Here is my Bœuf bourguignon recipe that I adapted from this recipe. My guests seem to have appreciated it every time I made this dish over the years.

Ingredients

For 8 servings:
- 1 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot.
- 2 tablespoons brandy
- 2 onions, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 sprig fresh parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 10 whole black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 pounds cubed beef chuck roast
- 4 Tablespoon of Olive oil
- 1/4 pound bacon, cubed
- 2 onions, chopped
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the wine, cognac, onions, carrots, parsley, bay leaf, garlic, peppercorns and salt. Mix well and add the cubed beef. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
2. The next day, strain the meat from the vegetables and marinade; reserve marinade. Dry meat with paper towels. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large tall pot over medium high heat. Add the meat and saute for 10 minutes, or until browned on all sides. Transfer meat to a separate medium bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. In the same pot, add the bacon and saute until lightly browned. Transfer the bacon to the bowl with the meat. Drain the pot and return it to the heat. Pour a cup of marinade into the pot to deglaze the pot, scraping the bottom to loosen up all the little bits. Return this liquid to the reserved marinade.
4. Heat some olive oil in the pot. Add the onion and carrot from the marinade, along with the additional onion that you’ve chopped, and saute for 5 minutes, or until tender. Transfer this mixture to the bowl with the meat and bacon, again using a slotted spoon, and return pot to the heat. Add the flour to the pot, combining with the oil and stir until well mixed and brown, about 2 minutes.
5. Now add the tomato paste, garlic, beef broth, reserved marinade and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and whisk to remove any flour lumps.
6. Now pour the meat and vegetable mixture into the pot and cook for 6 to 8 hours on low heat, stirring occasionally and adding water as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. About 15 minutes before meat is done baking, melt butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. When meat is done, add the mushrooms to the meat mixture, stir well and let sit for about 15 minutes.

You can reheat the stew if you don’t finish in one sitting. It only gets better over time.

For the Pears:
- 4 cups water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 medium-size pears (such as Bosc), peeled

For the Torte:
- 1/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup Almond Paste
- 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 eggs
- 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

For Topping:
- 2 tablespoons apricot preserves
- 1 teaspoon water

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Generously grease a 10-inch cake or tart pan with butter and sprinkle on 1 Tablespoon of the sugar. Set aside.

Over medium-high heat, bring water, sugar, and lemon juice to boil in large saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add pears. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes or until the pears are very tender, stirring occasionally. Cool pears in syrup. (This can be prepared up to 2 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate.)

Mix the almond paste and 1/3 cup of the sugar. Add the butter and mix until completely incorporated.
Beat in the eggs. Add the flour, baking powder and salt, mixing until just combined.
Pour the batter into the pan, spreading evenly with a spatula.

Stem pears and cut each in half lengthwise; scoop out cores. Cut each half into thin slices. Arrange the pears, in a circular pattern covering the entire surface of the batter, slightly overlapping. Place smaller slices in the center.

Bake until the batter puffs up, the edges are golden brown and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 – 35 minutes.

In a small saucepan combine the apricot preserves and water and heat until it becomes translucent and loose. Brush the apricot glaze over the entire top of the pear tart.

Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Adapted from Mixed Salad Annie recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cup of flour (250g)
• 1/2 cup of butter for the crust (125g)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 egg yolk
• some water
• 2/3 cup of butter for the caramel (150g)
• 3/4 cup of granulated sugar (170g)
• 8 to 10 apples (Gala apples are the best)

Instructions

1. Prepare the pie crust by mixing flour, butter, salt, yolk, and water. Mix with your hands until you get a nice ball. I don’t recommend using a food processor. The pie crust taste better when made by hand. The processed dough is more chewy.
2. In a deep round cake pan, place the butter and sugar.
3. Place the pan on the stove.
4. With a wooden spatula, mix butter and sugar. Do not leave the stove unattended.
5. Make a brown caramel. Make sure that it does not get black as it would give a bitter taste to the pie.
6. Peel, core and cut apples into quarters.
7. Arrange the apple quarters on the cooled caramel.
8. If there are some remaining apples, cut into smaller pieces and arrange on top.
9. Cover the apples with the dough (1/8 inch or 4 mm thick), with a diameter slightly greater than the pan.
10. Fold the dough edges inside the pan.
11. Bake in hot oven (375F or 190C) until the crust is golden brown. The crust is almost done when you can see the caramel rising around it
12. After cooking, cover the pan with a larger dish and unmould the tarte tatin while it is still hot.

Bon appétit!

Last month, we went to Spain for a week. It was nice to warm up our old bones to the sun before returning to Calgary and get ready for the frigid winter. We had a lot of sun and a lot of fun. I even had a tan for a few days after our return.

I was really impressed by this country unknown to me even though it is only one hour away by car from where I grew up. I had to live in Canada before getting an opportunity to visit Madrid. Life is strange…

We drank a lot of Sangria and I had to find a recipe as soon as we landed back in Calgary.

One thing I am lacking here in north America is access to good wines. Regardless if you are tanning by the pool, cooking tartes tatin, or shoveling snow, you want to be able to enjoy a good glass of wine afterward.

I have ordered my USB Wine right after watching this video and I sincerely hope you are going to do the same. For 9.95 euros, it is a bargain!