'Boeuf Bourguignon' or Beef Stew!!

Good grief, Julia! I know I said in my last post that Julia had an attention to detail but that was a COMPLETE UNDERSTATEMENT! Today I spent the day cooking… the whole day cooking! I decided to begin my cooking journey with the famous French Beef Bourguignon, or Beef stew for those of us less eclectic in the food genre. I started this morning at 10 am by making a list of all the things I would need; I soon realized I didn’t know what a few of the item were. For instance, a bacon rind is something that sounds familiar, but nothing I have ever attempted to buy. After looking it up on this wonderful thing we call the internet, I figured out the bacon rind was simply the outer covering of bacon before it is sliced. After trying to make a list, I figured maybe I should take the book with me so I don’t get confused.

I then went to Central Market with my Julia Child’s cookbook in hand, trying to find all the things I needed. I have to say, buying most of the ingredients wasn’t too bad after I had some help; but the bacon rind was a problem. I asked the man at the meat department if I could get 6oz of bacon with the rind..(sounded easy enough)…the man laughed at me and said they did not have bacon with the rind. So I simply decided that I would have to cook my dish without that stinkin’ piece of rind! While the man in the meat department was a little harsh, the man in the wine section was wonderful! I told him I needed wine for cooking and he showed the exact wine that they used for this recipe. It’s called “Pinot Noir,” synonymous with a classic Burgundian red wine. (And yes, Mom, I did just read that off the label. Just in case you thought I started sounding like I knew what I was talking about.)

Once I got home, I began cooking. I was very hesitant at first; looking at the recipe over and over again to make sure I was doing everything correctly. After cooking for a while and taste testing everything for seasoning, I realized it tasted really good! So I began to relax a little and just enjoy myself in the kitchen. Once the stew was finished cooking in the oven, I served it to my roommates and took some to my family. According to them….and myself.. it tasted wonderful! Mission success! I was really happy to be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor and see that others liked it too. But I am now exhausted after about seven hours in the kitchen. Maybe next week I will try to find something that doesn’t take quite as long!

So here’s what I learned today from cooking, be confident. In whatever you’re doing. Even if it’s not perfect, take pride in achievements and strive to do something new that pushes you past your comfort zone. And live a life that is full of enthusiasm.. and good food. ;)

One last thing, this one website: http://www.rouxbe.com/recipes/2688-beef-bourguignon-boeuf-bourguignon/text was WONDERFUL in helping me! It has good videos to watch if you need help and it was incredibly beneficial! (No offense, Julia. I’m a visual person).