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.

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.

The curse is over. I finally managed to cook a Tarte Tatin without alerting the fire department. It tastes very good too!

Tonight, Melissa and I participated for the first time in the Scarboro dinner club. Scarboro is the name of our Calgarian neighborhood. Couples get together once a month and while hosts prepare an entrée (a great BBQ salmon tonight) guests bring salad, appetizer, and dessert.

Couples rotates every month and you never dine with the same persons twice for the duration of the program. I was impressed by all well travelled all the individuals at the table were. We talked about Egypt, Germany, Tanzania, Russia, Poland, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, France, Panama, and many others country that I don’t recall.

I was tasked with the dessert and not wanting to repeat my springform pan experience, I decided to got with another burnt dessert. Here is the recipe for your enjoyment.

For four servings:

• 1½ cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1 tea spoon of pure vanilla extract
• ½ tea spoon of orange extract
• 4 egg yolks
• ¼ cup of granulated sugar
• ¼ cup of brown sugar

1. Bring the whipping cream, vanilla extract, and orange extract to a boil. Let it rest
2. Beat the egg yolks with the granulated sugar
3. Pour the whipping cream into the egg yolks and mix well
4. Pour the custard in four individual dishes
5. Put the individual dishes in a pan and pour water between the dishes so they barely float in the pan
6. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes at 350F until custard is set
7. Let rest at room temperature for four hours
8. Sprinkle with brown sugar and broil (using the oven) for a couple of minutes. Make sure you keep you eyes while it broils or you going to burn more than the cream! In my case, I keep the fire extinguisher at hand but this may not be necessary in your case.

Serve cold.