Tag: french

My wife has brought back a newspaper advertising homes in France. I cant really read French but I can figure some things out. I can understand cost in Euros and I can see size in square meters. As with all vacations, she is enamored with the place and it doesn’t hurt that my new company is French.

I was just paging through and at the end, I saw something that caught my eye. A recipe for Beef Burgundy. This was a recipe made famous in the USA by Julia Child back in the 1960s. I have made a couple variations of this myself. So I set about figuring out the words that I didn’t understand.

I am assuming that you don’t speak French, so I will translate into English with imperial units.

• 2.5 lbs chuck roast, cut into 1.5″ chunks
• 0.5 lbs bacon
• 2 onions, chunked
• 2 carrots, chunked
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Bundle of herbs, (Thyme, Bay Leaf, Parsley)
• 1 bottle of Pinot Noir (or French Burgandy)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 lb mushrooms
• 4 tablespoons butter

For the most part, it looks like a classic ingredient set. I think that maybe the herb combination might be a little different but I could easy see this variation in any cookbook. Ingredients are of course important but technique is imperative. I am going to summarize the instructions.

1. Brown the bacon in a dutch oven (use oil here as well). After the bacon is rendered remove.
2. Brown the beef chunks.
3. Remove the beef and add the onions and carrots to soften.
4. Add the flour to the remaining fat.
5. Add the garlic, herbs and wine. Mix until everything is well distributed.
6. Add back the meat and simmer for two hours. Sauce should be thick.
7. At the end of the simmer, quarter the mushrooms and fry in butter
8. With thirty minutes remaining, add mushrooms
9. Salt and pepper to taste.
10. Serve over mashed potatoes or pasta and red wine.

Technically, I didn’t translate the instructions word for word. I used my knowledge of technique with select words. So, if you speak French and I am wrong, please correct me. I am going to be making this as the weather cools.

End Your Programming Routine: I don’t think the universe is calling me to move to France. However, I am pretty sure it is calling me to make Beef Burgundy. It is something that I haven’t done in a couple of years. But first, there is going to be one last summer fiesta something I am going to write about in a couple of weeks. This is a simple inexpensive dish that you can impress your friends if you can pronounce the dish in French (Boef Bourguignon).