For decades Dr. Hal has frequently declared, "My wife only drinks good Burgundies." He's got that right, but the truth of the matter is that his dictum applies to food as well as wine. And so, a recent craving for gooey, cheesy gougeres led me to a most pleasant imaginary sojourn in the province of Bourgogne which resulted in a somewhat extravagant dinner in the Burgundian style accompanied by a pair of outstanding vintage wines from the wine cellar that's really a walk-in temperature controlled insulated plywood box in the garage.
I have been to Burgundy twice, the first time on a wonderful bike trip circa 1979, and the second time on my first "grandes vacances" with Dr. Hal in 1989. Needless to say, I'm ready to go back any time! While the basic bones of Burgundy, the hills and vineyards, look very much like the Napa valley, only in Burgundy do you turn a corner to encounter a medieval chateau (real not faux) or a priceless Northern Renaissance altarpiece tucked away in an old hospital. But at the moment I was just touring inside my head, and it was time to hit the road!
My first stop on this culinary journey was a 1957 guide to the foods of France- Bouquet de France: An Epicurian Tour of the French Provinces authored by the founder and long-time editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, Samuel Chamberlain. Mr. Chamberlain also illustrated this impressive tome, which I picked up in Caliban's, a used bookstore in Pittsburgh. It once belonged to a lady named Joan M. Kaplan, whose name is stamped on the cover in gold. Mrs. Kaplan, wherever you may be, please know that your book has found a happy home! While I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the fantastic meals awaiting anyone touring Burgundy by car (I imagine a sporty little two seater roadster), the recipes were not too appealing.
So, I moved on to Mireille Johnston's The Cuisine of the Rose: Classical French Cooking from Burgundy and Lyonnais (1982). I considered attempting some classic Burgundian dishes- Escargots Bourguignonne ( I don't think so!), Jambon Persille, Coeurs a la Creme, Coq au Vin. Thinking about these recipes helped shape my preliminary menu, but with a vegan dinner guest coming, I had to move away from the preponderance of butter, cream, and cheese which seemed to be listed as ingredients for every recipe. As Dr. Hal volunteered to devise his own Boeuf Bourguignon, I was left to round out the meal to my own, and our vegan guest's satisfaction.
The results of further rifling through my collection of French cookbooks was this
Menu -
Les Gougères
Grill-Braised Boeuf Bourguignon
Potatoes Savoyarde
Beans Maitre d'Hotel
Salade au Chou
Mousse Au Chocolate
- 1999 Vincent Girardin Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, Cote de Beaune (white)
The white was really very good, even after 14 years.
- 1997 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru, Cote de Beaune (red)
The red, while good, had faded some and would have been better a few years ago.
Sadly, both of these are now really too expensive to contemplate purchasing, the curse of very small production and a worldwide market. (Commentary by Dr. Hal)
Les Gougères
I can remember the first time I ever ate a gougere. It was from a bakery in Beaune, as big as my fist, crisp and brown on the outside, unctuously egg-y and cheese-y within.
1 1/2 c. whole milk + 1/4 c. for brushing the puff tops
1/2 c. butter
1 1/3 c. flour salt
Tabasco
pinch nutmeg
6 eggs
1 Tb Dijon mustard
2 1/2 c. coarsely grated Swiss (i.e. gruyere) cheese
Preheat the oven to 425°.
Heat the milk and butter together until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and add the flour all at once. Cook for about 2 minutes – until the mixture forms a ball and comes away from the sides of the pan.
Off the heat, beat in the salt, a few drops of Tabasco and the nutmeg. Beat in the eggs two at a time, making sure each two are completely blended before added the next ones. Stir in two cups of the cheese and the mustard.
Butter a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper. Form heaping teaspoonsful of dough about 3 inches apart. Brush the tops with milk and put a bit of grated cheese on top.
Bake about 20 minutes, do not open the oven door during this time. They are done when they look puffed and golden brown. Serve warm. Makes about 30 puffs.
Grill-Braised Boeuf Bourguignon a la Dr. Hal
In the first French Chef episode, circa 1963, Julia Child makes a Boeuf Bourguignon, and you may recall that it is featured as a daunting recipe in the movie Julie and Julia. Boeuf Bourguignon is actually a pretty simple recipe- you brown the beef, braise it in red wine, add onions and mushrooms, thicken the sauce, and serve.
It seemed like another candidate for the grill-braised approach, which I have written about for short ribs. The idea is to grill the meat first over high heat, giving it a serious browning without added fat. next the meat is braised in a covered BBQ, oven, or on the stovetop, the sauce is thickened, accompaniments are added, and it is then served.
The French Chef recipe uses salt pork or bacon for lardons in the stew. They are rendered first and their fat is used to brown the meat. The grilling does not require additional fat, but some pork product is needed to enrich the flavor. A smoked pork chop,weighing about ½ lb, makes a fine substitution. Though smoked, the flavor is very subtle and does not overwhelm the recipe. The original recipe also calls for 18-24 small fresh white onions, which must be individually peeled. This is by far the most tedious aspect of the recipe and is replaced here by frozen onions, which are great.
While certainly in Burgundy a Pinot Noir would be used for the cooking wine, I don’t think this is the best choice, as a suitably hearty Pinot would be quite expensive. An alternative choice would be a fairly big Zinfandel or something in the Rhone wine family, a Syrah or Grenache based wine. This matches better to the heartier flavors from the grilling and they are not priced as dearly.
Thus we have for the meats:
½ lb smoked pork chop
3 lbs boneless beef chuck
¾ bottle of hearty red wine
1 can beef broth
1 ½ Tb tomato paste
3 cloves mashed garlic
1 bay leaf
½ tsp thyme
salt and pepper
Cut the beef chuck into strips about 1.5” wide and 1-1.5”thick. These will be grilled then cut into individual chunks for the stew. Try to make the cuts when possible along the natural edges of the muscle, and cut away any extra fat or silver skin. Salt and pepper the meat and grill it over high heat for a couple of minutes on each side, or until the surface is significantly browned. Try to brown as many sides as possible. When done, transfer the meat to a cutting board and finish cutting it into individual chunks, around 1-1.5”.
Cut the pork off the bone into lardons about ¾ -1” long by ¼”x ¼”. Brown these using a bit of oil in the pot that is going to be used to braise the stew, I use a large cast iron pot, but any heavy covered casserole, large enough to hold the ingredients, will be fine. I suspect that an enameled pot is probably traditional.
Add the grilled meat, the wine (about ¾ of a bottle or so, leave yourself a glass), and the other ingredients to the pot. The idea is to have the combined braising liquid to almost cover the meat. Bring the stew to a simmer on the stovetop. It can then be cooked on top of the stove over low heat or in the oven at 325 degrees for 2-3 hours, until the meat is very tender but not completely falling apart. The temperature needs to be regulated so that the braising liquid is just at a moderate simmer, with some steam bubbles evident.
Preparing the onions and mushrooms.
1 lb white mushrooms
½ Tb olive oil
1 ½ Tb butter
¼ tsp salt
1 package (14 oz) frozen small onions
1 Tb butter
about 3 Tb water
½ tsp salt
Clean and cut the mushrooms into halves or quarters depending on their size. Heat the butter and oil in a large sauté pan until the butter begins to stop foaming, then add the mushrooms and salt. Continue over medium high heat until the mushrooms are browned and most of the moisture has evaporated. Set aside.
Put the frozen onions, along with the butter and water, in a sauté pan and heat until boiling. Cover the pan so that the onions can steam until mostly thawed, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the cover and let the remaining water evaporate, then continue sautéing over medium heat until the onions start to brown, about another 5-10 minutes total. Set aside.
When the meat is done, remove it to a separate bowl. If there is a significant amount of extra fat in the broth, it can be skimmed off, but this is not really necessary. If there seems to be too much liquid and its flavor seems thin, it can be reduced over medium high heat to make a richer sauce. If there seems to be too little liquid, extra beef stock can be added.
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| Boeuf Bourguignon components- onions, meat, sauce & mushrooms |
3 Tb butter
3 Tb flour
Cream the butter and flour together in a small bowl with a rubber spatula or a fork. Heat just the braising liquid in the pot to the simmer. Whisk a few spoonfuls of hot braising liquid into the butter-flour paste until all lumps are gone, then gradually add the mixture to the pot of braising liquid. Whisk the sauce until the thickener is fully combined and the sauce has thickened. Add the meat, onions, and mushrooms and bring the stew back to the simmer, stirring occasionally. Correct the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.
The stew is ready to serve or it can be reheated later. It can also be cooled, refrigerated and reheated in a day or two with no ill effects. It can also be eaten cold from the refrigerator for breakfast, again with no ill effects.
Vegan-esque Stove-Top Potatoes Savoyarde
Adapted from The Way to Cook by Julia Child
I've had bad luck with these layered potato gratins- even when I parboiled the potatoes in advance my gratins always seemed to end up soupy and raw. This delicious specimen turned out to be an exception to the rule, it was perfect!. To please our vegan dinner companion I used olive oil, vegetable broth, and left his portion sans cheese. Made me feel like a chef reborn!
3 cups thinly sliced onions
2 Tb olive oil
2 1/2 lbs. boiling potatoes
2 cups vegetable broth
big pinch of dried herbs de provence or a mixture of dried basil, thyme, and oregano
1 large clove of garlic, pureed
Optional: 1 1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese
Over medium heat saute the onions in the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan large enough to ultimately hold all the onions and potatoes. Stir occasionally and cook until they are limp and tender, about 10 minutes or so. Remove the onions to a bowl.
While the onions are cooking, peel the potatoes and cut them into slices 1/8" thick. To avoid brown ugly potatoes, drop the slices into a bowl of cold water as you do them.
Add one cup of vegetable broth, the dried herbs, and the pureed garlic to the frying pan and bring it to a boil. Add the potatoes and onions, making rough layers as you do. Season well with salt and pepper and add enough broth to come two thirds of the way up the potatoes-onion mixture. Cover the pan and simmer for 15-20 minutes, watching to make sure that the liquid doesn't boil over, or until the potatoes are tender and the broth is almost all absorbed.
Just before serving, reheat the potatoes on medium-low and sprinkle some or all of the top with the Swiss cheese. Put the pan under the broiler, about 4-5 inches from the element, and broil until the cheese is nicely browned.
Serves 6
Beans Maitre d'Hotel
You can make this tasty bean dish with your own home cooked or canned beans. I had some exotic Rancho Gordo "Vallarta" beans festering in the cupboard that were begging to be cooked. Described as "Super rich heirloom bean originally from Jalisco, Mexico, now a favorite among Napa's best chefs." You could use any bean that you have festering - Julia C. suggests black beans, Great Northerns, navy beans, cannellini, pinto, etc. Find detailed instructions for cooking beans in my post Cassoulet & Company.
3 cups cooked beans or two cans of your beans of choice
2 large cloves of garlic, pureed
3 Tb olive oil
1/4 - 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
handful of fresh chopped parsley and/or other green herbs (basil, oregano, thyme)
salt & pepper
If using canned beans, drain them in a colander, rinse with hot water, and drain. Briefly saute the garlic in the olive oil in a saucepan. Fold in the beans, let them heat through, and gently stir in the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving toss in the chopped parsley or herb mixture. Serves 4-6.
An improvised mix of Napa cabbage, Japanese watermelon radishes, roasted cauliflower, and Dijon mustard vinaigrette
Adapted from Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells. The Ambassade d'Auvergne is an old time Paris restaurant that specializes in the cuisine of it's namesake region, the Auvergne, which is located to the southwest of Burgundy. Pardon the liberty taken here, but this mousse is like eating the world's most delicious chocolate bar, but even better, because it's nice and creamy too. I was trepidatious about adding the orange liqueur because I don't like my chocolate flavors interfered with, but found that the small amount of liqueur served to intensify them without tasting "orange-y."
8 oz. bittersweet good quality chocolate (Lindt, etc.), broken into pieces
3 Tb orange liqueur (Grand Marnièr or Cointreau)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
8 Tb (4 oz) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8 large egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
5 large egg whites
Place the chocolate, orange liqueur, and vanilla in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir until melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, and allow to cool until lukewarm. The mixture may seem to "seize up" at the beginning, but will smooth out as you continue to mix the butter in.
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| Love that ribbon! |
Wash and dry the stand mixer bowl until totally clean and dry, otherwise the egg whites won't whip properly. Place the egg whites in the clean mixer bowl. Beat the whites until they are stiff but not dry.
Stir one-third of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Do this slowly and patiently. Do not overmix, but be sure that the mixture is well blended.
Pour the mousse into a large serving bowl (1 1/2-2 quart capacity). A plain white soufflé dish looks "very French." Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate the mousse for at least 6 hours before serving. Makes 8-10 servings.
