Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon

**Don`t forget to enter my giveaway!**

I hope no one is going to be frightened by the steps in this super long recipe. The end result is truly worth it and is one of the tastiest recipes I've had in a long time.  I had a lot of fun channeling my inner Julia Child making this recipe.  Mark kept saying "boeuf bourguignon" in a Julia high voice, in anticipation to eat.  We served our delicious stew with buttered egg noodles.  We happened to have a fresh bag of tagliatelle in the cupboard.  I had planned on having potatoes with this, but in the end I had forgotten all about them, so noodles it was!


This would be a very beautiful meal for Valentines day if you have the time to make this.  You can also make it ahead of time, and serve it the next day.  The flavors would be extraordinary the next day.  This recipe is a little pricey also, so it should be reserved for a special occasion!  (It may not be so expensive somewhere else, but in Nova Scotia, it costs $3.99 for a small bag of pearl onions. Crazy!)

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon:

6 oz bacon, cut into strips
1 tbsp olive oil
3 lbs good stewing beef
1 sliced carrot
1 sliced onion
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp flour
3 cups red wine (I used a pinot noir from France)
2-3 cups beef stock or bouillon
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 tsp thyme
1 crumbled bay leaf

Simmer bacon in 2 cups of water for 5-8 minutes.  Drain and Dry.
Preheat oven at 450F.
Saute bacon in oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Set bacon aside in a casserole dish.
Heat up bacon fat in the pan until almost smoking.
Dry off the pieces of meat with paper towel and brown in batches.  Add the brown pieces of meat to the bacon.
Brown the onions and carrots in the remaining fat.
Season the meat with salt and pepper.
Coat the meat with the flour.
Put the casserole with the meat in the oven for 4 minutes. Stir and put in the oven for 4 minutes more. This creates a crust on the meat.
Lower the heat to 325F.
Once you have taken out the meat from the oven, add to the vegetables.
Stir in the wine, enough stock to cover the meat, tomato paste, crushed garlic, herbs.
Bring to a simmer.
Pour back into the casserole dish you used and bake slowly for 2 1/2 - 3 hours.
(If you have a big enough enameled cast iron pan, you can cook it and bake it in the same dish.  I didn't think mine would hold everything, so I cooked it in the big casserole dish.)

 While the stew is cooking, you prepare the onions and mushrooms and set aside until you need them.

Brown braised onions:
18-24 peeled pearl onions
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp oil
1/2 cup beef stock or red wine
Salt and pepper to taste
an herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, 1 bay leaf & sprig thyme.)
I didn't have any fresh herbs, so I added 1 bay leaf and 1/4 tsp thyme

Bring the butter and oil to a bubbling simmer.
Add onions and saute for 10 minutes on medium heat.
Stir them around without breaking the skins.
Add the stock and the herbs.
Bring to a simmer, cover and keep simmering for 40-50 minutes.
Remove bay leaf once it is done.

Sauteed Mushrooms:2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil (you will probably need extra fat)
1 lb mushrooms (I only had 1/2 lb)

Clean mushrooms well.
Cut any large mushrooms into quarters or halves, leave the small ones whole.
Heat oil and butter in a frying pan.
When the butter foam begins to subside, the fat is hot enough to start adding mushrooms.
Cook the mushrooms in batches, so they brown not steam.
Set the mushrooms aside once they are done.

-I forgot to take pictures of the mushrooms-

To assemble the stew:
Sieve the liquid into a saucepan.
Skim any fat off the sauce and bring it to a simmer. If sauce is too thick, add extra stock.  ( I had some onion braising liquid, so I added that instead)  If it is too thin, cook it down.
*Julia says to wash out the casserole you baked the stew in and then add the meat and vegetables back in it.  I just used my enameled cast iron that I had braised the onions in instead of washing a hot pan. I also removed the bits of mushy carrot and onions from the meat*
Stir the onions and mushrooms and meat together. 
Pour sauce over and simmer this for a few minutes before serving.
Like I had said earlier, I served this with noodles, but you can serve it with any starch.
Sprinkle with parsley if you have any.

Bon Appetit!

Until next time,
Jacqueline

Italian Cooking Giveaway (Closed!)

I am super excited about this post.  I am giving away an amazing cookbook to one of my blog readers! 

I selected an amazing cookbook: Molto Gusto by Mario Batali.  If you do not know who Mario is, he is an amazing Italian chef.  I remember watching his cooking shows when I was younger, watching him fling pasta on a wall, and cook up sauces like no body's business. 

Sorry about the flash!

 This is an "everyday" Italian cookbook, which to me is a bit of recipes we probably have had, or love and a mix of lovely, different recipes to explore your Italian food palate.  I have gone through this book, just to make sure it would be good enough for my readers, and trust me, I am super jealous of whoever gets this book.

I'm pretty sure every recipe has a picture, if you are like me and sometimes need a visual.  Also, there are different excerpts about different cheeses, etc. to make you understand a little more about the ingredients you will be using.  This book has pizzas, pastas, salads, sorbets, and the list goes on!

To enter the giveaway, you must:

Send an email to jfoodjournal@hotmail.com
In this email you must tell me what your favorite recipe I have posted is, or a recipe you would like me to post soon.

The contest will be open from today, Sunday, February 12, to Saturday, February 18.
Please use an email that you check frequently.  I will be emailing the winner on Sunday, February 19th.

If you have any questions, send them to the email above or leave it in the comments and I will get back to you.

Until next time
Jacqueline

I Love Pasta Arrabiata!

Since Valentine's day is coming up, I figured I would make a simple, delicious pasta dish.  Nothing is as romantic as pasta, at least I think so.
The first time I ever had pasta arrabiata was at my favorite restaurant, Il Mercato.  It happened to be the pasta special of the day and I fell in love.  Of course, this recipe would never do justice to their pasta arrabiata in any way, but it is super simple and super delicious.  I hope you enjoy!

This recipe has two steps, first you must make a "simple" sauce:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 can whole tomatoes, broken up by hand
1 small can tomato paste
2 tbsp basil

Heat oil in a medium saucepan.
Add tomatoes, paste and basil.
Simmer 10-15 minutes.
Set aside.

The assembling step:1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 1-1/2 tsp chili flakes
3 1/2 cups of the simple sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp parsley
1/4 cup kalamata olives (optional)

Heat oil in a pan.
Add onions and garlic, cook 5 minutes or until softened.
Add pepper flakes.
Stir in tomato sauce, lemon juice, and pepper.
Simmer 20-40 minutes depending on how spicy you want it.  The longer you simmer the sauce, the spicier it will be.
If it still isn't spicy enough, add more chili flakes.
Stir in parsley and olives.
Serve with spaghetti or penne.
Makes enough for 4-5 people.

I hope you love this pasta as much as I do!
Make sure you come back tomorrow because I will be posting my giveaway!

Until Next Time,
Jacqueline

Mark Had Coca-Cola Cake!

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything in a while.  On Mark's birthday I ended up with a bad back and we just lazed around and went to the movies, twice! We went to see the new underworld movie and the girl with the dragon tattoo for the second time.  If you haven't seen it, go now!  Other than that, I've just been tying up wedding plans and been busy with school. I have been eating, just not writing about it!

Marks birthday breakfast!

Back to the cake - I know coca-cola cake sounds weird.  It is a rich, extremely moist chocolate cake that has a hint of coca-cola.  The glaze also has a bit of coca-cola. Trust me, once you eat this, you will not find it weird at all. I promise.

For Nigella Lawson's Coca-Cola Cake you will need:
(this recipe is done by weight, so make sure you take out your scale, or find a converter website!)

200g flour
250g sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 lg egg
125 ml butter milk, or regular milk with tbsp yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
125g butter
2 tbsp cocoa
175ml coca-cola



Line a 9in spring form pan with foil to prevent leaking, and coat with butter and flour it.
Preheat oven to 180C. Place a cookie sheet in the oven to heat up while oven preheats.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
In a large measuring cup, beat eggs, add buttermilk, and vanilla.
In a small pot, melt butter, add cocoa, and coca-cola and heat through on low heat.
Pour warm coca-cola mixture into the dry and stir with a wooden spoon.
Add the milky mixture and stir until well blended together.

Place your springform on the heated cookie sheet and pour in batter.
Bake 40-45 minutes.
Let stand for 15 minutes before unmoulding from tin.
Make sure you put paper towel or newspaper under the wire rack and then place the cake over.
You glaze the cake while it's still warm.

Now for the glaze-
225g icing sugar
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp coca-cola
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla

Sift the icing sugar.
Combine butter, coca-cola, and cocoa in saucepan.
Melt butter and warm over low heat.
Remove from heat, add vanilla and spoon in sifted icing sugar, whisking constantly until smooth.
You want the consistency to be runny, but spreadable.
Pour over the cake, a little at a time to make sure everything gets covered equally.
Let cook completely before transferring to the serving plate.
Enjoy!

I hope everyone enjoyed the recipe!
Mark and I are making boeuf bourguignon for valentines day so stay tuned for that!
 

 

Until next time,
Jacqueline