Boeuf Bourguignon

Jeremy's been saying he wanted to make Julia Child's boeuf bourguignon recipe. After I made (I must say an amazing) Coq au Vin, he was inspired by what he didn't know French cooking could be. See the times we've been in France, we've been in the areas near Paris, and unfortunately as tourists our experience with the food there was not great. I mean, Paris definitely has plenty to offer as far as staples- cheese, bread, pate, chocolate, pastries, and of course crepes; We had a great time on the streets and markets of Paris.. but the restaurants were different. Anyway, all this to say that Jeremy's view of French food wasn't good. But we both knew there had to be more. So after working with a chef from Nice (southern France) I discovered what I had missed on my other trips. French cuisine is excellent! Inspired by Julia Child's "chefography" we've both started working our way through "Mastering the Art of French Cooking".

So Jeremy and I both worked on the recipe on Tuesday, our day off. Jeremy was the executive chef this time, and I was the sous chef. haha.. it was fun. We shopped for our ingredients, and then came home and I did most of the prep work, while he executed the majority of the cooking. I was so proud of my hubby. He really wanted to make an excellent meal, and then he called my parents and sister to invite them over for a "nice french-country meal". So the day before we worked for hours... after all the preparation and the adding of the Burgundy wine, the beef and vegetables had to slowly roast for 4 hours. So it was a good thing we invited them over for the next day. Finally when the beef was done we had to drain juices and wine and reduce them to make a delicious wine reduction. Now it was ready to store in the fridge.

The next day I had to work until 7:30pm, so Jeremy got home early and make roasted potatoes to accompany the dish, and then started to work on a pumpkin flan (which he's also been saying for 3 years he wanted to make), and I must be honest. I didn't think it would turn out that good. I was wrong- it was delicious! All of this was accompanied with a Romanian Pinot Noir that I had forgotten I had picked up when I was in Constanca, Romania- it was perfect. My family had seconds and loved the entire meal. I was a very proud wife yesterday!