Beef Bourguignon

Beef Bourguignon

Like coq au vin, its sister dish from the Burgundy region of France, beef Bourguignon is a stew of meat slowly simmered in hearty red wine along with pearl onions, mushrooms and crisp, cubed bacon. Use a good wine here, something simple but drinkable. It makes all the difference in the finished dish. As with all beef stews, this one is best made a day or two ahead; don’t sauté the mushrooms and onions until just before serving. This recipe is part of The New Essentials of French Cooking, a guide to definitive dishes every modern cook should master. Discover more ideas for the holidays here.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

3 pounds beef chuck or other boneless stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes and patted dry

2¼ teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

5 ounces lardons, pancetta or bacon, diced (about 1¼ cups)

1 onion, finely chopped

1 large carrot, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon tomato paste

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1750-milliliter bottle of red wine

1 large bay leaf

1 large sprig of thyme

8 ounces pearl onions, peeled (about 12 to 15 onions)

8 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved if large (about 4 cups)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch sugar

Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Season beef with 2 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Set aside for at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or chill in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot with a tightfitting lid, cook lardons over medium-low heat until fat is rendered and lardons are browned and crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve fat in pot.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Raise heat under pot to medium-high and cook until fat is starting to smoke. Lay half the beef cubes in a single layer in the pot, leaving space between pieces. Cook until well browned on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes; transfer pieces to a plate as they brown. Repeat with remaining beef.

Reduce heat, if necessary, to prevent burning. Stir in onion, carrot and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until soft, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in garlic and tomato paste, and cook for 1 minute. Stir in flour, cook for 1 minute, then add wine, bay leaf and thyme, scraping up brown bits at bottom of pot. Add browned beef and half the cooked lardons back to pot, cover, and transfer to oven. Let cook until beef is very tender, about 1½ hours, turning meat halfway through.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet set over high heat, combine pearl onions, mushrooms, ¼ cup water, the olive oil and a pinch each of salt, pepper and sugar. Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to medium, cooking for 15 minutes. Uncover, raise heat to high, and cook, tossing frequently, until vegetables are well browned, 5 to 7 minutes.

To serve, scatter onions and mushrooms and remaining cooked lardons over stew, then top with parsley.

TIP: Wonderful recipe! I used 4lbs of beef chuck & pinot noir wine. After Step 5 I put the Dutch oven into the oven at 300 for 3hrs...meat was very tender with lots of liquid. Transferred everything into a large ceramic casserole dish, covered it with foil and refrigerated overnight. Next day scraped off some of the fat on the top. Made the onions and mushrooms. Pulled the casserole dish out of the fridge one hour before reheating it (covered) at 325 degrees in the oven for about 45 minutes.

As a Professional Italian Chef I've cooked lots of Beef Stews and Italian Style Pot Roasts. The steps in the recipe are simple and easy to understand. Unfortunately, the most important step in the recipe is the temperature of the oven and the cook time. Doing everything according to Melissa Clark's directions your meat will be tough as shoe leather! You have to seriously turn your oven down to 260°F for the entire time. And cook the meat for at least 3-4 hours. Good Luck.

Vietnamese Coffee Swirl Brownies

Vietnamese Coffee Swirl Brownies

These ultra-fudgy brownies take the bittersweet elements of Vietnamese coffee — espresso and sweetened condensed milk — and turn them into dessert. For the most pronounced coffee flavor, there’s instant espresso in the brownie batter plus some ground espresso (or coffee beans) speckling the milky cream cheese swirl. To get the neatest, most crumb-free slices, chill the cooled brownies for an hour or so before slicing them upside down. Use a sharp knife and wipe it down between slices. These brownies last for up to a week when kept refrigerated in an airtight container, and they freeze well, too.

Yield: 16 brownies

1 cup/225 grams unsalted butter, plus more for pan  

8 ounces/225 grams unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt 

2 cups/400 grams sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process 

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup/125 grams all-purpose flour

½ cup/85 grams bittersweet chocolate chips (optional)

For the Topping

⅔ cup/170 grams cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

1½ teaspoons ground espresso or dark roast coffee beans

Flaky sea salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches of overhang on two sides to use as handles later.

In a large heavy saucepan set over medium-low heat, combine the butter, chopped chocolate, instant espresso powder and salt. Let butter and chocolate melt, stirring occasionally. (Alternatively, using the microwave, melt the ingredients together in a microwave-safe bowl, in 30-second increments, until smooth, stirring between increments.)

Whisk in sugar and cocoa powder until smooth, then whisk in eggs and vanilla. Finally, whisk in flour until no streaks remain. Using a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips, if using.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly.

To prepare the topping, using a whisk, beat together cream cheese and condensed milk in a small bowl until very smooth. Use a spatula to mix in ground espresso beans until just combined. (Don’t overmix: You want to see speckles.) Dollop on top of brownie batter in the pan and swirl with a knife or spatula, pulling up some of the brownie batter from beneath the topping for a marble effect. (For best results, both topping and brownie batter should be about the same temperature.) Sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt.

Bake until the top is set, the center is soft and the edges start pulling away from the pan, 30 to 40 minutes. (Ceramic and glass pans will take about 5 minutes longer.) The top should look dry and firm when done, but a toothpick inserted into the center should come out slightly gooey.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. To get the neatest pieces, chill the brownies for 1 hour, then invert the whole slab of brownie onto a cutting board, peel off the parchment, and slice them, still upside down, into bars.

Basil Tofu

Basil Tofu

Inspired by the savory heat of pad krapow, the popular Thai dish of stir-fried ground chicken or pork with chiles, garlic and basil, this tofu version is just as robustly seasoned and satiating. The traditional dish uses holy basil, but Thai or everyday sweet basil will work here. The cooking of this dish happens quickly, so have all your ingredients prepped before cooking. Tear the tofu into chunky pieces, as it will naturally break down further while being stir-fried. Keep the flavor of the basil bright and the color green by adding it right at the end, so the leaves are barely kissed with heat. Thai chiles are spicy, so add according to your taste: Two is a good choice for those who like spicy food, or three if you like it fiery. 

Yield: 4 servings

Vegetable or grapeseed oil

1 shallot or small red onion, halved and sliced 

1 red bell pepper, halved, seeds removed and finely diced 

4 ounces green beans, trimmed and thinly sliced into ½-inch pieces 

Salt 

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped 

2 to 3 Thai chiles, finely chopped

2 (14- to 16-ounce) packages extra-firm tofu, drained and broken into irregular 1-inch pieces 

2 tablespoons soy sauce 

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

2 tablespoons lime juice, plus 1 lime, quartered, to serve 

1 cup Thai, holy or sweet basil leaves 

Cooked jasmine or short-grain white rice, to serve 

Heat a wok or a large 12-inch skillet on medium-high. When it’s hot, drizzle in 2 tablespoons of oil, add the shallot and toss until softened, 1 minute. Add the red bell pepper and green beans, season with ½ teaspoon of salt and toss for 1 minute. Add the garlic and Thai chiles and toss until fragrant, about 1 minute. 

Add the tofu, soy sauce and dark soy sauce, and stir fry until the tofu is well coated and thoroughly warmed, 3 to 4 minutes. Finally, add the lime juice and basil leaves, and toss until the basil is wilted, about 30 seconds. 

Serve with rice, with lime wedges on the side.

TIP: Three small changes that really brought this to life - added a tablespoon of rice vinegar, a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of cornstarch to the soy sauce mixture. Otherwise made as is and it was delicious!

This recipe has potential. I thickened the sauce with some corn starch as it was too watery. Next time I may add some vegetable broth as well to increase the amount of sauce instead of just adding soy sauce. I would mix the cut up tofu with cornstarch and bake in oven to get crispy before adding to wok. I would also double the amount of green beans and simply cut them in half instead of slicing.

Unexpectedly flavorful/ well-seasoned. Super easy. Used 4T soy -- had no dark soy. Added a smidge of fish sauce. Skimped on the basil because I had only about 1/2 c. Clearly would have benefited from more.

Dan Dan Noodles

Dan Dan Noodles

A specialty from Sichuan, a province in the southwest of China, vendors once balanced baskets of noodles and sauce on their shoulder poles and cried out “dan dan mian!” to hawk their wares. Dan dan refers to those bamboo shoulder poles and mian means noodles, but there’s no one way to prepare them. Nowadays in the Western diaspora, the dish is associated with a few essentials, namely chile oil and sesame paste, but another is worth adding: preserved vegetables. Salty and a little sweet with the sour oomph of fermentation, pickled mustard greens give the soothing noodles an umami zing. These noodles are especially rich with sesame, but you can adjust all of the seasonings to your taste. Toasty and salty, tangy on the cliff of funk, chewy with pops of peanut, dan dan noodles are a bowl of contentment.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

For the Sauce

¼cup well-stirred Chinese sesame paste or tahini (see Tips)

2tablespoons soy sauce

1tablespoon sesame oil

1 to 2tablespoons chile crisp, preferably Sichuanese, plus more for serving

2 to 3teaspoons brown sugar

½teaspoon Chinkiang vinegar or balsamic vinegar

For the Meat

2tablespoons vegetable oil

½cup ya cai (Sichuan preserved mustard greens) or other finely chopped Chinese pickled or preserved mustard vegetables (see Tips)

1large garlic clove, finely chopped

8ounces ground pork

1tablespoon Shaoxing wine or other rice wine

1tablespoon soy sauce

2teaspoons tian mian jiang (sweet wheat sauce) or hoisin

For the Noodles

1pound fresh Chinese wheat noodles (see Tips)

8 to 12bok choy or gai lan (Chinese broccoli), optional

Chopped roasted, salted peanuts, ground Sichuan peppercorns and finely sliced scallions, for topping

Start the sauce: Set a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, mix the sesame paste, soy sauce, sesame oil, chile crisp, brown sugar and vinegar in a large bowl. The mixture will be thick. Taste and add more chile oil or brown sugar (or other seasonings) to your liking.

Make the meat: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok or large, deep skillet over high. Add the ya cai and cook, stirring, until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Scrape half into the sauce bowl. Add the remaining oil to the wok. When it’s hot, add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the pork and cook, smashing it into the vegetables and stirring to break it into tiny bits. When its pinkness fades after a few minutes, add the wine, soy sauce and tian mian jiang, and stir until the pork is cooked through. Keep warm over low.

Finish the sauce: Scoop ¼ cup boiling water from the pot and add to the sauce. Stir until smooth. The sauce should run off the spoon. If it doesn’t, add more boiling water a tablespoon at a time.

Make the noodles: Drop the noodles into the pot of boiling water, stir and cook until there’s still a bite in the center, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the bok choy and cook until bright green and the noodles are just tender, about 1 minute longer. Drain and run under hot tap water to rinse excess starch off the noodles.

Slide the noodles and bok choy over the sauce, scrape the pork and its sauce on top, then sprinkle with peanuts and scallions if you want. Top with more chile crisp if you’d like. Mix well and enjoy immediately.

Tips: Chinese sesame paste has a deep toasted flavor. If using tahini, try to find one made with roasted sesame seeds, such as Joyva. If using tahini ground from raw sesame seeds, add another tablespoon toasted sesame oil.

Sichuan preserved mustard greens, known broadly as ya cai or more specifically as Yibin ya cai for the region from which it comes, come in small foil packets or jars. The dark brown bits of preserved vegetables start as strips of Sichuanese mustard green stems, which are then dried, salted and fermented with a sugar syrup and spices. They end up savory, a little sweet and pleasantly funky. There’s no great substitute, but other varieties of Chinese pickled or preserved mustard greens, such as sui mi ya cai, work. In a Western pantry, a combination of finely chopped capers and finely diced fermented bread-and-butter pickles comes closest.

If you don’t have fresh Chinese wheat noodles, you can use 12 ounces dried lo mein noodles, thin spaghetti or ramen and cook according to the package directions before draining and rinsing.

Done it, almost weekly now. We've used shrimp instead of pork & subbed honey for the brown sugar. You can empty your veggie bin, we've added Kale, spinach, broccoli, snap peas, just about anything.

Vegan: Mix Chinese sesame paste (or tahini mixed with toasted sesame oil), soy sauce & chile crisp with a pinch of sugar in the bowl you’ll eat from. Adjust seasonings to taste. Stir in boiling water (maybe pasta water?) until runny. Cook your noodles, add whatever veg. Top with peanuts &or pickled veg.

 I’ve always used spaghetti for Dan-Dan, the quality of Italian ingredients is much higher where I live and wheat noodles are wheat noodles. The noodles don’t know they aren’t Chinese!