Welcome to Salt, with Soul 2024. Each month, we explore a theme through essays, recipes, and more. The theme for January is “Julia” in honor of Julia Child. We’ll be exploring her life, learning her recipes, and finding inspiration in the way she lived with such gusto. You can learn more about the books, movies and our why here.
Welcome to the last piece of our first theme: the recipe. It’s no secret that the kitchen is what inspired me to create Salt, with Soul, and going into this year, I wanted to be more intentional with the recipes I share. The goal is to avoid being superfluous, and different months will have different flows of content.
With this month’s theme being “Julia”, I knew I had to choose a recipe that was tried and true. I researched her most famous dishes, oscillating between attempting a coq au vin, or a potato leek soup. While all of the recipes looked delicious, it wasn’t until I stumbled upon her Beef Bourguignon that I felt inspired.
I’ve always had an aversion to “stew”: the ones I had in the past were thick, meaty, and lacked complexity in flavor. Somehow, I knew that couldn’t be true for a dish Julia shared, so I decided to take something I didn’t like and try it in a new way.
It’s no wonder that the first dish Julia cooked on television was her beef bourguignon: with little wiggle room to fail, it’s a dish that consistently delivers. It’s simple, it’s smart in the way the flavor is built upon, and after spending six hours with Julia’s dish, I now understand the appeal of her cooking.
As the dish cooks over time, it becomes more than dinner: it’s an immersive, theatrical performance where all the ingredients have time in the spotlight. Each hour, a different ingredient is highlighted: from the simmering beef to the burgundy meeting the thyme, the aroma envelops your home.
In a generation that is built on “hustle culture” and “corporate ladders”, Julia’s cooking reminds us of the importance of slowing down and enjoying the process. Her meals are not “quick and easy” with hard-to-find ingredients. No, her meals are simple but demand the most important ingredient of all: time.
And, that is what catapulted Julia to fame.
Through her cooking, she taught families the importance of time together. Through her perseverance and vision, she taught women that they should demand what they want in life. Through her personality and contagious laugh, she taught us all the power of authenticity.
Julia did not teach America how to cook- she taught America how to live.
When I chose “Julia” as my first "theme”, I expected to be drawn to her marriage- subconsciously looking for advice as I embarked on mine. What I’ve learned over the last month of delving into her life is so much more valuable. I’ve learned the importance of creating a life worth living: from customizing your kitchen to your needs to finding hobbies that bring you joy, the best moments are the ones outside of what’s expected of you. I’ve learned that “love” is synonymous with “respect”, and that the only relationships worth having are grounded in both. Most importantly, I’ve learned that the best stories take time- and that life is only worth living when we enjoy the process, not rush to the end goal.
In choosing to learn about Julia Child, we have set the tone of how we want to live this year: freely, and with gumption.
Now, let’s dive into her famous Beef Bourguignon- this is transcribed from her cookbook and not an OG LG recipe
I did make a few adjustments:
I couldn’t find pearl onions, so I skipped them.
We’re not a mushroom family, so I skipped adding them in, too.
I used rosemary, in addition to thyme, because I have an obsession with the herb.
I used a slow cooker, which was controversial to Dan since he said “he never saw a stew cooked in a slow cooker.” He’s probably right since the six hours thinned out the stew, which is how I liked it (again, horrible memories of thick, chonky, flavorless stew haunt me), but if you go this route, just add more flour.
I made my own garlic mashed potatoes as a base, but you could use rice or noodles.
INGREDIENTS:
6 ounces bacon, solid chunk
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 lbs lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄4teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups red wine (a full-bodied wine like Bordeaux or Burgundy or Chianti)
2 -3 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, mashed (you may choose to add more)
1 sprig thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
1 bay leaf, preferably fresh
Alternative: 1 sprig of rosemary
FOR THE BRAISED ONIONS
18 -24 white pearl onions, peeled
1 1⁄2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1⁄2 tablespoons olive oil
1⁄2 cup beef stock
salt & fresh ground pepper
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
2 sprigs parsley
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER:
First prepare the bacon: cut off the rind and reserve.
Cut the bacon into lardons about 1/4" thick and 1 1/2" long.
Simmer the rind and the lardons for ten minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water.
Drain and dry the lardons and rind and reserve.
Pre-heat the oven to 450°F.
Put the tablespoon of olive oil in a large (9" - 10" wide, 3" deep) fireproof casserole and warm over moderate heat.
Sauté the lardons for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly.
Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.
Dry off the pieces of beef and sauté them, a few at a time in the hot oil/bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides.
Once browned, remove to the side plate with the bacon.
In the same oil/fat, sauté the onion and the carrot until softened.
Pour off the fat and return the lardons and the beef to the casserole with the carrots and onion.
Toss the contents of the casserole with the salt and pepper and sprinkle with the flour.
Set the uncovered casserole in the oven for four minutes.
Toss the contents of the casserole again and return to the hot oven for 4 more minutes.
Now, lower the heat to 325°F and remove the casserole from the oven.
Add the wine and enough stock so that the meat is barely covered.
Add the tomato paste, garlic and herbs, and the bacon rind.
Bring to a simmer on the top of the stove.
Cover and place in the oven, adjusting the heat so that the liquid simmers very slowly for three to four hours.
The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
While the meat is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms and set them aside till needed.
For the onion, if using frozen, make sure they are defrosted and drained.
Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet and add the onions to the skillet.
Sauté over medium heat for about ten minutes, rolling the onions about so they brown as evenly as possible, without breaking apart.
Pour in the stock, season to taste, add the herbs, and cover.
Simmer over low heat for about 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape and the liquid has mostly evaporated.
Remove the herbs and set the onions aside.
For the mushrooms, heat the butter and oil over high heat in a large skillet.
As soon as the foam begins to subside add the mushrooms and toss and shake the pan for about five minutes.
As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.
TO FINISH THE STEW:
When the meat is tender, remove the casserole from the oven and empty its contents into a sieve set over a saucepan.
Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it (discarding the bits of carrot onion and herbs that remain in the sieve).
Distribute the mushrooms and onions over the meat.
Skim the fat off the sauce and simmer it for a minute or two, skimming off any additional fat that rises to the surface.
You should be left with about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.
If the sauce is too thick, add a few tablespoons of stock.
If the sauce is too thin, boil it down to reduce it to the right consistency.
Taste for seasoning.
Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.
If you are serving immediately, place the covered casserole over medium-low heat and simmer 2 to 3 minutes.
Serve in the casserole or on a warm platter surrounded by noodles, potatoes or rice and garnished with fresh parsley.
If serving later or the next day, allow the casserole to cool and place cold, covered casserole in the refrigerator.
20 minutes prior to serving, place over medium-low heat and simmer very slowly for ten minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.
Thank you for joining me on this journey back in time. I’m already working on the components of next month’s theme, and I’ll give you a hint:
I’ll see you Friday for a little Martini Monologues. As always, I’m so grateful you’re here.
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