Clark and I rented Julie and Julia a bit before Christmas, and, like several million other people, I was inspired to try the boeuf bourguignon recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I have had Clark's mom's hardback copy from 1966 for several years now but hadn't really cracked the spine. It's a delight to find her notes here and there -- it looks like she watched the master herself prepare several recipes on her cooking show on TV back in the day and made notes during the show, which is neat. But back to the beef. I made it for our New Year's Day dinner, and my heavens, it was tasty. A photo, for the record:
Yes, it did take 2 1/2 hours of preparation before it even went in the oven, and yes, one can make other dishes (even other versions of this dish) that are extremely delicious, but it does feel like an accomplishment to have done it. I'd even do it again! While it was in the oven, I poked around on people's blogs and learned that one person had found it needed much less time in the oven than the original recipe specified, and I found to be true that as well. Sorry I can't tell you either the blog or the time it ended up taking; my memory really is declining into mush. But if you find your way here because you're making this recipe, I would suggest that you start checking it much sooner than you think you should.
At the end of December I made the onion soup recipe, and it also was really, really good. Next up: the quiche Lorraine.
Ellie and I had earlier worked on some glasses (instructions here, if you want to ring out 2010 in December when we ring in 2011, or maybe celebrate the year's half-birthday) that she and Clark wore to a New Year's Eve women's basketball game. Go, Cats!
Hope you're still seeing the New Year through rose-colored glasses, yourself!
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