This is without a doubt, my all time favorite dish I have ever made and eaten. Ever since I saw the movie "Julie and Julia" and watched Julia Child make it on her first television show, I knew I was hooked. To the French this is a peasant dish, but to me its the best dish ever invented. I make this when ever I can. I have made it at least 4 or 5 times for all of my friends for lunch at school. When you have made it for 35 people it gets easier to make a single batch of the recipe. It is so simple (after the first time making it) and yet so divine. It is a beef stew with Red Wine, Bacon, Carrots, Mushrooms, and braised onions (which are cooked separately and added later). In the original Julia Child recipe you use a good red wine. But unfortunately for me, you have to be 21 to buy wine, so I have discovered cooking wine is sold in most grocery stores and you don't have to be 21 to buy it. It is a mix of different blends of wines with salt already added. The brand I use is Holland House. They make red, white, Marsala,and sherry cooking wines. Most chefs will probably call for my execution for this, but I prefer to use this cooking wine when making this because, I have found that the salt level and flavor of the dish is spot on every time because the wine has salt already in it. That way I don't have to worry about adding salt to it. But you can of course use a good red wine from your local liquor store. That is just my personal preference. The actual cooking of the dish is relatively simple. As I said above, it gets easier each time you make it. I could now make it in my sleep. You start out by rendering bacon lardons in a dutch oven or oven safe casserole. Remove the bacon and brown the stew meat in the bacon fat. Remove the meat and saute the carrots in the fat. Return everything to the pot and add your wine, beef stock, and herbs and seasonings. Cover and place in a preheated oven. When meat is cooked about 2 hours later. Strain the sauce into another saucepan. Place sauce over moderate heat and thicken it. You correct seasoning if you need. You then add back the meat and carrots. What I recommend now is to let it cool, cover it, and refrigerate overnight or a day or two. The stew gains in flavor the longer it sits. You then just have to reheat it slowly. Once reheated or ready to serve, you add your braised onions and sauteed mushrooms. You don't add the mushrooms until just before serving, otherwise they will sort of dissolve. It is now ready to serve. When it comes to serving it, the traditional way to serve it is over rice or buttered noodles. I personally view this as a cheap way to serve it and is a waste of such a delicious dish. I like to make some herb roasted potatoes and serve the stew over this. I feel if you are making a rich and gourmet dish like this, don't serve it over something healthy and boring like rice. But again, it is up to you how you wish to serve it. As a matter of fact you don't have to serve it over anything. For example, on the day after eating it, I just eat the leftovers in a bowl with a chunk of french bread. If you make this dish and you say you don't care for it, you obviously have no taste for good food whatsoever. I will warn you, the cost for this dish is around $30-40 for all of the meat and veggies and spices. It is for special occasions. They way I feel, I would have this every week if I could. So please make this as fast as you can. The recipe for the Beouf Borguignon, braised onion and Sauteed Mushrooms is below. As Julia Child says..."Bon Appetit"!
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I love anything with Gorganzola. I also love anything made by Ina Garten. When I saw her make this on her show Barefoot Contessa, I knew I had to make this. It is fettuccine pasta, tossed with crispy prosciutto or bacon, peas, and a creamy Gorganzola Alfredo sauce. It is topped with shaved Parmesan and chopped basil. It is absolutely delicious. If you like blue cheese, you will love this. I am without a doubt, making this for my friends for lunch at Allegany College of MD. If the chef likes it, we may run it as a special or something. I suggest you try it. The recipe is below. Cheers!
This is with out a doubt the most delicious rice dish I have ever made. It is spicy from the Chorizo, tangy from the wine, freshness from the peas, and creamy from the Manchego cheese. If you think you don't like rice or risotto your mind will change once you get a good taste of this divine creation. This was the first risotto I have ever made, and I am glad I tried this one first. Although, once I start experimenting with other recipes, I know that none will ever taste as delicious as this. I made it for my friends at Allegany College of MD for lunch. We were doing demonstrations on various cooking techniques. The chef asked me to find a recipe for risotto. i didn't want to do some boring old basic parmesan risotto. I wanted to do a recipe with many different layers of flavor. I stumbled on this and it started a day filled with Chorizo, Red Wine, and manchego cheese. I highly suggest you go to your local market immediately for the ingredients. There is one thing for sure...you need to have patience when cooking this. It takes around 45 minutes to an hour of constant stirring. The recipe for this is below. I beg you all to try it. Bon Appetit!
On such a wonderful sunny day with a nice breeze, what could be better than a good Ploughman's Lunch. Its good in a nice corner of a London park or right in your back yard right here in the good old USA. This dish is a traditional composed meal that was taken into the fields of the hard working ploughmen. It was a quick bite to have on the go. It is just a mixture of meats, breads, fruits and or vegetables. This is served with a variety of condiments. I will give you a list of all the different items for a great Ploughman's Lunch.
The great thing about this is you don't have to have everything on the list. You can have just an apple and some cheese and bread, or whatever you happen to have in your fridge. For a complete recipe, click on the picture below. Bon Appetit! |
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