Food Friday: Beef Stew for the Flu

I have mentioned that I just read Dearie, a new Julia Child biography. I have also waxed poetical about the film Julie and Julia, which prompted me to think that if Amy Adams could make beef bourguignon, I could make beef bourguignon. Heck, I have trouble spelling bourguignon. Which is probably why my efforts were reduced to plain, simple beef stew.

This is cold and flu season, and we should be prepared for the inevitable. I have tested the fates by not having gotten a flu shot. But precautions are necessary in these trying times. It is always wise to have a few Tupperware containers with emergency (and nurturing) provisions nestled deep in the freezer. And if that big snow storm is coming our way this weekend, I certainly don’t want to be out in the driveway digging out the car so I can run to the grocery store again, unless I run out of Kleenex.

Nope. I want to be sitting in my comfy rump-sprung red velvet armchair, basking in a watery patch of sunlight like a feeble cranky cat, wheezing and sneezing and thumbing through my Kindle. I can re-visit the great Julia as she does battle with the bourguignon while my beef stew is thawing nicely in the Dutch oven on the back of the stove. We even have a box of Saltines for my scratchy throat.

I usually turn to my friends at Food52 for ideas. Their recipe was just a little beyond my skill set – except I liked the alcohol content – one whole bottle of red wine and half a cup of cognac. So very medicinal! It is too bad that so much of it evaporated in the cooking process. Best Beloved came home that night, sniffed the air redolent with wine, and asked if I had raided a vineyard. Perhaps I cooked it too long – the meat was very tender, but I stewed vegetables away. Maybe they absorbed all the wine. Selfish, greedy veggies.

https://food52.com/recipes/2969-beef-bourguignon

Here is Julia Child’s version – with a little film clip from Julie and Julia. But in the end, I think I will stick with my mother’s version of beef stew. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe/julia-childs-beef-bourguignon-8222804

Beef Stew, from New England

3 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1/3 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 – 3 tablespoons flour – please no bleached flour
Salt and pepper
2 medium yellow onions, cubed
6 small red potatoes, cubed
A smattering of carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
3 cups of water
2 cups red wine (more if you [or someone you love] are really feeling flu-y)

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Dust the beef chunks in flour, and brown them in oil in a Dutch oven. Combine browned beef with tomato paste and vinegar; season with salt and pepper.
2. Add onions, potatoes, carrots, and 3 cups water. And the wine. Bring to a boil. Cover, transfer to oven, and cook until meat is fork-tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

For the folks with the flu:

“Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.”
-P.J. O’Rourke

For the rest of you:

“This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!”
-Julia Child