It was good, I tell you! The Boozey Beef turned out just fine. Cop Car, I was right to use that bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. It made a wonderful sauce.
I skipped one step that would have made a more complex tasting sauce. I was supposed to add half a cup of cognac, and then torch it to burn off the alcohol. I passed on it this time, but I'll try it another, just to see what happens to that wonderful sauce!
I used the "steak cut" mushrooms, the ones you can get at the store that are thick cut, and they held up well to the heat of the stew. I think visually they balance better with the other ingredients than the thinner sliced mushrooms. Their texture is firmer, where the thin-sliced mushroom become too soft.
I think next time I might add the chunks of carrot later. This time around they were VERY soft. I'd like just a bit more "tooth" to their texture.
I learned one fun technique for thickening the sauce. The instructions called for three tablespoons of flour and two tablespoons of soft butter. You mix the two together to make a wet paste, and add it to the liquid in the pot. It almost instantly thickened the sauce without any stray bits of flour floating on the top. It's the same concept as making a kettle gravy with water and flour, but by coating the flour with butter, it's absorbed more evenly, and the butter adds a sheen to the sauce.
In all, it was well worth my time to play in the kitchen with this recipe. I added egg noodles, bread, coleslaw and strawberries to round out the meal. As I said.....Yummmmmm!!
Comments (10)
It's hard to imagine that anything YOU put together would be less than scrumptious, Buffy. Congratulations! As you well know, in the test that the dietitian gave me, the piece of test paper that many found to be horrifically bitter (they spit it out, immediately, and washed their mouths out) just tasted like a piece of paper to me. The powdered mix was perfectly acceptable, to me--and easy. A cook, I'm not, and refined taste buds are not in my dna. That said, I 100% enjoyed the foods that you made during my visit in 2006. They were WONDERFUL--and--I'm betting that they were up to ANYONE's taste buds!
Posted by Cop Car | March 5, 2008 11:13 AM
Posted on March 5, 2008 11:13
It sounds absolutely delicious, especially with the noodles and the strawberries afterwards. Your description has made me feel quite hungry.
Posted by Adele | March 6, 2008 11:37 AM
Posted on March 6, 2008 11:37
ok stop it, you're making me drool!
Posted by bod | March 6, 2008 1:10 PM
Posted on March 6, 2008 13:10
Cop Car, I'm always pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay with us. I was delighted that you liked the topping I made for the bruschetta.
It's really too bad that your taste buds don't discriminate, but that must make meal preparation a LOT easier at your house! *G* Dear Husband says to say, in his own defense, that he uses the jar gravy because he doesn't know how to make gravy.
Posted by Registered User
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March 7, 2008 10:08 AM
Posted on March 7, 2008 10:08
Adele, it was the perfect "between seasons" meal. We had the comfort food of the stew and noodles, and the bright color and fresh taste of the strawberries. I'm ready for some of those lighter meals, aren't you?
Posted by Registered User
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March 7, 2008 10:09 AM
Posted on March 7, 2008 10:09
Bod.....thanks for starting my day with a grin and a laugh! Go ahead and drool. This meal was WONDERFUL! *G*
Posted by Registered User
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March 7, 2008 10:10 AM
Posted on March 7, 2008 10:10
Buffy, it sounds lovely.
Isn't it a bit early for strawberries though. Or are yours imported? We have them in the shops over here at all times of the year but I find that although English strawberries are delicious when in season many imported ones have little flavour.
Can't say that about beef bourgignon though. Good idea to have it with noodles. We usually go with mash - a good stew goes well with mashed potatoes.
Posted by Adele | March 7, 2008 11:38 AM
Posted on March 7, 2008 11:38
Yes, it's way too early for strawberries here. I bought the ones grown in California, and you're right. They don't have the texture or flavor of homegrown berries. I was desperate for a bit of Spring! *G*
Posted by Registered User
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March 7, 2008 1:01 PM
Posted on March 7, 2008 13:01
I can see from reading this that I need to come and eat at YOUR house! That sounds superb!
Posted by This Eclectic Life | March 10, 2008 10:55 AM
Posted on March 10, 2008 10:55
Shelly, we don't eat like that ALL the time, but when something turns out really good, I can't help but share. It was REALLY GOOD! lol I'm going to write down the vineyard, so I can look for more of that Cabernet sauvignon.
Of course, you're welcome here anytime. I'd love to get to talk to the guiding light behind "Share a Square." We have our second meeting this coming Thursday to work on the two afghans you sent. We have 72 of the squares edged. We'll start assembling this week. I gotta find a dessert for those ladies! They deserve a treat for their work.
Posted by Registered User
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March 10, 2008 8:34 PM
Posted on March 10, 2008 20:34