Beouf Bourguignon Vol au Vents Part DEUX

I promise to give you the play by play of this recipe once I get home and have a minute to sit down. Right now, I need to get the heck out of work!!!

Later- You know what? These pictures are a pretty good play by play on their own- So I'm leaving it as is. Kinda like magic!















Beouf Bourguignon
Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol I by Julia Child
For 6 People

• 6 oz bacon
• 1 bt olive oil
• 3 lbs. lean beef cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 sliced onion
• 1 sliced carrot
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 tb flour
• 3 cups full bodied red wine
• 2 to 3 cups beef broth
• 1 tb tomato paste
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 recipe of Braised Onions (recipe follows)
• 1 recipe of Buttered Mushrooms (recipe follows)
• obligatory parsley

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Saute the bacon in the oil over moderate heat to render the fat. Remove and set aside. Heat fat until it is almost smoking. Making sure the beef is very dry, saute it in the fat in a few bacthes so that they can brown. Once nicely browned, set aside with bacon.

In the same fat, saute the sliced vegetables until brown. Pour out the fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in the wine and enough broth to cover the meat. Add the tomato paste, garlic and herbs. Bring to a simmer then set the casserole into preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid ssimmer very slowly for 2.5 to 3 hours. To meat is done with a fork pierces it easily.

Make the braised onions and buttered mushrooms (recipes to follow)

When the meat is tender, pour the contens of the casserole into a siee over a saucepan. Return the meat and bacon to the casserole and top off with the onions and mushrooms.

Skim the fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two skimming off additional fat as it rises. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If it is too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of broth. Tasted for seasoning and then pour over the meat and vegetables.

For immediate serving: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce. Garnish with parsley and serve.

For later serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to a simmer, cover and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes occasionally basting the meat and vegetable with the sauce. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Buttered Mushrooms

(Champignons Sautes au Beurre)

• 2 tb butter
• 1tb oil
• 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, washed, well dried, left whole if small or quartered if large
• 1 or 2 tb minced shallots or green onions

Place the skillet over high heat with the butter and oil. As soon as you see that the butter foam has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add the mushrooms. Toss and shake the pan for 4 to 5 minues. During their saute the mushrooms will at first absorb the fat. In 2 to 3 minues the fat will reappear on the surface, and the mushrooms will bnegin to brown. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.

Toss the shallots or green onions with the mushrooms. Sauce over moderate heat for 2 minutes.

Braised Onions

(Ognions Glaces a Brun)

• 18 to 24 peeled white onions
• 1.5 tb butter
• 1.5 tb oil
• 1/2 beef broth
• 1 herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, a bay leaf and 1/2tsp thyme tied in cheesecloth

To peel the onions, boil a large pot of water, drop the onions into the pot for about 30 seconds making sure not to overcrowed the pot. Drain and let cool. Barely cut off the bottom and top, enough to remove the outer layers. Poke a small hole in the root of the onions to ensure even cooking

When the butter and oil are bubbling in the skiller, add the onions and saute over moderate hear for about 10 minutes, rolling the onions about so they will brown as evenly as possible. You cannot expect to brown them uniformly.

Pour in the liquid, season to taste and add the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape and the liquid has evaporated. Remove the herb bouquet.