Boeuf Bourguignon
My fabulous, adorable, caring mother sent Justin and I a care package of sorts - full of Burt’s Bees products, hair elastics, headbands, some pens, a home made card, and an ALL CLAD DUTCH OVEN! Words cannot really express the glee this cast-aluminum beauty brought me, though I’m sure you can picture me jumping around the kitchen with delight. We decided to make some Bouef Bourignon (just a fancy way to say Beef Stew) to test out our new pot, and it was delightful.
Ingredients & Method (adapted from Anthony Bourdain):
• 2 lbs stew meat
• Salt and pepper
• ¼ extra virgin olive oil
• 4-5 small onions (thinly sliced)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1-1½ cup strong red wine (traditionally Burgundy, Zinfandel works well also)
• 6 carrots (scrubbed and cut into 1 inch sticks)
• 1 bundle of herbs (Bay leaves, rosemary, whatever is on hand)
• 1 clove garlic (left whole)
• Parsley to garnish
Liberally season the meat with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in the soup pot and when almost smoking, start searing the meat in batches. (You want a nice, dark crust on the meat…don’t be afraid of the smoke!)
When all the meat is seared, remove and add the onions to the pot. Cook until soft and golden (about 10 minutes) and add flour. Stir and cook for 4-5 minutes (the onions will become a cake-y consistency—this is good.)
Add the wine, scrape all the tasty burned bits from the bottom of the pan and bring to a boil.
Return meat; add carrots, garlic and herbs. Add water to cover by 1/3 (a lot of liquid will reduce, so make sure you add enough for the end product to be stew). Boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for 2 hours (stirring every 15-20 minutes).
Remove lid for last 10-15 minutes, remove bay leaves, add parsley and serve.
Overall, I’d say that our first meal with the All-Clad was a rousing success and I’m so very excited to have this fabulous addition to my kitchen.
(meg)
