Monday Night Football

Just kidding.  Do you really think I watch football??  I come from a city with no football team, have only a sister, only girl cousins, went to a Division 2 school where the football stadium (at the time) was smaller than my high school football stadium, and have a father whose fave sport is baseball.  So no, I don't watch football.  The same cannot be said for my significant other.  Alas, he surrendered his rights to Monday Football and watched the season finale (from Netflix) of Dexter whilst feasting on Boeuf Bourguignon.

I could have spent hours upon hours making the "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" version, but that simply was not practical.  I have a toddler and do not have hours and hours to spare.  So I chose the Barefoot version which significantly reduces the time.  Since I've not tasted Julia's, I can't say which is better, but Ina's was DELISH.

Boeuf Bourguignon
Barefoot in Paris ~ serves 6 (enormous servings)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon good olive oil
8 ounces dry cured center cut applewood smoked bacon, diced
2 1/2 pounds chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
1/2 cup Cognac
1 (750 ml.) bottle good dry red wine such as Cote du Rhone or Pinot Noir
1 can (2 cups) beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound frozen whole onions
1 pound fresh mushrooms stems discarded, caps thickly sliced

For Serving
Country bread or Sour Dough, toasted or grilled and rubbed with garlic clove
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, optional

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

2) Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.  (Refrain from sampling said bacon.)

3) Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides.  (We got stew meat beef from our 1/8 of beef so I did 't have to chop anything.  However, I did pull some of the fat off - what a joke, this dish is LOADED with calories, a few more won't hurt!  The meat cooked much quicker because they were smaller than 1" cubes.) Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside.

There was a ton of prep work - I made good use of Owen's nap :)

4) Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. (I didn't stand back far enough and was quite startled by the flare up!  Be careful!)   Put the meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add the bottle of wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork.

5) Combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. (At my local grocery store, pearl onions only came in 12 oz. packages - so I had to buy two and measure out another 4 oz.  I thought it was a bit heavy on the onion and could swear Jeremy and I both smelled like onion the next day...)  Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew. Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.

6) To serve, toast the bread in the toaster or oven. Rub each slice on 1 side with a cut clove of garlic. For each serving, spoon the stew over a slice of bread and sprinkle with parsley.

Amazing!!  Bon Appetit!

Actually, this is how I was able to get my Boeuf Bourguignon done - Give him a Swiffer and a dog crate and he is fine.