Boeuf Bourguignon

I decided to make last weekend one of Julia Child’s signature dishes: Boeuf Bourguignon. Since I watched Julie & Julia movie in September 2009, I want to make this famous recipe. This movie was very special for me. I was fascinated for her passion for food and the way cooking changes her life. And those feelings somehow elevated my desire to cook and learn more about culinary techniques.

Exactly one year after that, my beloved hubby gave me the “Mastering The Art of French Cooking", 2 volumes, eleventh edition. Making some delicious recipes from this book and watching some of her old TV Shows I learned more about her. With her first classic cookbook she not only clarifies what real French culinary is, but simply teaches us how to cook. "She elevates the consciousness to the refined pleasures of dining", as Thomas Keller said. I love it!

About Boeuf Bourguignon recipe, she explains: “As is the case with most famous dishes, there are more ways than one to arrive at a good boeuf bourguignon. Carefully done, and perfectly flavored, it is certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man, and can well be the main course for a buffet dinner. Fortunately you can prepare it completely ahead, even a day in advance, and it only gains in flavor when reheated.” 

I felt so excited and pride making this recipe! But I had doubts about what kind of meat I should buy. In Brazil we have different names and types of meat cutting. Then comparing the beefs charts I found that lean stewing beef is round steak or London broil steak (for Brazilians is patinho or paleta).  

What do I have to say about Boeuf Bourguignon? Yummy! It’s really, really good. And what about the tasty in the next day? I tried in both days and I have to admit that the flavors were more intense in the second day, exactly as she said. I served the beef with mashed potatoes and a full body, young red wine Beaujolais, which were perfect combinations.

                                           Bon appétit!

Boeuf Bourguignon

 Serves 6

9- to 10-inch fireproof casserole dish, 3 inches deep

Slotted spoon

6 ounces bacon

1 Tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil

3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 sliced carrot

1 sliced onion

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 Tbsp. flour

3 cups full-bodied, young red wine, such as a Chianti

2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon

1 Tbsp. tomato paste

2 cloves mashed garlic

1/2 tsp. thyme

Crumbled bay leaf

Blanched bacon rind

18 to 24 small white onions, brown-braised in stock

1 pound quartered fresh mushrooms, sautéed in butter

Parsley sprigs

Directions

Remove rind from bacon, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef. 

Dry the stewing beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon. 

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat. 

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees. 

Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers

very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily. 

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed. 

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat. 

Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

For immediate serving: Covet the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorated with parsley. 

For later serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

Braised Onions

18 to 24 peeled white onions about 1 inch in diameter
1½ Tb butter

1½ Tb olive oil
½ cup of brown stock 

½ bay leaf

¼ tsp thyme

4 parsley sprigs

 Heat a stainless-steel pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and butter and saute the onions over moderate heat for approximately 10 minutes or  until golden brown. 

Add the stock, the herb bouquet and season to taste.
Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet. Serve them as they are.

Cupcakes and Cake Pops

For my second post, I'll write about the first sweets that I made.
Some weeks ago I got kids at home. To please then I decided to make cupcakes and cake pops:

The cupcake doesn’t look good, but it tasted great. I used a recipe from a book I bought recently: vanilla cake with chocolate chips and white chocolate frosting. I decided to give a Brazilian taste filling then with “brigadeiro”, a very popular creamy chocolate candy served in parties in Brazil. The “brigadeiro” was responsible for the almost success of my cupcakes. Almost success because my frosting was a disaster! My first attempt was the buttercream. I did everything wrong and I got a moistened stuff. I cried… So I decided to make a white chocolate ganache, which worked well.

Cake pops are a success here in the US. They are perfect to any occasion and are amazing additions to the dessert table at holiday parties, birthday parties, baby and bridal showers. Bakerella, who create those cute delights, is launching a book now, named “Cake Pops”. 

If you didn’t know cake pops, here are some photos from her website:

And here a video of her explaining how to make pops:

It’s really easy: bake a cake, mush it up with frosting, roll it into balls, insert a stick, dip it in chocolate and decorate with sprinkles.

I didn’t have problems with the cake pops because I made a very simple model, using a simple chocolate cake and, instead the frosting, I used “brigadeiro”, the same one that I used before. I made the balls and put in the fridge for several hours to become firm. Then I covered with melted chocolate and decorated with colored sugar.

To receive my dear guests, I prepared this table:

I made Brazilian cheese bread, but I forgot it in this photo. Cheese bread is another specialty of Brazilian gastronomy, but this will deserve its own post and, of course, some photos.

And this is my painting that I wish my cupcake looked like. I painted with pastel pencil for the first time and was a great pleasure. After several years without painting I restart one of my passions.

Brigadeiro

1 can sweetened condensed milk

4 tablespoon chocolate mix

 ½ tablespoon butter

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine chocolate, butter and condensed milk. Cook, stirring until it thickens, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest until cool enough to make balls with the cake or filling your cupcake.

In Brazil we used to do smalls balls with "brigadeiro". To do the balls cook the mixture until it thickens enough to show the pan bottom during stirring. Pour the mixture in a lightly greased dish and let it cool to room temperature. Now you are ready to form the little balls, remember to grease your hands with butter first. Roll it over chocolate sprinkles and place the balls in candy cups (small size).

Hello!!!

Welcome to Lulu's Sweet Secrets.

My name is Luciana, a Brazilian girl newlywed living in the US who enjoys painting, photography and cooking, but has too much to learn. Here you'll see a little bit of my gastronomic and artistic journey and discoveries. Why not saying that this will be also a good tool to practice my English? I’m very excited and I hope you enjoy it.

One of the things I love about newlywed life is the “première” of my wedding gifts, making delicious recipes.  One of the first gifts that I used was my KitchenAid Professional stand mixer. I was really nervous with the fear of messing with it. But in the end, I love it.

Well, I decided to start with a bread recipe from the booklet that came together. I chose a very simple basic white bread. With the success of my first bread I decided to make different bread each week.

After several frustrating and successful attempts I learned some tips: do not dissolve the yeast in hot water. The yeast will die and your bread will be a rock with unpleasantly flavor. Yes, I already kill the yeast and it was very sad. Give time for the dough rise. The yeast will push the dough up and will develop flavor and texture. This is really, really important.

This is the first bread I made:

This was one of the attempts that failed. It looks good, but I used whole wheat flour and unfortunately wasn’t too much tasty. So, this is my challenging now: do a very tasty and healthy bread.

Basic White Bread

(From KitchenAid booklet)

½  cup low-fat milk

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 packages active dry yeast

1½ cups warm water (105° F to 115° F)

5-6 cups all purpose flour 

Place milk, sugar, salt, and butter in small saucepan. Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm.

Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl. Add lukewarm milk mixture and 4½ cups flour. Attach bowl and Spiral Dough Hook to mixer. Turn to speed 2 and mix about 1 minute.

Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, and mix about 1½ minutes, or until dough starts to clean sides of bowl. Knead on speed 2 about 2 minutes longer, or until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough will be slightly sticky to the touch.

Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk.

Punch dough down and divide in half. On lightly floured surface, roll each half into a rectangle, approximately 9x14 inches. A rolling pin will smooth dough and remove gas bubbles.  Starting at a short end, roll dough tightly. Pinch dough to seal seam. Pinch ends and turn under. Place, seam side down, in greased 8½x4½x2½-inch baking pans. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, until double in bulk.

Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks.

Yield: 32 servings (16 slices per loaf)

Per serving: About 95 cal, 3 g pro, 18 g carb, 1 f fat, 0 mg chol, 148 mg sod.