so the new issue of Bon Appetit came in the mail (woot) and they’ve got a new column called Sunday Suppers. The recipes featured in that column i will be making next Sunday for sure (as well a whole bunch of others i’ve got dog-eared) but it got me wondering if there were people who don’t have a big to-do dinner on Sundays. Is this something people don’t do anymore? I hope they do. There’s nothing more comforting than to dig into platters and bowls of a big meal on a Sunday. I – and many other busy working people – just don’t have the time to go all out on the weekdays and fast and easy have become the adjectives i look for primarily when i make my weekly menus. When i was a kid Sunday was usually (most of the time) our grill out day and we always had fajitas, beans, tortillas, etc. Sometimes mom did the pot roast or whole roasted chicken thing – traditional Sunday dinner fare. I’ve pretty much carried that on because i can’t not make something fancy-ish on Sunday. Saturdays are our fun food days (chicken wings, burgers, pizzas, delicious, cheese laden tex mex) and Sundays are the days i do my week’s prep work and yeast-based items (if i feel so inclined). I also do up a fairly large and comfort-food-ish Sunday dinner. But since I like a lot of variety in the things we eat (you would never, ever be able to say something like “oh it’s Thursday which means tacos for dinner” in my house), i try to plan something other than pot roast, roasted chicken, etc. etc. I ran across a recipe on Le Tartine Gourmande about a rather delicious and homey looking dish called Boeuf aux Carottes and it just looked like a really perfect dinner to ride out the rest of our stubbornly clinging winter (spring is coming – i swear!). I served mine with potatoes instead of brown rice to further the whole “comfort food” vibe i’m always looking for and then rounded out the carbarific party with some hot, crisped baguette and we were completely satisfied. That’s what Sunday dinner should be to me.
Boeuf Aux Carottes
recipe found here
You Need:
2 Tbls olive oil
1 Tbls butter
some boneless stew beef cut into cubes (I used tri tip because I like it)
1/2 a red onion, thinly sliced
a few sprigs of thyme (fresh please)
carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces (i used about 3 medium sized carrots which was enough for me and erik and some leftovers)
2 stalks of celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup dry white wine
cold water
a bay leaf
salt and pepper
heat a tablespoon of oil and a tablespoon of butter in a dutch oven. when the butter has melted, cook half of your beef (in a single layer), leaving it alone for about 3 – 4 minutes, until well browned on one side. turn the beef and brown the rest. remove to a bowl and brown the rest of your beef. remove that batch to the bowl (along with its juices). heat up the remaining tablespoon of oil in the pot. drop in your onions and a sprig of thyme. cook for a couple of minutes. add in the celery and carrots. cook another few minutes. stir in the white wine and the beef with its juices. cover everything with cold water, bay leaves, salt and pepper. bring to a boil, then lower the heat. cover and let it simmer, stirring occasionally, for a couple of hours, or until the beef has softened up a lot. serve with mashed potatoes and a sprig of thyme for garnish and with some crisped baguette, if you’d like.
Food Food Food! 