, but my favorite is cutting the carrots into circles instead of dicing. Saves prep time, and gives the stew a different appearance. It serves well on its own, and also serves well over mashed potatoes or rice. I have never done it, but I do not see why it could not be made in a large crock pot. Leaving the fat in serves us (two adults and one child) three meals, all of the fat out is two meals, in between is in between. The book itself is large, with full color pictures, a nice introduction, and is organized as one would expect. It claims over 200 recipes and everything I have made has been good, and fun to expand upon - the Apple Tart (page 188) I have used different kinds of apples and/or pears. After the Desserts Chapter, which a person can get lost in and includes sorbet and crepe recipes, is a Basics which covers stocks and sauces and pastry. For fun, I looked up this recipe in my grandmother's Time Life French food book, 1968, and it pairs almost exactly with this one. Not necessarily the case with others, where the olde school calls for ingredients many consider unhealthy, such as the use of lard. Link is to Amazon's 1995 edition, there is also a 1998 reprint. |
| Posted by:swksvolFF |
| #8 What's 'bouquet garni'? It is French for "a handful of leaves". |
| Posted by: SteveS 2015-12-13 22:58 |
| #7 Cook's Illustrated has a coq au vin recipe where the bouquet garni comprises 1 tsp. dried thyme, 10 sprigs of parsley, and a bay leaf. Wikipedia says There is no generic recipe for bouquet garni, but most recipes include thyme and bay leaf. Depending on the recipe, the bouquet garni may also include parsley, basil, burnet, chervil, rosemary, peppercorns, savory and tarragon. Vegetables such as carrot, celery (leaves or leaf stalks), celeriac, leek, onion and parsley root are sometimes included in the bouquet. But it seems to me Wikipedia is venturing into the concept of removable flavorants, well beyond the traditional thing itself in French cooking. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2015-12-13 22:20 |
#6 According to the book:A bunch of herbs, usually including a bay leaf, thyme sprigs, and parsley stalks, used to impart flavor during cooking, often tied for easy removal. I also use rosemary, sometimes oregano, really anything to flavor the broth without having to eat it, bay leaves especially. I take about a 6" square piece of cheesecloth, set it down like a diamond, put the herbs on the cheesecloth so they are secured in a burrito roll, then tie the ends together like a tortellini. When I stir during cooking, I give it a squeeze like when making tea. When the food it done, the satchel comes out and into the trash, no bay leaves or rosemary crunch, stringy bits etc. in the food. Moar Sugar? Chocolate Loaf with Coffee Sauce Marquise au Chocolat Page 221 Recipes may be my punt. Ideally, kids and I will make the Bourguignon and French Onion soup on Saturday. Sunday, wife will bake bread and make mashed potatoes while kids and I make a Pear Tart. Dinner is salad with herbed vinaigrette, steamed artichoke with garlic butter sauce, fresh bread with butter, bowl of French Onion soup, Boeuf Bourguignon served over mashed potatoes, Pear Tart. So good, it'll make you want to go to the range and drop your rifle. I kid, I kid. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2015-12-13 18:37 |
| #5 What's 'bouquet garni'? - the only things I consistently add to my version of this are fresh rosemary and thyme. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2015-12-13 17:34 |
| #4 I have a hunk of venison in the freezer and a bottle of old vines Zinfandel - looks like a perfect fit! |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2015-12-13 17:27 |
| #3 More Sugar!!!!!!!! |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2015-12-13 16:50 |
| #2 swksvolFF: in the recipe, what is the oven temperature, and do you use regular beef broth or low sodium? I like it at 325F, 350F is good too, would not go much above that for three and a half hours or else the carrots/onions get a bit mushy. What I have found is that it needs just a small boil, a rolling boil is not only messy but mushy unless cutting cooking time. This is a recipe for the tough meats so low and slow, for me, is the goal. As for sodium and other ingredients, the golden rule is once you put it in, you can't take it out, so for sharing yes low sodium people can always add salt. The other rule is that soups/stews can only be as good as the broth. Obviously making one's own broth takes some time, so when buying stock I go with the richest most flavorful broth available. *All that said, I am a standard carrier for the richer is healthier camp, as one serving cures the stomach instead of two. A very healthy dish anyways, nothing wrong with two servings especially on a cold windy morning like this out ourzway. Thick cut, warm, quality bread is almost a must. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2015-12-13 09:58 |
| #1 Let's eat! |
| Posted by: badanov 2015-12-13 00:12 |