A Few Good Quotes

"There is something so settled and stodgy about turning a great romance into next of kin on an emergency room form, and something so soothing and special, too." ~ Anna Quindlen

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'" ~Mary Anne Radmacher

Monday, January 24, 2011

Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon

On Saturday, I made Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon. I feel that I have now passed some sort of cooking rite of passage. Inspired by the movie Julie and Julia (which is really cute if you haven't seen it, and since Ian gave it to me in my stocking, you can borrow it from me!) and a very low key request from my husband that I try it, I set aside the 5 hours necessary to make it.

I went to the store on Saturday around 1 and then came home to begin my task. Here is what my counter looked like when I had all the ingredients laid out.

I followed the recipe pretty carefully, just substituting bacon chunk for regular 'ole bacon (who even sells bacon chunk?), and tying my herb bouquet with string instead of using a cheesecloth (thanks Sarah for the good idea!). I dried each piece of meat, browned them in small portions, sauteed the pearl unions for 50 minutes and all the other steps, for the whole five hours.

Here is the end result:

We invited our friends Keith and Chanda over to help us eat it and had a lovely time. They were appropriately excited about the recipe. (Don't you love cooking for people who are interested in cooking?)

Final verdict? It's good, but it's not 5 hours good. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious; but a recipe that takes 5 hours ought to change your life. No life changing happened. It's not in the "never make again" category, but I'm good with this attempt for quite a while.
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4 comments:

  1. maryJanuary 26, 2011 at 6:14 PM

    Turns our I can post comments!! I guess it's just a work thing that has it blocked. I want you to know that I look forward to checking your blog every chance I get. I cried at the last one.....Ah, please Lord!!...grant that good gift. Anyway, the beef bourguignon was delicious. I am all for sampling future attempts. =)
    Last question: Why was it hot in the stadium after the big game?.....All the fans left! (just wanted to be random. but you laughed, didn't you?)

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  2. Esther Nell McCurryJanuary 27, 2011 at 9:57 AM

    Ha! I did laugh. Actually, I had to read it again because I didn't get in the first time. Then I laughed. But thanks sister for reading the blog - it makes me feel so loved!

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  3. Chanda ErseliusJanuary 27, 2011 at 12:21 PM

    Big kudos to you my friend for a delicious dinner! So great to hang out with you two and enjoy such a gourmet dinner. Now its our turn to have you over. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Esther Nell McCurryJanuary 27, 2011 at 4:29 PM

    Thanks friend! And we would LOVE to come!

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