Sunday, June 12, 2011

Julia Child's Beef Bourgogne Rediscovered

Sometimes stuff gets lost in the freezer. And sometimes when that happens it doesn't work out so well. I don't know how many times I have tucked away the leftovers from my kitchen adventures and let them languish in the freezer too long. I hate throwing away freezer-burnt food, especially food I loved creating. This was NOT one of those times.

It was a cold and rainy day in New Hampshire and I had been busy all day bottling beer and tending to my wines. I didn't feel like cooking so I went to the freezer in hopes of finding something to reheat. As I rooted around I came across a container with contents something I couldn't immediately identify. I took it out and let it defrost on the counter.

( And it really did look that good reheated! )

My initial guess was Beef Bourgogne that I had made using Julia Child's recipe, but then I hedged and thought I recalled eating that already. I am glad my initial guess was correct!

The stew heated up nicely on the stove with the aid of a little bit of Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout that I had been enjoying during the beer bottling. Paired with some crusty bread and the rest of the beer I got my easy to prepare, hearty and warming meal I was looking for.

If you have a good story about rediscovering leftovers in your freezer I would love to hear the story in a comment.

Cheers!

Jason

4 comments:

Eileen said...

Love this dish! one of my all time favorites, and yes, it freezes nicely. What did you pair it with?
Cheers! Eileen

Kate said...

Lucky you! I'm trying to use up all the old stuff in the freezers but it keeps getting buried under new stuff!!

Nancy said...

This looks like heaven on a plate. I love beef bourgogne. I think it's great that you freeze your creations to be enjoyed again later. Since it's just my hubby and I this is something I need to start doing too. Thanks for the inspiration.

Nancy said...

This looks like heaven on a plate. I love beef bourgogne. I think it's great that you freeze your creations to be enjoyed again later. Since it's just my hubby and I this is something I need to start doing too. Thanks for the inspiration.