Boeuf Bourguignon. Ok, so this isn’t quite top billing anymore, for those of you who keep up with pop-culture. But, I’m a bit slow on the draw when it comes to watching movies. I only watch on the theatre big screen if there’s a promise of great special effects (or Robert Downey Jr.). And, if a movie has been labeled ‘chick-flick’, it will surely slip to the bottom of my list for much later viewing.
So, when I found myself at the butcher’s counter asking for 2” cubes of bottom round for a recipe made famous (twice) by Julia Child – I caught myself laughing out loud (yeah, lol). Since I kind of pride myself in not knowing the trendy jargon of the times … I had to have some coaching on how to pronounce the name of the famous recipe.
Finding myself in this uncharacteristic situation was all thanks to my friend Tina, and her ambitious plan for a big family holiday dinner. Boeuf Bourguignon for 14 people, and nothing less than local grass fed grass finished beef will do!
And … of course, this story begins at BriarPatch, where local grass fed grass finished Nevada County Free Range Beef is the ‘home brand’ at the meat counter.
My favorite team of resident experts in the meat department set me up right. They knew just what I needed … including some French pronunciation lessons so I wouldn’t embarrass myself further. I listened carefully while Robert explained in his best high pitched faux-Julia voice – how the cubes should be cut lengthwise to the marbling of the beef to insure tenderness, and as I tried hard to take this all in without focusing too much on the elf hat bobbing around as he worked, the whole place became filled with the joyful sound of Julia-impersonators calling out “Bon Appetit!”. – Ah, long holiday hours in the meat department! I wasn’t the first to request this glamorous stew beef that day.
….. If my visit to the meat counter mirrors a scene from a movie, preparing this meal can only be compared to a theatre production. And there’s nothing quite like arriving at the family holiday bearing gifts of fresh beef – for the opening scene.
The production begins, of course, by breaking the timeless rule about ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’, creating a tightly orchestrated chaos of Christmas music and 2 ½ conversations at once, over the underlying tenor of youngsters dodging underfoot – having no real reason to be in the kitchen, except to absorb some of the hectic atmosphere to mix with the sugar already in their systems – and me, creeping around under the radar – in the unfamiliar kitchen – opening each cabinet and drawer seeking baking dishes and allspice – hopefully without breaking the choreography of the boeuf troupe who are spinning around the dancefloor, er kitchen floor at a faster pace than the pumpkin pudding troupe who are dancing to a more hesitant, uneven beat in a sort of mid-range octave between the staccato of the onion chopping and the slow, steady, adagio… of the eggnog stirring.
In-season vegetables, carrots, yellow onions, white pearl onions, red wine.
Didn’t have to convince anyone in this kitchen about the laurels of local, seasonal foods!
I’ll take a moment here, from the merriment … to mention: when translating the recipe from boeuf to grass fed grass finished beef, be sure to allow some extra time – and pace yourself! The grass fed beef should sear for a brief moment in the pan, to remain succulent, then be allowed to marinate in the wine and juices for a little longer than Julia might have. Maybe a recipe-revision for a slow-cooker …
Toward the end of the suggested 2 ½ hours cooking time, slowly marinating in the juices … the boeuf needed more time, but since the wine and eggnog had been flowing freely, the cooks were rapidly marinating in our juices ….
But true to the season, we kept our spirits high. Although the original 14 people had unexpectedly been reduced to 10. I didn’t know at the time, having not seen the movie …… that this seems to be the curse of the Boeuf Bourguignon. Announcing “more stew for us”, (again unconsciously mirroring lines from the script), received pretty much the same deflated response as it did in the film.
The final scene – good food, a quick recovery, compliments all around, and indeed – “..more stew for us”… another hour-plus later. As Julia would have said, “ no excuses, no apologies, no explanations!”
So – I finally watched the movie. The similarities to recent real-life are startling! .. right down to the food-blogging, and my quest to learn about good cooking.
Thanks Julia, for the inspiration .. and thanks Tina, for the adventure!
btw … I got a lemon zester for Christmas !