A Boeuf Bourguignon Day
Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Stew in Red Wine) adapted from Julia Child's recipe Well, it's hit zero degrees in Paris today, and as I knew I wouldn't spend too much time outside, I decided to make a nice, heartwarming stew to warm up everyone's tummies this evening. One of the French stews I have always wanted to master is Boeuf Bourguignon. It's similar to a beef stew that my Dad used to make when I was a kid, except the Chinese version didn't include a bottle of red wine! Dad's version included such Chinese flavors as oyster sauce and star anise. I like to cook by taste, which I often find emanates from memories of flavors and aromas tasted. So I decided to add one star anise to my boeuf bourguignon, and found that it delicately spices up the carrots and the beef in a slightly sweet way. It can be overpowering, so I tossed it in the pot only halfway through the cooking. As Julia writes in her book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking , there are more wa...