Beef Bourguignon

Here in Quebec, when Beef Bourguignon cubes go on special, you should buy it because otherwise it's too expensive. This is not the same as stewing beef, although you could certainly use it as a substitute. It's a better quality beef. So, when I saw it on special this week, I knew I had to make this glorious dish, especially since I have a little time on my hands what with still being on holiday. So I got out two cookbooks, both my Julia Child and Laura Calder to compare recipes. The ingredients were very similar, but Calder's recipe seemed to be broken down more simply, so I went with it. 

Servings: 6-8, although I halved it for my husband and I, it gave us two dinners and two lunches.

Ingredients:

4 pounds Beef Bourguignon or stewing beef
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and halved
2 onions, peeled and halved
4 cloves garlic, just crushed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1  bottle red wine
4 cups beef stock
1 bouquet garni (made from bay leaf,parsley stems, and thyme sprigs) 
       OR
2 dried bay leaves, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, and a few sprigs of fresh parsley. 


Garnish:


1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more if needed
6 to 8 slices bacon, cut into lardons
40 baby onions, peeled
16 ounces mushrooms


Method:


Both recipes called for a casserole, but I personally didn't have a stove top safe one that I was aware of, so I used a big pot. Preheat the oven to 325°. Turn up the heat to medium-high, and brown the beef in small batches in the oil. You really want to get good browning here, but make sure to stir it around right away otherwise your meat will stick About 3 minutes or so.

Deglaze the pot or casserole with the wine and stock. Stick the beef back in along with the carrots and onions and the herbs. Bring this all to a boil and put the pot in the oven, covered, and let simmer for about 2 hours, or until the meet is tender. Stir once in a while. 

For the garnish: In the second hour of cooking, pan fry the bacon, remove them, and in their grease (I did take out a little of the grease), fry the onions, then the mushrooms separately. I, God forbid, forgot to buy the pearl onions... It's too bad, because it is a really nice little touch, but I ended up just coarsely dicing an onion instead.  

Once the meat is done, you take it out with a slotted spoon and put it on a plate. Remove the carrots, onions, and chunks of herbs and spices from the pot. On the stovetop, bring the remaining liquid to a boil, and thicken until you can coat the back of a spoon. Add in the meat and garnish and cook together for about ten minutes. That's it! 

By chance, I realized I served this dish up with two sides that I have previously blogged about, my chickpea orzo salad (but I served it warm) and Greek horta. It sounds like an unusual combination, but the flavours all worked really nicely together. 

Enjoy! Have a great day!

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A Work In Progress...

So the topics I've been choosing for this blog over the last month or so have not so much been related to the Mediterranean Diet, but more the parties and such that I've been going to and the projects that go along with them. It's not that I've been doing nothing but partying and haven't been focused, or even that I've been off in my eating habits, but more that I've had some frustrations that I'm dealing with in terms of my weight loss. NO, this is not one of those diet-blog posts of a frantic dieter confessing his or her sins, only to vow that they will only eat salad and carrot soup for the next month (although I'd be lying if I said the thought never crossed my mind...), but more of a reflection of what's hard about this diet, what's working, and what I need to tweak for my own personal situation. Because that's what this blog is all about: me adapting the ideas of this lifestyle into my own personal life.

If you've read my intro, you know that I lost some weight with Weight Watchers about a year ago, and have kept it off for over a year by following the principals of the Mediterranean Diet, which you can check out by following the Basics link above. And, although I've continued following it over the last month as usual, an extra five pounds just seemed to cling onto me out of nowhere. Week one, I was mystified. I've been exercising more than ever. Week two I decided to contribute it that great monthly excuse women have for putting on weight (a perfectly valid excuse, I might add). Week three, I realized that, as a teacher, although I've been bumping up my exercise routine, instead of running after a bunch of 6 year olds all day, I've been basically sitting on the couch or on the computer blogging over the summer holidays. Not to mention a great stay-cation, multiple birthdays (including my own) and bbqs and other wonderful summer festivities. Basically, this summer I payed the price for sitting on my butt all day and didn't burn enough calories.

No matter what eating plan you follow, the basic formula is always the same: calories in versus calories out. So, now that school's back on, I'd like to gear down and figure out what tweaking I need to do to make sure I'm doing my best. Today: How To Eat. Sounds too simple. But it's so important. I've been reading Laura Calder's French Taste, And she outline's this very topic, as do many other books focused on Mediterranean Eating.

She says:

• As much as possible, buy good, natural ingredients (i.e. whole foods), and cook from scratch
• Never eat alone if you can avoid it.
• The only other activities to engage in while eating are talking and drinking.
• Always eat sitting down.
• Never lay a guilt trip on your appetite.
• Relish every bite.

This pretty much sums it up, huh? I do find this to be a challenge. I find it hard to not sit in front of the TV while eating and pretty much tuning out everything else, especially after a long day of work. This is something I really want to work on. Focusing on what I'm eating, and the company around me. It's almost an unnatural thing in North America to eat this way, TV or not. I also feel sort of challenged by the fact that my husband grew up in one of those households where you look at your meal or the tv, shovel the food in as fast as possible, and then get on in life. He's game to try and do pretty much anything I ask him to (which I am blessed to have), but that makes this kind of thing totally unnatural to him. We've been living together for years, but this was never really a focus. I do feel like this is a challenge I want to get into, though, because it does make such a difference in how much you eat, and the way you feel after eating. I know this from experience, I just have to make it a habit. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts, and if not watching TV while eating or rushing through meals is a challenge you find really difficult also. 

Whoa, this is a crazy long post... My friend the Littlest Crafter is so shaking her head at me as she read's this... Next time, less venting, but I had lots to get out of my head!! Progress reports to come soon!

Have a great day!