Posted on 09/06/2016 3:49:38 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
When we had our first home and my husband and I began cooking together, we acquired a copy of Julia Child’s ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ from a book club. Being ignorantly ambitious, we decided to first try Boeuf Bourguignon.
We must have done a lot wrong because in the end, a can of Dinty Moore with a splash of cheap red would have been superior to our sad product; but we learned our lesson, and realized that we needed to know a lot more about cooking before attempting something like that.
We never tried that particular dish again, until last weekend; and we chose a simpler, less time-consuming recipe. I’m not crazy about beef – I like it in the form of hot dogs and hamburgers – but even I enjoyed this, and it smelled divine while cooking; a really nice Fall-Winter dish.
I guess ours should properly have been called 'Boeuf Sauvignon'; but most recipes I've seen have suggested Pinot Noir as a substitute for Burgundy. Also, we shorted the fresh thyme slightly, thinking it might be too strong; but if we do it again, I think we'll use the full amount.
The recipe we chose comes from The Casserole Queens Cookbook, and is available at:
http://www.tastebook.com/blog/recipes/2976174-BeefBurgundy
And their book, which looks very good, is available through Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Casserole-Queens-Cookbook-One-Dish-Recipes/dp/0307717852
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Julia Child became an icon of American television, but people today don’t always realize what a unique accomplishment her program ‘The French Chef’ really was. The show introduced something very new and different to American home cooks; was begun on a shoestring; and it’s surprising to watch the first episode - which coincidentally featured Boeuf Bourguignon – with the eyes of today, and to realize how much work, discipline, and organization went into this. To me, it's remarkable how completely comfortable she seemed in front of the camera even from the very start (and before her natural flamboyance came to the fore); and how much information she packed into each episode. I think you can only accomplish this from a strong confidence in your own mastery of your subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA2ys8C-lNk
-JT
That sounds good. We too love the Seeds of Change brown rice and quinoa. I like quinoa straight up but hubby does not so it’s one way to get some in our diets.
I’ve been using up ground beef from the freezer in Spanish rice. I buy the Knorr Spanish rice pouches. Brown 1 lb or less ground beef, pour off the fat, add 2 cups of water and the Knorr pouch, cover for I think 12 minutes. Then I add a couple of tablespoons of jarred salsa and a few tablespoons of fresh salsa that I make with just chopped up tomatoes, sweet onions, fresh cilantro, a touch of chopped jalpeno and a teaspoon of the jalapeno juice. When I made the Spanish rice the first time I had just a little bit if that fresh salsa in the fridge and wanted to use it up. It just made the Spanish rice.
Yes, it dos have MSG. My grandmother is sensitive to it, so I know what you mean about being careful.
I used to like the taste of Better Than Bouillon, but I always got queasy after eating it, so I’m pretty sure there’s onions included.
Thanks! :)
I also found this link of recipes:
http://busycooks.about.com/od/startwithseries/a/groundbeef.htm
Thanks back. Some of those look really good. Hubby does like Mexican and in 38 years of marriage I’ve never bought a box of hamburger helper. I grew up with scratch cooking and hubby prefers it too.
Scratch cooking here, too. Cheaper and healthier, by far. Beau doesn’t like Mexican cooking for some reason (I make it for myself when he’s off hunting), but I’d sell my soul for a good Fish Taco, LOL!
There is a little authentic dive Mexican restaurant about 40 minutes away. When we are in that area we like to stop there. The first time we stopped they had a special of the day, 2.00 each fish tacos. I got a couple and they were out of this world. Homemade corn warm tortillas, crispy fish, just yummy. I’ve made some of my own with flour tortillas, pan sautéed tilapia, not breaded. Dress with packaged broccoli or rainbow slaw and some italian dressing.
That’s a nice recipe. I really like the LCBO website.
-JT
When I was a kid, I liked ‘Hamburger Helper’. I tried it again some years ago, and it’s So Salty! I can’t believe I liked it.
*DROOL*
Back in the 80’s I lived south of San Diego, CA, about 2 miles from the Mexican border at Tijuana, MX. There was an AWESOME Fish Taco cart that would cruise our neighborhood from time to time. I’ve never been able to duplicate how yummy those tacos were!
They were probably made from alley cat or stray dog, dressed up as fish, LOL!
No probably just really fresh fish and a secret homemade spice blend.
I could eat French onion soup everyday!
I forgot one thing that I added with the mushrooms during the last hour — 2 or 3 fresh tomatoes that were each cut into 16 pieces.
Re-posting with typo correction and fresh tomato addition. :)
Venison is very lean and a good substitute for beef, if handled correctly.
Low Calorie Crock Pot Venison Stew
Place in bottom of 6 qt. crock pot
1 venison steak cut into 1” x 2” pieces. Salt & Pepper.
2-3 Tbs Olive oil
1 large onion, chopped into medium sized pieces
2 cups celery (including the leaves), chopped
Cook on high for 1 hour
Add 1 #1 can stewed tomatoes
Reduce to warm
Cook another 1-2 hours
Season with 1/2 cup Tone’s Rosemary Garlic seasoning (or any other seasoning of your choice)
Stir and continue cooking.
After another hour add 2 cups of “shorty” carrots, split
Cook another hour; add 2 cups Brussels Sprouts, split
Add 1 cup mushrooms
Taste & correct seasoning, if necessary.
Continue cooking until meat is tender and sprouts are tender
Add 2-3 large tomatoes cut into 16 pieces each during the last hour.
This could be served over pasta, rice, or fresh spinach
I served it over a product new to me: Seeds of Change Brown Rice with Quinoa. I LOVE this product. It takes 90 seconds to fix in the microwave.
Serves 8
I never know what to do with venison because I think it’s hard to cook. It has no fat and often turns out dry and tough, but not this dish! Delicious.
Enjoy!
That’s my guilty pleasure I make once a year & take to school for lunches! I add a lot of onions & cheddar on top, so delicious.
I haven’t made beef stew in forever. I love the slow simmering & chopping the vegetables & the smells of fall cooking. So homey & comforting.
We just finished burgers on the grill & roasted squash & tomatoes.....yum.
I think we ate it as kids because my Grandmother became enamoured with all the new ‘instant’ foods that started coming out in the mid-20th century, after she had cooked laboriously from scratch for several generations of family :-)
I like the memory of it; but I just can’t eat it now.
-JT
Seems like everything used to taste so much better.
I believe food is a lot different now than when we were young.
I know the meats are certainly nothing like they were.
As I promised to post.
This is my absolute favorite batter for deep frying Seafood and vegetables.
I use it on every recipe I deep fry without fail!
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Gorgeous and Tasty Deep-Fried Shrimp
½ cup self-rising flour
1/3 cup corn starch
½ cup cold water
1 tablespoon warm vegetable oil
2 teaspoons baking powder
vegetable oil for deep-frying (I used peanut oil.)
uncooked shrimp (as many and as large as you want), cleaned and deveined
seafood cocktail sauce, for serving
In a small mixing bowl, combine ½ cup self-rising flour and 1/3 cup corn starch. Stir in ½ cup water. Continue stirring until batter is smooth. You may add more water, a little at a time, to get the consistency of batter that will coat the shrimp. Stir 1 tablespoon warm oil into batter, and then add 2 teaspoons of baking powder. Mix well. Now, heat your oil in a deep-fry pot, until a test shrimp sizzles. Then you may coat a few shrimp at a time and put them gently into the hot oil. They will cook very quickly, so tend to them with a metal draining spatula, and lift them out and onto a tray with paper toweling when done. Continue this method until all shrimp are cooked. Pat off any extra oil with a paper towel, and place the Deep-Fried Shrimp on a nice serving plate. Serve with my Surfin’ Seafood Cocktail sauce. Lovely and flavorful-great for entertaining!
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