Saturday, November 13, 2010

What's for dinner?

I know I just did a What's for Dinner post recently but I can't not share this (actually....I just wanna boast about this so indulge me OK).

So like I mentioned in my latest update, I attempted my very first Bouef Bourguignon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef_bourguignon), Julia Child's version. For those who cannot be bothered clicking on my link to wikipedia on a detailed information, this is basically a beef stewed in red wine in a french way. It is one of the most well known and classic french dish. I love stews, especially in cold winters and I have made my own versions of beef stews many times, occasionally with red wine, and other times just in stock and herbs. But a good friend of mine sent me a dvd of the movie "Julie and Julia" earlier this year as a surprise gift (thanks babe!) and I was so inspired after watching it. Julia Child was an american lady who lived in France in the 1950s as her husband was based there as a diplomat. She was trained at the famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and became an expert in french cooking.

I have always been intrigued by french style of cooking and have heard of the famous classic boeuf borguignon before but there was never a motivation to challenge this. So after watching this movie, I was all inspired and raring to give it a go. My sweet hubby then bought me 2 of Julia Child's cookbook - Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1 and 2! Boeuf borguignon HAS to be the very first dish that I try. My husband's grandparents are visiting us from Perth and staying at our place at the moment so I made this a couple of nights ago.

















Boef borguignon accompanied by 2 side dishes - sauteed onions and mushrooms, and buttered peas. I also prepared some plain rice to go with it as the stew itself is a very intense flavoured dish. And buttered peas are recommended as a preferred side dish.



The star of the dinner. My boeuf borguignon!

The truth is, I have never eaten the dish cooked by Julia Child of course and I don't really know how an authentic boeuf borguignon should be like. I followed the recipe and this just tasted like a really good beef stew. And the flavour is very very intense and unlike any other beef stews that I had made in the past. In fact, I have to say it was the best stew I have ever eaten! But the recipe is not so straightforward and cooking time is long. I doubt I will be making this dish again like an everyday dish.

And the dessert after dinner!

 
I made this berry tart because I saw gorgeous punnets of black berries, raspberries and blueberries at costco the other day. Straightaway the bulb in my head lit up - berry tart! I will not be putting up any recipes today as I doubt anyone is interested anyway.

So the dinner went well. Everyone seemed to love it. Either that or they are just entertaining me by boosting my ego. I'll take any compliments that come my way. I don't care!
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Omg Cindy, your berry tart looks amazing and so yummy. I want to eat it right now. lol :) Could you send me this yummy recipe. Luv Kerry xox