This year, Mum had to work two absolutely ridiculous 12-hour shifts at the hospital, on Christmas, so Sara and I took over the business of Christmas dinner, which was to be eaten hastily between presents and Mum’s brief nap between shifts.
I proposed a stew, something easy and warm and something we could throw in a pot and leave alone for several hours and not clog up the kitchen. Sara, who is working her way through Julia Child’s cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” countered with beef burgundy (or as Miss-Foreign-Language-Scholar insists “boeuf bourguignon”. French, being something of my mortal enemy in high school, makes me want to run for the hills so I will maintain the use of the translation).
Boeuf Bourguignon / Beef Burgundy
Recipe via Food.com, though you really should buy the books. Also, instead of a casserole dish, we used our cast-iron stew pot because we don’t own an enormous casserole dish that is both stove-top and oven safe. Works just as well, I think.
This was absolutely amazing. If it wasn’t so darn time-consuming and sort of expensive, I’d make it all the time.
For the sake of saving time (time that could be spent opening presents, naturally), Sara and I made the beef burgundy a day ahead and then let it re-heat in the cast-iron pot all morning. It reheated beautifully, though it really had turned into a stew by the time we got to it. Didn’t affect the taste at all, but if anyone was looking for meat that wasn’t so tender it fell apart if you looked at it funny, just make it before you intend to serve it. Also, use less wine and broth if you want less sauce weirdo.
The only thing I’d change about this recipe would be more/larger carrots. I think the dish could use a little more crunch. Also, I’d cut the mushrooms smaller, as I approve of the taste but not the texture of huge chunks of mushrooms.
Savory Buttered Peas
Recipe via Food.com {though I left out the pimentos, because I don’t care for them, to be honest}
Even though this recipe was my suggesting, I ended up feeling sort of ambivalent towards them. They were good, and a little more “fancy” than just microwaving a bag of peas and throwing them on the table. But even though I used plenty of savory and aromatics, they ended up not having much flavor at all. Perhaps I didn’t let them cook long enough, though the peas were almost dry by the time I thought they were ‘done’.
Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
Pretty standard fare, potatoes-wise. Really, potatoes are potatoes are potatoes (imho) and are very difficult to “do wrong”. In this case, we wanted minimum flavor so it would just be a delicious starchy base for the beef. The perk of doing sour cream mashed potatoes is that they are creamy without having to use buckets of butter. Cut dietary corners where you can, I suppose. The slightly tangy sour cream flavor counters the heavy, heavy flavors of the beef dish.
I think garlic mashed potatoes would do just fine also, if you like garlic. I would also suggest bread-bowls for an alternative starch element, as there was plenty of sauce to enjoy with the dish that a bread bowl would be most helpful in sopping up. A baguette could also be used. Or biscuits. Either way, don’t miss a drop!
-Kitty
Photos by Kitty
