FOOD IS LOVE

....getting anal over terminology

I love our french men the most when they come home with divine ingredients to cook up a seasonal feast. What's less endearing is when they expect us to cook it!


Have just been on the phone with Janice,wonderful friend and kitchen executive/cadre superieur de la cuisine. Her chap came home with a kilo of meat for a Bourguignon..she told me they were making a marinade. So I said..Oh you mean a Daube..
In retrospect, my ANAL reaction !!!!!

You can toss and catch between the terms but in the end it all comes down to one thing - Beef Stew with Red Wine! For me a Bourguignon isn't marinated and a Daube is. I was brought up by a "purist" cordon bleu mother. On things "cuisine" she wasn't easy to contradict! I, on the other hand, am very open to discussion!!

My friend Janice is usually right about everything..she's one of those "slightly north of general trivial brilliance" plus a genial cook so I did a bit of research and came up with  " the goods."
Well, basically Daube is the parent word and Bourguinon is a member of the Daube group.

Here is the french version for those of you who are interested...my BOURGUIGNON recipe is below too...hope Janice will send in hers too as it sounded amazingly good and I have already invited myself for supper tomorrow evening!!

 


D'après le dictionnaire, daube :

"mode de cuisson de certaines viandes mijotées à l'étouffée dans une marinade richement aromatisée"
- "ragoût de viande cuit en sauce"



"daube" est donc le terme générique qui s'applique à toute viande (boeuf, Le boeuf bourguignon peut alors être considéré comme une daube avec des caractéristiques qui lui sont propres, viande de boeuf et vin rouge et, accessoirement, , oignons grelots, lardons et champignons.mouton, veau, porc) ou à tout gibier (sanglier ...) cuits à l'étouffée (à la cocotte, soit au four avec cocotte lutée ou non, soit sur brûleur) dans un liquide quelconque (vin rouge, vin blanc, bière ...).


So now I can feel empowered when faced with french men who can't cook but think they know everything about Bourguignon and Daube!!
Here's my easy, really easy, recipe...not my mother's which was based on at least 4 hours of preparation a la Julia Child!!

Boeuf Bourguignon

800 gr beef chopped into cubes
50gr butter
100gr lardons/chopped bacon, not smoked
100gr white small onions
25 gr flour
3 dl red wine ( the better the wine the better the results!!) + a glass for the cook
3 dl good bouillon ( beef/ veal)
Several dried bay leaves


Melt butter in a casserole ( type le creuset/le staub). Add bacon, onions. Sweat then remove aside.
Pat beef with paper towels then brown in same juices.
Sprinkle over flour and pour over hot bouiloon.
Add bacon, onions, red wine and bay leaves.Cover and let bubble for about 2.5 hours. Turn off.
30 mins before serving, heat gently and add 100 gr of finely chopped mushrooms. You can leave mushrooms whole if they are not too large for a rustic effect.
Serve with steamed potatoes (or fresh pasta)  and chopped parsley...



Comments

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  2. Totally agree. Cooking is an oral tradition and I would never argue with experience. In fact there is nothing to argue about. ENJOY!!!!

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  3. Further Janice is a wonderful cook not a friendly cook!

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  4. Thank you for the Boeuf Bourguignon recipe...it looks so simple.I hope that is not an illusion!
    Maria

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  5. Dear Maria Boeuf Bourguinon recipe is very easy, its not an illusion. Try it out. make sure you buy good quality meat, not precut meat at the supermarket. Ask your butcher to cut it into cubes for you.

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  6. The Boeuf Bourguignon/Daube was a smashing success!! Even mushroom-hating J scarfed his down (I put mushrooms in mine, as per Arnaud's mom). So yum!

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  7. Used to worry about french hubby bringing home meat to cook and your post about Boeuf Bourguinon really was a relief. Yes FOOD IS LOVE!. In NYC if a man brought home meat he would be lynched by his working wife!

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  8. My mother in law also states quite firmly that a Bourguignon is marintated...and I am certainly not going to contradict her.
    All these opinions prove that the terms are used in whichever manner we gave been brought up to believe in and as always the result is the same, delicious!

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