Saving the best for last

I did it, I completed my third and final recipe for my week of French food. From the beginning I knew that I would have to make boeuf bourguignon during my week of French recipes. I didn't want to start the week with that recipe somehow I just knew it had to be the last recipe. The finale to three days of butter, wine and heavy cream. I will say that it was well worth the wait. This turned out to be hands down my favorite meal of the week. That's saying something considering it was preceded by cheese souffle!

One bite and I was taken back to my first day in Paris, when I had boeuf bourguignon for lunch. 

Even before I had a taste just the smell of it cooking brought back memories of sitting in french bistros and being in Paris. I would say of everything I made this week boeuf bourguignon capture the essence of french food the most for me.

I started with really good bacon four slices and a pound and a half of bottom round beef (grass fed)

I cubed the beef into one inch pieces and roughly chopped the bacon. Then I added the bacon to a hot dutch oven to render the fat.

While the bacon is cooking I chopped a small onion and cleaned and quartered eight ounces of mushrooms.

Once the bacon has browned I remove it from the pan and added the beef to brown on all sides. 

The recipe says to turn the heat up on high and to brown the meat. I would like to say that high heat and bacon grease do not mix. In the course of browning the beef hot grease spattered onto my eye lid and my arms and hands are still recovering from minor splatter burns. So needles to say I turned down the heat which did not help much. The picture below shows my discomfort during the browning process.

Seriously if I had gotten one more grease burn I was ready to call the whole thing off. I calmed down and pushed through. In an effort not to crowd the pan I seared the meat in batches. So once all the meat was browned I added the onions, mushrooms, and beef back to the pot to cook.

This cooks for a couple of minutes until the onions are soft. Then I added three tablespoons of flour and cooked for two more minutes. Now is when I add my favorite ingredient, WINE along with beef stock.

After the wine and beef stock are in. I add a sprig of fresh rosemary, tomato paste and one bay leaf. Then bring the stew to a simmer and put in the oven for an hour and a half.

In the words of Tom Petty "the waiting is the hardest part"! Just put in the oven and wait. I used my time wisely, while it was cooking I proceeded to drink the remaining bottle of burgundy wine and watch old episodes of Breaking Bad with Cory.

Ding! the timer goes off and you think finally dinner is ready! But wait! I still need to add carrots and pearl onions and let the stew cook for another long 30 minutes!

While this was in the oven AGAIN!! I made mash potatoes to serve with this amazing dish. Thirty minutes is up and this what I got!

Really words do not do this justice, the smells coming from this pot were heavenly and worth every minute of waiting in anticipation. Without further ado its time to eat!

There it is, the best dinner I've made since last Thanksgiving! The meat was tender and juicy the sauce was rich and hearty. Some say you can serve this with egg noodles but I think rich creamy mash potatoes are the way to go with dish. It is stick to your ribs good! You have to have a glass of red wine to accompany the meal it brings out all the wonderful depth in the sauce. Cory and I both could not get over how good and satisfying this meal was. Cory said if I made this for him everyday he would be a happy man.

So ladies if there is a man that you are trying to impress I suggest you make this dish for him! I'm telling you this is not a meal he is soon to forget!

In conclusion I am sad to see French week come to an end. I love French food and I had a great time preparing the food of France this week. I will say this, french food takes time, effort, and really good ingredients. I spent a small fortune on cheese this week not mention other ingredients. I don't regret a single penny spent. I had truly soul satisfying food this week, it took me right back to my time in Paris. 

While french food isn't going to be an every night thing, after this week I will definitely add it in to the rotation once in while.  

P.S. When making French food, do not be alarmed by the amount of butter and alcohol in your dishes. This is just how they roll, I am here to tell you the food is all the better for it. So just go it with and enjoy some of the most amazing food of you'll ever eat!