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Julie and Julia

This weekend I rented the Julie and Julia movie. Story of Julia Child and her famous cookbook "how to master the art of French cooking". I thought i'd try one of her famous recipes which is the beef stew. I've never made a succesful beef stew that I loved. So trusting the French, I learnt the secret of a flavorful beef bourgouignion (pardon the French)...

Some key points that I learnt:

  1. Drying the beef stew chunks in paper towels, then searing the meat in bacon fat. Also sauteeing the sliced onions and carrots in bacon fat.
  2. Adding and browning the flour to the sauteed beef to make crust
  3. Adding red wine and beef stock bouillon instead of water
  4. Sauteeing the mushrooms in butter
  5. Braising the small white onions in broth

As you can see, each ingredient is not just added to the pot. It is carefully infused with flavors before cooking. It is not just a mix you can stir together. The whole cooking time takes 2 1/2 hours to simmer and additional for prepping the ingredients.

All in all, I can say that in the end it was truly worth savoring each bite.

***Warning: The red wine, makes the beef stew taste good, however..I don't recommend using 3 c of red wine as suggested for someone with an acidic stomach like me. At day 2 of the beef stew, my stomach hurt like crazy!@ Now I know why in the movie, you can see the husbands taking TUMS! I would recommend maybe 1/4 of the recipe..just a tad bit of wine for flavor..and more broth instead.

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