Beef Bourguignon over Papardelle

 

Beef Bourguignon over Paperdelle 

Last time I was on a kick like this, it was chicken. Now, it's beef. I know that I shouldn't be eating a lot of beef consistently, but honestly, if you can think of a creative way to not use a whoooooole lot of it..okay, who am I kidding, it's really not good for people to eat a lot of red meat, so after this I swear I'll lay off of it for a while! But I was having friends over the other night for dinner, and I knew that I needed to make something in bulk. I had three of my good guy friends from high school coming over, and two of them I have never cooked for, so I needed to impress, also. While I was purchasing my Filet Mignon for the night before, I spotted some beef cubes all ready for a beef stew. I didn't think I had much time to make it, but because my friends were AN HOUR AND A HALF LATE (cough thanks a lot Simon, Tim, and Chuck!!!), the stew got to sit for quite a while and ended up more delicious than I would have ever expected!

Here is Ina Garten's original recipe, but obviously I will post my own tweaks on the blog.

The ingredients and directions look extensive, but the actual recipe is fairly easy. 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon good olive oil
12 ounces dry cured center cut applewood smoked bacon, diced (1 package)
2 1/2 pounds chuck beef cut into 1 inch cubes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1 inch chunks
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2-3 cloves)
1/2 cup Cognac
1 bottle good dry red wine (I used a $7.99 bottle of Pinot Noir)
2 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
3 tablespoons all purpose flour

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate

2. Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside.

3. Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned.

4. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol (it will put itself out when it's done).

5. Put the meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add the bottle of wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and cook over low heat for 1-2 hours

6. When read to serve, sift the flour into the stew and stir, cooking 5 more minutes (Ina also adds some butter in here but I found the bacon and beef had enough fat juices)

I served mine over pasta, but honestly I feel like we are at a point in this blog where I don't need to teach you how to boil water and cook pasta. Ina suggests to serve hers with garlic bread (which I also did- double the carbs, double the deliciousness)