Boeuf Bourguignon

I have so many posts from Labor Day weekend. It feels like we did a ridiculous amount of stuff, but in reality, we didn't do very much, I just finally had the camera battery charged and so I happened to take a ton of pictures.

Oh, but we did go see Julie and Julia for the second time! Steven has been wanting to see it, mostly to "see what all the fuss was about." He liked it alright (and he also agreed with me that the way they eat the tomato bruschetta in the beginning is straight-up gross), but my favorite moment of watching him watch the movie was this:

[Julie Powell pulls a roast out of her oven and opens the lid.]

Steven: "What is that?"
Me: "Boeuf Bourguignon. Its like a beef stew."
Steven: "Mmm. Looks good."

Jackpot!



So, naturally, I had to go out and get ingredients to make the dish the very next day. Opportunities like this (where Steven wants to eat exactly what I want to cook) are few and far between, so I had to carpe diem.

Or is that carpe bacon.



It is rare that a movie can really teach you anything these days. But this one did. Namely, that you are supposed to dry the beef in paper towels before you sear it, or it won't sear properly.

Who knew!?



I sure didn't. And it did seem to help. Also, I channeled some Julia while I was chopping the onions. Steven said I needed to quit with the Julia Child voice because it was driving him crazy.



(I don't think my impersonation sounded much like her. I probably sounded more like the Swedish chef from the muppets. You remember him, right?)



"Bork bork bork!" Ha.

Anywho, where were we? Ah yes, the vegetables. I was following this recipe (mostly because she had the best pictures).



Once the veggies were good and seared, we added the meat back to the pot, along with some flour to coat everything and give it a nice little crust.



Then came beef broth and some fresh herbs. I have never cooked with a bay leaf before, mostly because I was afraid it might kill me, but as it turns out, that's apparently not true. (It can just rip up your insides if you ate it whole.) So, in went my first-ever bay leaf, and then the whole thing went into the oven!



As the beef was cooking, I made such fancy-schmancy things as: Oignons Glaces A Brun (brown-braised onions) and Champignons Sautes Au Beurre (mushrooms sauteed in butter).

Unfortunately they didn't look as fancy as they sounded.



(I didn't have any pearl onions. I know, it was a travesty. Bear with me here.)

But I did have plenty of fresh herbs!



The herbs were added to the onions, and I made the mistake of stirring them once I dropped them into the skillet. They wilted immediately and became quite un-pictureque. So I spared you a picture. Here's what the onions looked like finished:



Yep, brown braised onions. Not very glamorous.

The mushrooms were prettier.



And, again, here's where the movie (or, probably more accurately, Julia Child) taught me something else:



Don't crowd the mushrooms! (Do they look crowded? What does "crowded" mean exactly? They seemed to brown okay....)

So here are both of my "side dishes," the oignons and the champignons that get added into the stew after it has cooked.



After you take the stew out of the oven, you are supposed to reduce the sauce. And here is where I discover that I've been reducing all wrong. See, you have to wait till it actually does reduce. I'd just been boiling sauces for a few minutes, growing impatient, and just declaring "dinner's ready!" when the sauce is still just as thin as it was before I tried to "reduce" it.

But this time was different. I was patient. I waited, I skimmed, I reduced. And I discovered something....



Reduction is an amazing miracle of science. Instead of a pot of watery beef broth, I suddenly had this amazing thick and delicious sauce, which I then poured right over the roast.



And then I realized I hadn't made the noodles yet. Rats.



At this point, everyone had started to notice that something smelled delicious, and the mongrels came begging. Pringles specifically mentioned how much he appreciates fine French cuisine, and wouldn't I please give him a tiny bite? (I showed him back to his fine American kibble.)



Once the noodles were finally done, I dished up a bowl for Steven and I. (Judith Jones, sadly, couldn't make it to dinner that night.)



Steven sneaked a bite out of the stew pot, and then looked at me with wide eyes. "Oh. Oh Heather. You've got to taste this. Oh man."

And so I did. And verily I say unto you, it was the best freaking stew I've ever had.



And that is the story of how I finally vanquished Boeuf Bourguignon. (And now I clearly need to get myself a copy of that whole cookbook. If this one dish can be that good, think of what I must be missing in the rest of the book!)

Bon Appetit!

Mambo Italiano

Alright, I can't hold it in any longer, so I'm spilling the beans.

We're going to Italy!



Specifically, we are flying into Rome, then taking the train to Florence (where we will watch the sun set at Piazza Michelangelo, pictured above (that's where the Statue of David is, or at least a reproduction of it, since I think the original is encased in glass somewhere in a museum in Florence), then taking the train to Venice, and then flying back from Venice.

OH MY WORD I AM SO EXCITED I CAN BARELY STAND IT. I've been practicing my Italian with CD's, but I think we will still stick out as tourists, no matter how well I can roll my R's. Oh well. I will wear my fanny pack with pride and eat my gelato and take a bazillion pictures for all of you.

Part of me still can't believe its really going to happen. I will probably still be pinching myself as we board the plane...

So wish us buon vacanza! I won't post exactly when we are going, because I'd prefer not getting robbed while my house is vacant, but suffice to say its coming up soon!

Tomato-rama

Tri It, You'll Like It

All over our neighborhood these last few weeks, there were advertisements for the upcoming triathlon. Each morning, I would pass a sign that said "Bike Route, this way" with a big arrow.

At some point while I was passing those signs, I thought about getting up early that morning to cheer on the participants. Back when Steven and I ran our 5K, one of my favorite parts was the gaggle of people on the sides of the road, clapping and yelling.

So at 7 AM on Sunday morning, I sneaked out of bed, pulled on a sweater and jeans, brewed some coffee, and tiptoed out the door with a hot cuppa joe to cheer from my front stoop.



About an hour later, Steven (and the camera) found me.



"Woo! Keep going, you can do it!" Sitting out there watching the bikers go by, I was totally inspired. I am so going to do this triathlon next year. Totally. I just need to get a bike first. And a pool pass.



Me and Carlie had a special little cuddly moment together as she sat on my lap outside.



I realize she's not getting any younger, and after a couple of medical scares this year, I'm taking every chance to just hug her and love on her.



I love my little gal. :)

Abundance

I'd been neglecting the tomato plants for the past few weeks, partially because I thought they weren't quite ripe yet, and partially because we're a bit tomato-ed out here.



(I know, how ungrateful am I to be "tomatoed out," right? In truth, I have been wanting to make a big batch of tomato sauce, but there haven't been enough tomatoes ready at the same time to make a good-sized amount of sauce to freeze.) (Until now, that is.)



Yesterday afternoon, I finally put on the garden gloves and tackled the plants, and to my surprise, there were tons of ripe tomatoes out there. (The ones pictured so far are just from the heirloom plant...)



Around the corner, the Roma tomatoes were thriving, too.



If it gives you any idea how many tomatoes are in that bowl, its the biggest bowl I own, and it is supposed to hold 6 quarts. All in all, I think I picked about 10 lbs. of tomatoes.



Looking at that huge tomato haul, I was really knocked over by how blessed we are. Blessed to be able to grow food in our backyard. Blessed to even have a backyard. Blessed to even have food. Sometimes I get so caught up in the moment-to-moment worries that I forget to step back and see the bigger picture. I have sometimes taken our garden for granted and even neglected it, at times -- there were some tomatoes that had over-ripened and fallen on the ground before I managed to get there to pick them. (The ants in my backyard feel similarly blessed, I'm sure.)

As I picked red tomato after red tomato from branches heavy with fruit, I thought back to when I planted the seeds for these plants. Back when there was still snow on the ground, I had a very hard time imagining this moment, when I could wear shorts every day and feel the sun on my arms while harvesting big juicy tomatoes. In March 2009, today felt very far away, for many different reasons.

But here we are, about to turn the page to a new chapter, a new season. I love Fall and all the changes it brings, but I especially love it this year. We've worked very hard to get here, and sometimes I think we have our noses pressed so firmly to the grindstone that we don't take a moment to look up and relish all the abundance that our hard work has wrought.

So during this three-day weekend, I'm taking the time to relish. I'm going to close my computer and put my feet up. I'm going to drink iced tea and watch the dogs snoozing on the couch. I'm going to lace my fingers behind my head, lean back into my chair, and welcome the arrival of a new season. I recommend you do the same.

And then I'm going to go make tomato sauce...

Brown Paper Packages!

I arrived home a few days ago to find a brown box on my doorstep. I gasped in delight when I saw it. I love getting mail in general, especially when it doesn't contain bills, but I love love LOVE getting packages in the mail.

I had a feeling I knew what was inside the box, but you just never really know until you tear right into it. The anticipation was killing me. I could barely get in the door before I couldn't resist any longer. I dropped my purse and keys right there in the front hallway and sat down cross-legged to open the box like a little kid on Christmas morning.

And sure enough, I was right. A present from my Mom!



And it wasn't just one present, either. Those big brown boxes kept showing up on my doorstep, each of them containing fabulous stoneware dishes from Le Creuset! (Oh my word, Mom, you are too much!! Thank you!)



I am insanely excited about my new collection (I have a collection!) of red dishes. They are gorgeous. I am so excited about them that I stack them up in different ways on my countertop just to look at them.



I am dreaming of making all sorts of fabulous gratins and fruit crumbles, and other various and sundry casseroles. We are hosting family for both of the big holidays this year, and casserole dishes (and for that matter, casserole recipes) are an essential part of every good Southern girl's holiday meal repertoire.

I told Mom that the dishes stacked up perfectly, just like those Russian nesting dolls. (There is some random long word that actually describes those dolls, which I will now go and google. Hold please....Oh yes, matryoshka dolls. There's your random tidbit of trivia for today, folks. Don't thank me, I'm just doing my job to keep all of you primed and ready for your chance at Jeopardy fame.)



So where was I? Oh right! Fruit Crumbles! (And Bettys and Buckles and Grunts and Pandowdys and Cobblers and Crisps and Grunts and Slumps. You name a baked fruit dish, I am gonna make it in my fabulous stoneware, yo.)



I am very excited it is Labor Day weekend, because this will provide even more opportunity for me to make more food than two people could possibly eat in a single weekend. In a perfect world, I'd really like to practice all of my Thanksgiving and Christmas dishes at least once in these weeks and months before the families begin descending upon us en masse. I haven't told Steven about this completely insane rather ambitious goal of mine, but now that I think of it, he has been asking for a turkey and stuffing dinner lately...



So if you see my Mom around, give her a huge hug for me and let her know that I can't wait to fill these dishes full of fabulous food, which food will then fill the tummies of my loved ones.



Now, if you'll excuse me, I've still got to find just the right recipe for sweet potato casserole. The ratio of mini-marshmallows to pecans to brown sugar has got to be just right, you know.

Nosebleed Seats Have The Best View

So where've we been lately? Well, suffice to say, there are changes a-brewing at Casa de Steele. And while I'm not quite ready to tell you about them yet (and if you know us personally, you probably already know), all will be revealed in due time.

(And no. We're not pregnant.)

Anyhoo! Look at the pretty baseball stadium!



Our realtor invited us out to see a game, and we'd managed to flake out on his last few invites, so we figured we ought to take him up on this one.



And as it turns out, the nosebleed seats really do have an absolutely fantastic view.



Even the view behind us was pretty awesome.



That's the Potomac, in case you were curious. Not sure which bridge that is, though. Anyone have an idea?



And here we see the elusive Steven Steele in his natural habitat: a baseball game. Doesn't he just look like he belongs here?



Happy early Fall, everybody, and stay tuned for some interesting developments in the world O' Steele...