Lamb Shanks Savory Delight

I've had lamb shanks at restaurants, the last time being in Avignon in France, but have never made them myself...at least not that I can remember. Turns out that they are an easy braise and a savory delight. The key things are to brown the shanks very well before braising, and to start the dish early enough that you can allow it a nice, slow braise in the oven for tender meat.

So, what is braising, you may ask? It is slow cooking of something with additional liquid added. Pot roast is a well known example.

Sweetie and I provide pasture for lambs for our neighbors each year. As a thank you they usually give us some lamb. I was going through the freezer a week or so ago and noticed that they had given us a beautiful lamb shank, almost two pounds in size. This is the perfect size for a dinner for two. Although you can probably get lamb shanks that are boned by the butcher, for this braise a shank with the bone is best.

A quick review of online recipes revealed that you brown the shank, brown aromatics like onion, garlic, carrot and celery, then cook all of those with a liquid, often wine, and with aromatic herbs like rosemary and thyme. I also added a pinch of dried orange peel, a trick from Julia Child.

This was a most delicious meal. I served the shanks in low, wide soup bowls with cooked yukon gold potatoes, smashed, and with cooked peas. I sprinkled gremolata on top to add a bring note and spooned on some of the delicious broth and vegetables. It was the perfect dish for a chilly winter evening. Try it yourself and see!

For those who are keeping track of what I am up to beyond food, a couple of days ago I was rear ended shortly before noon. The good news is that, other than some muscle soreness on my right side, I am fine. I was pretty shaken up and very sore yesterday, but rest and fluids, some movement and stretching, and chiropractic and ice and some ibuprofen have helped. The poor car will take some time to repair but in the meantime I scored a nice rental SUV. Thanks to everyone who expressed their concern. Although sometimes injury doesn't show up right away, as far as I can tell I'll be fine.
Sweetie was, as always, a rock and I'm sure I would have fallen to pieces without him. I'm a blessed and lucky woman!

Lamb Shanks with Red Wine and Herbs
Serves 2

2 one pound lamb shanks or one two pound shank
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups red wine
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 15oz. can diced tomatoes and juice
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon dried, crushed orange peel

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Rinse lamb shank(s) and dry thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in heavy oven-proof covered dutch oven or similar large pot. Brown lamb on all sides. Remove to plate. Saute carrot, celery, onion and garlic in same pot, stirring often, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add wine to the pot and stir to deglaze pan. Return the lamb to the pot, add the chicken broth, tomatoes and juice, herbs and orange peel. Cover pot and place in preheated oven. Cook for one and a half (1 1/2) hours, then turn pot 180 degrees and cook in oven at same temperature another one to one and a half hours, until meat is tender and falling off the bone.

Serve at once, with generous portions of the juices and vegetables in the broth. If desired, top with gremolata.

Gremolata
1 clove garlic, minced fine
lemon zest from one lemon
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley

Combine all ingredients. Sprinkle over cooked meats, poultry or veggies that need a flavor lift.

Cranberry Chicken For A Chilly Evening

We finally have gotten a few days of sun, but it's still pretty chilly, so I decided to make a baked chicken dish last night. I found it in a Rachel Ray magazine and it is a keeper! The skinless chicken stays moist under a shingling of bacon, plus the presence of a mixture of chicken broth and red wine. In general I can't drink wine, but I have found that I can eat things where the wine has been cooked. Yay! All the alcohol gets cooked off, but something else must get mellowed, too.

The components, besides the chicken and bacon, are sweet from the dried cranberries, savory from the broth and wine and balsamic vinegar, mellow from the translucent cooked onion wedges, and hearty from the red potato chunks. Add in the flavors of garlic, thyme, pepper and bay leaf and you have a dish that smells wonderful and tastes even better. All you need with it is a small salad or steamed veggies and, perhaps, some bread to sop up the delicious juices.

Because I never make anything quite how it is written up, I did change the chicken to boneless thighs, I added a 1/4 teaspoon fresh orange zest (cranberries  and orange are a match made in heaven), and I reduced the dried cranberries by 1/4 cup...and will reduce them by another 1/4 cup next time. I also didn't have fresh thyme, so I used dried thyme...2 teaspoons in the broth mixture and none for garnish.

There are a number of good reasons to make this dish besides the fact that it is yummy. First of all, it is relatively inexpensive. Then there is the bonus of a short prep time and about 30 minutes cooking time. Add to that the easy clean-up, especially if you line the casserole with heavy duty foil like I did. Last, but not least in my world, there is no dairy in this dish...and you don't miss it either. With no added oil, butter, cheese, or cream, it is fairly healthy, too...well, except for the bacon, but that adds so much flavor and fragrance that it would be a shame to leave it out. Sweetie helped me out by eating half my bacon. Isn't he the best?

Roasted Cranberry Coq au Vin
Serves 4
from Rachael Ray Every Day, March, 2017

1 1/4 cups dried cranberries (I used 1 cup but 3/4 cup would be better)
1 cup red wine, such as Pinot Noir or Beaujolais (I used Zinfandel)
1/2 cup chicken stock
6 large cloves garlic, chopped (don't worry, the garlic gets mellow in the oven)
4 bay leaves
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons onion salt
Optional: 1/4 teaspoon orange zest
3 tablespoons fresh thyme, divided (I used 2 teaspoons dried thyme)
4 bone-in chicken thighs (about 8 oz. each), skin removed (I used boneless skinless chicken thighs)
1 pound red potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 large yellow onion, cut through core into 3/4-inch wedges
4 slices thick-cut hickory-smoked bacon, each cut into 4 pieces
8  1-inch thick slices French bread (didn't have any...didn't miss it)

Position oven rack to upper third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix the first 7 ingredients and 2 tablespoons thyme (or all the dry thyme if using). Optional, but good: add 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest to the mixture.

In a large baking dish, arrange the chicken, potatoes and onion in a single layer. Shingle the bacon on the chicken. Add the cranberry mixture, pressing cranberries to submerge. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast in preheated 460 degree oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into a chicken thigh registers 165 degrees F., about 30 minutes. If using fresh thyme, garnish with remaining 1 tablespoon.

Serve at once. If desired serve with bread to mop up the juices.

A Classic For A Reason - Coq au Vin

When I first had my own apartment I wanted to make an impressive dish for a dinner party I was giving, but I was a working girl and didn't have all day to create something fancy. My Dad had given my Mom a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, so I took a look through that and decided that Boeuf Bourguignon would be just the thing. Although it took a few pages for Julia Child to explain how to make it correctly, for someone who already knew how to make stew, it could be compressed to fit on the front and back of an index card, including the separate part of how to cook the onions and mushrooms.

Coq au Vin is a similar dish and just as classic. Bacon is cooked and removed, onions and garlic are cooked and removed (mushrooms, too, if you like them), chicken is browned and removed. The pan is deglazed with wine. Broth, seasonings and all those things removed are added back along with some tomato paste and small onions and then the whole thing is simmered. Pretty easy, right? You can thicken the sauce and serve it up at that point (after about an hour total cooking time, but only a half hour of your time) or you can refrigerate it and serve it later. That time in the fridge lets the flavors blend magnificently, so I try to plan for some fridge time.

When you are getting ready to serve, heat up the chicken mixture, thicken it with a flour and water mixture, make some mashed potatoes and chop up some parsley. Don't leave out the parsley. Not only does the green add to the looks of the dish, but the herbal notes are needed to bring the dish to its full potential.

In a wide shallow bowl or on a rimmed plate you put the mashed potatoes, top them with some hot chicken and sauce and sprinkle some parsley on top. It smells heavenly and tastes even better. Everyone will think you have spent all day making this sophisticated dish. A green salad is a nice addition. Don't forget to serve some baguette slices so that they can chase any sauce left in the bowl or on the plate.

I like to use chicken thighs for this because they take well to the simmering that cooks the chicken pieces. If you use boneless then the dish is easy for your guests (or just yourself!) to eat. You can, of course, use a whole cut up chicken, or any combination of pieces that you enjoy. Just be sure to make the full recipe. The leftovers, if any, taste even better than the original serving. Trust me.

Use a good quality dry red wine. You only need a cup for the recipe and you can drink the rest with the meal. Light a few candles, add some flowers to the table and it's a party, even on a weeknight.

Coq au Vin
Serves 4-6

2 Slices bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 lb (8 oz.) fresh muchrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons olive or grapeseed oil
3.5 - 4 lbs mixed skinless checken breasts (boneless) & thighs (bones OK)
1 cup dry red wine
1 - 14 oz can chicken broth or 14 oz homemade broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup whole small onions (jarred, canned, ro frozen for ease)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Heat a Dutch oven or heavy, covered pot over medium high heat. Brown the bacon, stirring occasionally. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

To the Dutch oven add chopped onion. Saute 3 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms. Saute another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the pan and set aside. Wipe any remaining bits from the pan with a paper towel.

Add olive oil to pan. When hot add half the chicken, browning on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside. Brown the remaining chicken on both sides. Set aside.

Deglaze the pan with the red wine, then add the broth, tomato paste, small onions, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir. Return the bacon, onion mixture and chicken to the pan. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, about 25 minutes, until the chicken juices run clear when pierced. Remove the bay leaves and discard.

Refrigerate overnight to blend flavors (optional).
Return mixture to a simmer.

Make a thickener by placing the 4 tablespoons flour in a small bowl. Whisk in the water. 
Whisk or stir the thickener into the coq au vin. Stir gently around the chicken pieces as the sauce thickens.

Serve in wide, shallow soup bowls, over mashed potatoes, with a sprinkle of chopped parsley over all.

Duck!

Recently there was a great buy on duck legs at the market. I rarely cook duck, so I took the opportunity to do some online searching for a good recipe. I ended up using a recipe from the New York Times, but also changed it a bit to include red wine because I think duck and red wine go so well together.

The results were awesome, like dining at a fancy restaurant, probably a French one. The dish was rich in flavor, full of roasted veggies, had a wonderful sauce in the bottom of the pot and went really well with some boiled red potatoes. It took a little more time than usual, but was well worth it.

Braised Duck Legs with Veggies

based on recipe at Diners Journal/NY Times

Ingredients

• 2 duck legs, trimmed of excess fat
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup red wine (I used a nice Pinot)
• 2 large onion
• 3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1 pound carrots
• 6 celery stalks
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 4 oz. sliced, cleaned mushrooms
• 2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade.

Method

• 1. Put duck legs, skin side down, in a skillet large enough to accommodate all ingredients comfortably; turn heat to medium. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brown duck legs carefully and evenly, sprinkling them with salt and pepper as they cook. Meanwhile, peel and dice vegetables.
  
• 2. When legs are nicely browned, turn them over and sear for just a minute or two. Remove to a plate; remove fat to a small bowl. Add red wine to deglaze the pan, then simmer wine for 1o minutes to reduce. Pour red wine over chicken and wipe out skillet. Add just enough of the reserved fat to cook the vegetables. Discard rest of fat or use for another purpose.  Add vegetables and thyme to skillet along with some salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Return duck legs to pan, skin side up and juices/wine, and add stock; it should come about halfway up duck legs but should not cover them. Turn heat to high, bring to a boil, and transfer to oven.
  
• 3. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes, then lower heat to 350 degrees. Continue to cook, uncovered & undisturbed, until duck is tender and liquid reduced, at least another half hour. The duck is done when a thin-bladed knife pierces the meat with little resistance. When done, duck will hold nicely in a warm oven for another hour. Serve hot.

Not So Irish Stew

A few weeks ago we purchase some local lamb, both stew pieces and ground. My original idea was to make traditional Irish stew, but somewhere along the way it morphed into lamb with red wine, rosemary and garlic. I started out with the traditional onions, celery, carrots mix and with the lamb shaken with seasoned flour and browned, a few at a time. Sorry to say I also have lost the amounts I used, so this isn't as much a recipe as a recounting.

Along about the time that I was supposed to braise the browned lamb and veggies with broth I decided I like my lamb marinade for grilling so much that I would add those ingredients, too. Red wine, fresh rosemary, a few cloves of crushed garlic, a couple of bay leaves, a shake of dried orange peel and some freshly ground pepper was added to the chicken broth. A nice long simmer later the meat was tender, almost falling off the bone.The next step could be skipped but it does add to the flavor. I removed the meat and simmered the liquid until it was reduced by about 1/3. Then I removed the bay leaves, added back the meat and I added some red skinned waxy potatoes that I had cut into bite size pieces and cooked until tender in a separate pot. I didn't want red potatoes from the red wine.

I served the stew in bowls because it was on the soupy side. A sprinkle of freshly chopped flat leaf parsley was the final garnish.

This was excellent stew folks! You could really taste the lamb...a good thing if you love lamb...but the potatoes still had their own flavor and the veggies were soft and added a touch of tradition. The red wine and garlic and rosemary provide robust flavor but are not dominant. Great with good bread to sop up the savory liquid. Just have a plate for the bones if yours, like ours, is bone-in stew meat.

Finally have some time to start thinking about Christmas. I did do a couple of online bits of shopping on Cyber Monday, but now have the fun of finding local items, mostly, for family and friends. The crafts scene especially has just blossomed so there are lots and lots of quality hand crafted items this year to choose from. Hard to choose...

Lovely Spring Lamb Marinade

We have been enjoying some great dinners but most of the food is the same as dishes that have been posted here before. The marinated lamb today was excellent and was served with fresh steamed corn on the cob and a big vegetable salad with field greens. On checking my recipe list I found that I haven't given you my lamb marinade (or if I have I can't find the post...so excuse me for being a forgetful biddy if it turns out this is a repeat). Sweetie loves this marinade! I've been making it pretty much like this for years and years and the flavor combination of the red wine, garlic, rosemary and mustard is a winner.

Yesterday we went to Matanzas Creek Winery, hoping to see their lavender fields in bloom. Looks like we are about two weeks too soon...lots of buds but few were blooming. They have acres and acres of blooms later this month and a big-deal Lavender and Wine weekend at the very end of June. Guess I could have put some lavender from my shrub into the marinade but didn't think of it...maybe next time.

Lamb in Red Wine Marinade


6 oz. dry red wine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon-type mustard
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
about 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary (OK if still on the stem)
1 lamb roast (we like a leg of lamb with the bone removed but this will work for lamb steaks and lamb rib roast, too)

Place all the marinade ingredients except for the rosemary in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Lay a gallon size zipper lock plastic bag in a large baking pan, carefully un-zip and place the rosemary and them lamb in the bag. Add the marinade. Close plastic bag. Let marinate at room temperature for an hour, then turn the bag over and let the other side marinate for an hour. If there is time, continue to marinate in the refrigerator, turning occasionally. Have never marinated the lamb for longer than 8 hours, but more might be OK.

Remove lamb from the marinade and discard the marinade. Grill the lamb on a prepared grill to the degree of pinkness you desire. Serve at once.

Pork Yumminess for a Cold Night

Sometimes things just come together. The plants go in the ground just before a gentle rain falls, followed by warmth and sunshine, so they grow well from the start. A job opens up after months of not much interest when resumes were sent, then housing nearby is easy to find and the move happens just before a big snowfall. Requests for a speaker for an important meeting fall through and then, at the last minute, you get a 'yes' from the speaker you wanted the most. Things like that brighten you day, week or month.

Today things came together on the dinner front. I knew we had some boneless pork that needed to be cooked, I had a yen for polenta, inspection of the produce bin showed that we had both fresh mushrooms and baby spinach. After that it was just a matter of remembering other dishes that were good and borrowing from them. Sautéed onion, mushrooms, celery and garlic can be the base for any number of delicious savory meals. Sage and thyme go so well with pork and with mushrooms.

Julia Child often threw some orange peel into this kind of braised meat dish, so why not this one? Ditto with the red wine and touch of tomato sauce. My mom's stew recipe uses Worcestershire so I added some of that, too, plus a bit of leftover chicken broth to keep the meat submerged in liquid as it braised.

I've always loved polenta with a little Parmesan cheese added and I know that this sort of hearty braised meat goes well with polenta. The spinach? It was the thing that pulled it all together, plus the bright green color is so appealing.

Have fun with this. The wine could be replaced with beer, ale or stout, or even white wine. The fresh mushrooms could be replaced with dried and reconstituted ones. Add more garlic, skip the orange peel, replace the celery with fennel. I'm sure you will still have a wonderful dish that will warm you up on a cold night as it did Sweetie and Elle.


Pork Ragout with Spinach over Polenta

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
4 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 lbs boneless pork (I used country rib meat), cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried orange peel or a 1-inch by 2-inch piece of fresh orange peel minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
Polenta for 2 - 4 people
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups baby spinach leaves, rinsed and drained

In a large, heavy bottomed ovenproof pot heat 1-2 tablespoons of the olive oil and saute' the onions, mushrooms, celery and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring often.

While vegetables are cooking, heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Blot the meat cubes if necessary. Dry meat browns better than cubes with moisture one them. Brown the pork cubes on all sides, working with about 1/4 of the meat at a time. As the pork finishes browning, transfer to the vegetable pot.

To the vegetables and pork add the sage, thyme, orange peel, salt and pepper, red wine, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce and chicken broth. Cover the pot and place over medium heat on the stove top while you preheat the oven.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. When oven is hot remove the pot of pork and vegetables from the heat and put it into the oven, still covered. Cook for 1 hour, checking in the last 15 minutes to make sure there is still enough liquid so that the contents don't burn.

When the pork has about 15 minutes left, prepare polenta according to the package directions. When cooked stir in the Parmesan cheese.

When the polenta is almost done, remove the pot from the oven, stir in the spinach, and set aside, covered for 2-3 minutes to wilt the spinach. Serve the pork and vegetable mixture over the polenta in wide bowls. Garnish with more grated Parmesan if desired. Serves 2- 4

Black Beans and Pork with Oranges

Well, we've had the come-to-mama sugar fix with those waffles. Now the weather seems right to try the delicious recipe that San Francisco Anne brought to the Boxing Day Party. Don't you just love to get a recipe that you know will be great because you've already tasted it? She is a fantastic cook, so I made sure to have some of what she brought and insisted on having the recipe...it was that good!

Not only did she lend me the recipe, but she lent me the book it came from. The book, Paula Peck's Art of Good Cooking has gorgeous hand done illustrations by Mel Klapholz, is a mid-'60 cookbook with wonderful recipes, including one for homemade sour cream that sounds a lot like what is now called creme fraiche. She even gives instructions for rendering chicken fat.

Recipes for mayonnaise, tapenade, and pesto sound very modern, using basic fresh ingredients.

In fact the use of fresh ingredients and the lack of canned soup sets it apart from many cookbooks of the era. There is a recipe for Chicken and Garlic Stew which uses 40 - 60 plump cloves of garlic and it sounds wonderful. I'll try it sometime, leaving out the monosodium glutamate that she seems to add to most things. It has white wine, fresh herbs, unexpected spices like allspice and cinnamon and sounds very light with only a little olive oil used and no butter, eggs, or heavy cream.

The pork recipe is also fairly healthy, depending of the kind of sausage you use. Beans are heart healthy and also delicious prepared this way! Onion, peppers and garlic add flavor, the black beans add substance and a great contrast to the pork. Orange juice and red wine help make a tasty sauce and the thing that is surprising, but ties it all together is the zing of the fresh orange segments.

If you are going vegetarian, I suspect that it would be delicious without any of the pork...just the black beans, onions, peppers, garlic, orange juice, red wine and oranges, plus salt an pepper to taste. A little hot sauce might be needed if the pork is omitted, too.

As with many dishes containing cooked onions, this dish is delightful made ahead, refrigerated for a day or two, and reheated to serve. That's what I did. I served it over saffron rice (white rice cooked the way we like it, but with some real saffron thread added). You get a nice flavor and color that way.

Since the success of this dish depends on fresh oranges and, in the Northern Hemisphere, it is citrus season, do give this hearty meal a try! Thanks again to Anne for sharing this great recipe!

Pork and Black Beans over Rice
From Paula Peck's Art of Good Cooking
Serves 6

2 cups dried black beans (about 1 pound)
1/3 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, minced
1 large bell pepper (green, red, yellow or orange), seeded and diced
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
1 1 /2 pounds unsmoked pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
¾ pound Mexican sausage (if available), or fresh pork sausage
(Note: I used Southern style bulk pork sausage and it worked well, but use the kind of sausage you enjoy)
2/3 cup orange juice
½ cup dry red wine
2 -3 fresh oranges

Wash, pick over beans. Either soak overnight in water to cover or do quick cook by covering with water in a saucepan, bringing to a boil, turning down heat and simmering for 2 minutes, turning off heat, covering and letting sit for at least two hours. With either method pour off the soaking water and rinse the beans. It helps remove the enzyme that leads to exess bean gas :)

Heat olive oil in a deep pot. Add garlic, onion and bell pepper and sauté’ until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add the beans and enough water to cover them. Cover the pot, and simmer about 45 minutes, or until the beans are tender, adding more water if necessary.

Drain liquid from pot and reserve. Return the drained beans to the pot. Remove 2 cups of cooked beans from the pot. Cover remaining beans and keep them warm. Puree’ the 2 cups of cooked beans with as much bean liquid as necessary in a blender. Stir bean puree’ into cooked beans and keep warm.

Brown pork cubes and sausage in their own fat in a skillet. If very lean, use a little olive oil. Pour off fat when meats are golden all over, and, if in casing, cut sausage into 1 inch pieces. If not in casing, break up sausage into chunks. Add both meats to beans; season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Pour orange juice and wine into the skillet that the meats were browned in, and cook over high heat until liquid is reduced to less than half, scraping any brown bits in the pan into the sauce. Pour into the bean mixture and stir to combine all flavors. Place in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes.

While pork and beans are cooking, peel the oranges, slice an inch thick and separate into segments…you’ll have about 1 ½ cups of triangles of orange.

Serve over saffron or steamed rice. Garnish with orange segments.

Inspired by Julia Child

Ever since seeing the movie Julie/Julia, I've been wanting to make Boeuf Bourguignon, but it is a dish that is most fun shared with friends over glasses of red wine. This past weekend we enjoyed the company of our relations from Sweetie's side of the family, including little C, a lover of model trains just like Sweetie. It gave me the excuse I needed to immerse myself in Julia Child's wonderful recipe. Since I was using California Cabernet Sauvignon instead of a burgundy, I'm calling it Boeuf au Vin Rouge. Most of the recipe is straight out of her book, From Julia Child's Kitchen, although I did the tiny onions my own way and I did include the chopped onions from the simple beef stew recipe.

I highly recommend that you make this dish if you enjoy beef. It is perfect for company since it makes a quantity of stew and you can make it ahead (it's actually best that way), plus it is impressive with it's richness and delightful combination of meat, mushrooms, onions and herbs. It looks like a long recipe, but that is because Julia leaves nothing to chance...she wants you to be successful and tells you how to do each step. If you can brown beef and cut onions and mushrooms, you can make this!

Boeuf au Vin Rouge – Beef in Red Wine
Based on Boeuf Bourguignon in From Julia Child’s Kitchen
Serves 6-8

3 – 4 lbs beef stew meat cut into either 2-inch squares or 3- by 1/1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
3 cups drinkable red wine…I used a nice California Cabernet Sauvignon
2 or more cups good beef stock
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
a 2 inch piece of dried orange peel
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 or more cloves garlic
salt and pepper as needed
The onions – 1 10 oz bag frozen small onions (see note below)
The mushrooms – ½ lb or more whole fresh white mushrooms – I used almost a pound, because we like mushrooms
Beurre manie’ for the final sauce: 3 tablespoons flour blended with 2 ½ tablespoons butter

Dry beef with paper towels. Film a large, heavy frying pan with 1/16 inch oil and heat to very hot but not smoking. Add the pieces of beef, as many as will fit in 1 layer without crowding them. Brown nicely on all sides, regulating the heat so fat is always very hot but not smoking. Add more oil as needed. As each piece of meat if browned, transfer it to a heavy to 5 quart casserole with a cover. Continue browning beef and removing browned beef to casserole until all pieces are browned.

Stir the onions into oil left in the pan (add more if needed) and brown briefly, then transfer to the casserole. Discard any browned fat. Pour a cup of wine or stock into the pan, bring to simmer, scraping up coagulated browning juices, and pour this liquid over the beef in the casserole.

Set the casserole over heat; add the wine and enough stock barely to cover the meat. Add the bay, thyme, orange peel, tomato paste and garlic clove which have been cut in half. Bring to a simmer, taste, and salt lightly if necessary. Cover and cook at a slow simmer either on top of the stove or in the oven. (For oven cooking, start at 350 degrees, then lower heat in 20 – 30 minutes to 325 or even 300 degrees.

Simmer approximately 1 ½ - 2 hours unless your meat is shank or heel meat, which will take longer. The beef should be tender enough for a pleasant chew, but not be falling apart.

While the beef is simmering prepare the onions and mushrooms:
I used bagged, frozen small onions which have already been peeled. If you want to go with fresh onions, e-mail me and I’ll give you those directions.

Bring ½ inch of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add one piece of bacon, cut into rectangles and simmer for 1 minute. Add the frozen onions and cover. Simmer for another minute. Turn off the heat and let sit, covered, for 3 minutes. Pour the onions and the cooking liquid into a large bowl.

Trim off dry or sandy stem ends, wash the mushrooms thoroughly but rapidly, and dry in a towel. Leave whole if ¾ inch across or less. If larger quarter them lengthwise. Film the frying pan with 1/16 inch oil and heat to very hot but not smoking. Add enough mushroom to cover the bottom of the pan and shake pan by the handle to toss the mushrooms about for 2 – 3 minutes until mushrooms are lightly browned. Add them to the bowl with the cooked onions, then continue until all the mushrooms are browned.

When the beef is tender, set a large colander over a saucepan and pour contents of casserole into colander. Wash out casserole and return the meat to it. Press juices out of remains in colander, and discard residue. Make sure that you have removed the bay leaf and discarded it.

Skim fat off cooking liquid in saucepan, and taste liquid carefully for strength and seasoning. You should have about 3 cups of delicious meaty rich stock. Boil down rapidly in the saucepan if weak, to concentrate flavor, adding a bit more stock or bouillon or wine, herbs, garlic, or tomato paste if you feel them necessary.

Remove from heat, blend the beurre manie’ into the liquid with a wire whisk. Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring, as it thickens into a light sauce. Check for seasonings.

Add the onions and mushroom mixture to the beef in the casserole. Pour the sauce over it all and simmer 5 – 6 minutes, basting meat and vegetables with the sauce to blend flavors.

The dish is now ready to serve, but the flavor improves if you stop at this point and refrigerate it overnight, then re-heat it over gentle heat the next day.

Serve with rice or noodles, perhaps garnished with chopped parsley. Have some good bread on hand to mop up the sauce. You can serve from the casserole, or mound the meat and vegetables and sauce on a platter and surround with the rice or noodles.

I used a large patter with raised sides and served the boeuf with steamed rice. It was delicious and well worth the time. I had some leftovers tonight and it was even better than two nights ago, so you could make this three or four days in advance of serving and know that it will be even more delightful that way.

There is nothing really difficult about this dish, it just takes some time to cut up and brown all that meat, then do the same with some onions and lots of mushrooms. Simmering takes time, but you really can do it in advance. Making the sauce takes about 15 minutes or less. The rich flavors make this a very impressive dish. If you serve it to guests they will think that you slaved over a hot stove for much longer than you did. You can also freeze this, although I would only freeze the meat, chopped onions, and sauce and add the mushrooms and tiny onions the day you plan on serving the dish.

Keep accompaniments simple…a nice green salad, cooked rice or noodles, some steamed peas, some good bread, and more red wine are all you need. “Bon appétit!”, as Julia would say.