Ina Garten's Boeuf Bourguignon @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: I asked for and received Ina Garten’s Barefoot in Paris for Christmas. Even though we try not to eat too much beef, my first experiment was Boeuf Bourguignon. For this recipe, you will need a pot that can move from the stove pot to the oven. 

Preheat the oven to 250 while you prepare the ingredients.

Ingredients for boeuf bourguignon aka beef stew

Olive oil

8 ounces or so bacon, diced

2 pounds beef chuck, cut in 1 inch pieces

1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally

Two yellow onions, sliced

Salt and pepper

Two cloves garlic

Half a bottle or so dry red wine 

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

All purpose flour

8 ounces whole small white onions

8 ounces mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

Note that some of these proportions are not what Ina Garten uses. But I used what I had. If I make this again, I think a whole pound of the white onions would be wonderful and a pound of the mushrooms as well. But then my favorite part of beef stew has always been the vegetables!

Sauté the bacon in the olive oil until browning. Scoop it out with a slotted spoon and set this aside.

Dry the beef cubes with a paper towel and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Brown them in the bacon fat and olive oil, trying not to crowd the pot. Remove them to the plate with the bacon.

Sauté the sliced carrots and onions in the same fat for about 8 to 10 minutes until beginning to brown. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for another minute. Return the meat to the pot with the vegetables. Cover with about 2 cups of wine and 2 cups of beef broth. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring this mixture to a boil, cover it, bake it in a 250 oven for an hour and 15 minutes.

In another pan, cook the sliced mushrooms and the whole onions in butter until they are beginning to brown and have given up their liquid. Ina Garten suggested adding a tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper. I cut the salt to 1 teaspoon and can’t imagine more wouldn’t taste too salty. Add these to the stew, bring the whole thing to another boil and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. If the broth does not appear thick enough, smash more butter with a tablespoon or two of flour and stir that in. It will thicken as it cooks.

If possible, refrigerate the stew overnight and warm it the next night when you plan to serve it. Can be served with toasted bread, egg noodles, orzo, etc.

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including USA Today bestselling A POISONOUS PALATE and A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS. 

Book 15 in the Key West series, THE MANGO MURDERS, will be in bookstores on August 12!

And the new trade paperback edition of A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS is out now!