easy boeuf bourguignon...a Julia Child inspired dish!

i love boeuf bourguignon! this recipe is inspired by the beautiful and wonderful Julia Child. i grew up watching her show on TV. even as a little girl, i recognized her magic in the kitchen. her food made my mouth water. her jokes made me laugh. and, i loved that when she made mistakes, she just rolled with it. she was cool!

this dish is also known as beef burgandy. it's just a stew, really...with wine. my version is of a, shall we say, rustic sort. one that julia child may would have scoffed at. in any case, it is totally realistic for a weeknight dinner. it's a dish surely to impress. completely delicious!

we all have those days when we realize it's 4 o'clock, and we have not a clue what's for dinner. when this happens (about once a week), i dash to the store and grab a chuck roast and a bottle of red wine. i usaually have the other ingredients in the fridge...you probably do too. also, it helps if you prep the day before, so you can throw everything together and bring to a boil. truth be told, i don't usually start cooking this until about 5:30pm. me and LT usually have dinner around 9.

this recipe calls for wine. so buy one that you want to drink, because there may be two glasses left. it was "one of those days", then go ahead a buy two bottles. i sometimes pour the entire bottle into the pot if i want a richer, darker stew. if you try this, just reduce the amount of water.

you can also finish this in the oven. after the pot comes to a boil (with all ingredients added), place in an oven at 350 degrees fahrenheit. it'll cook for the same amount of time. just check on it and stir occasionally so the meat sticking out doesn't dry. regardless of how you finish this, at the end, the meat should be super tender and the sauce should be reduced to a third. if you want it a little thicker, at the end, remove some sauce and mix in some corn or potato starch. add to the pot slowly and stir while simmering for about 5 minutes. 

if you don't have the time to peak every half hour, try it some other time. please don't put it in a crock pot. crock pots should only be reserved for queso at a child's birthday party or the super bowl. don't hate me if you love your crock pot. just stop using it...it's not sexy and totally lazy!

above all, remember that there are no rules, so don't sweat it. add more of this or more of that. nutmeg, chili flakes, cream, croutons...whatever you want.

oh, and this recipe does have flour. almond meal just doesn't cut! but, before you discount it...it not much, really.

ingredients:

3 lb chuck roast (trimmed and roughly cut into 3 in pieces)

1 large red onion (halved and thinly sliced)

3 tbsp all purpose flour

16 oz package of baby carrots

2 celery stalks (quartered)

2 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 bottle (750 ml) of Burgundy or Cotes du Rhone wine (or any deep red wine you like)

1 herb bouquet of thyme, bay, and parsley (tied bundle)

4 tsp chopped parsley

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

season the meat with salt and pepper. in a dutch oven, heat the oil over high heat until it is almost smoking. add the meat in batches and sear until it is well browned. set meat aside.

add the red onions to the dutch oven and brown for 2-3 minutes. then add the flour and stir for an another 2-3 minutes.

add the carrots, celery, and garlic to the onions and stir.

return the meat to the pot. add the wine and scrape the bits from the bottom of the pot. then, add water so that the liquid cover the meat by a 1/3.




be careful with the salt. this is going to reduce a lot. stir the stew every 30 minutes to keep meat from sticking. with a spoon, skim off the oil on the surface. when meat is tender, toss out the herb bouquet.

serve and add salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with parsley.