DINNER w/ Julia
Our new priest and her very nice husband came over for a little holiday cheer, and for some reason I was feeling all Francophile - TO JULIA! It is very rare for me to follow a recipe verbatim - I think everything has too much salt and needs more spice / herbs. etc. But, like I said of the fb, " who am I to question Julia". So Boeuf Bourguignon by the book! Interestingly this is not exactly how she did it in the video that I posted earlier in the week, there are a few changes.
It takes a while to do this - many steps and the few hours in the oven, and its not at all like when I have made beef bourguignon before, which was really just a jazzed up beef stew, this ends up being a meat dish with a VERY rich sauce . Most tasty for sure - almost oddly spicy, but more meat in a sauce than stew. You also cook onions and mushrooms separately and add at the end before serving. It is a classic dish that if you dont have the book is all over the inter webs, just dont go into thinking it will be a big comforting bowl of beef stew, because it is not.
It is a perfect dish for company because it is pretty much done when they walk in the door ,,,
A little easy peasy pre game, some store bought bacon and onion jam on a hunk of brie, folks just went crazy over this....
I have all these Christmas things that I never get to use because we are never here, so a very festive table indeed
festive dog and tree
Endive, Radish and Cucumbers
straight forward vinaigrette
Crusty bread , lots of wine - the same wine in the meat ( I had Guinness )
Only one rule : You have to wear your hat.
This was it, the meat and some boiled buttered potatoes with parsley , again per Julia
Everyone seemed to enjoy it.
Sticking with the theme, Neil made a out of this world yummy
Frozen Grand Mariner Souffle . Made the night before and sets up in the freezer, it is a perfect end to a somewhat heavy holiday meal. It was a really nice night , for everyone,
No comments:
Post a Comment