Beef

French Fridays: Belgian Beef Stew with Beer and Spice Bread – David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen

March 19, 2016 by Renee

Carbonnade flamande au pain d’épice

This recipe could not have come at a better time. We’ve been experiencing some fabulously warm weather here in NYC the past few weeks, but alas, this weekend, to celebrate the Spring Equinox, a dip in the thermometer and another snowfall is in the forecast. The heat in my house has been turned back on and all the windows are tightly closed. So it’s only apropos that we recreate this hearty stew on this last, cold weekend of winter.

Beef carbonnade is popular in Belgium and in the north of France where the winters are long and the ales are plentiful. The “winter warmer” beers are brewed to be stronger, richer and more full-bodied and taste great when you are curled up next to a roaring fire while you are wrapped in your snuggliest blanket or here, where it’s used to slowly braise a piece of meat into tamed tenderness.

The crucial choice will be, of course, which beer or ale you choose to use for your carbonnade. The variety will really transform the character of the dish depending on the beer’s profile. Needless to say, a good Belgian ale, perhaps of the Trappist variety, such as Chimay, would really be the best choice, but another, with good character, particularly an amber ale, will work just as well.

The distinctive feature of this dish is the spice bread coated with a thin layer of mustard (I used Maille Dijon, of course) that is used to flavor and thicken the sauce. Using the French classic, pain d’épices, a deeply-infused bread spiced with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and honey, it’s reminiscent of gingerbread or Lekach, a honey-cake, and is intensely aromatic. The bread’s distinctive flavor improves with an overnight rest, giving the flavors time to mellow.

As the dish cooks, the bread breaks down and melts into the braising liquid, providing a thick, rich and slightly sweet and sour sauce that clings to the tender hunks of beef.

While the stew is simmering, during its last hour, you have just enough time to make a batch of herbed fresh pasta to go alongside.

Get the recipes for Belgian Beef Stew with Beer & Spice Bread on pages 198 and 293 of My Paris Kitchen. The herbed fresh pasta can be found on page 230.

For details on recreating these recipes, check out the CookTheBookFridays site and see others who are also cooking the book-

You can also buy the book here:

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Boeuf a la Ficelle (Beef on a String) – French Fridays with Dorie

February 8, 2014 by Renee

This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe is a bit extravagant. Dorie says Boeuf a la Ficelle is her choice for New Year’s Eve dinners. I would have to agree- it’s quite elegant and celebration worthy. Which is perfect as I am celebrating taking a new job. I’ve been home with my little people for nearly five years after working in the tv ad industry for the whole of my adult life. It’s been a truly wonderful, extended sabbatical, I am extremely grateful for the time and experiences I have had, (I still worked- could never not – designing websites and handling social media for a few small businesses) but it will be fantastic going back to full time out of the house, work. I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity (this one in particular, actually) and am so happy I did, as it finally arrived. When I met Dorie a few months ago and we talked about the job I wanted, she had a saying for being unemployed- “in between chairs” and now, I thrilled to say, I have a chair again!

So we are celebrating with a bottle of wine, and this lovely filet with vegetables and broth.

The dish takes quite a bit of time to prepare. But it is so worth it! First you make the bouillon, which is a beef stock accented with vegetables. According to the recipe, the bouillon takes an hour or so to make. However, we wanted more than just bouillon and wanted to have more of a flavorful stock so we made it the traditional way- roasting the bones in the oven and simmering for eight hours (or overnight as we did). This long, slow simmer really extracts all of the flavors from the bones, vegetables and herbs. The result is a deeply infused bouillon.

Next, a melody of vegetables- carrots, turnips, potatoes, leeks and shallots- are cooked in the broth and set aside while you make the filet. The filet is tied with butchers string leaving a long loop of string so you can easily lower the meat into the boiling liquid and remove it minutes later. It emerges from the pot quite bleu (rare), but with a douse of hot broth, it cooks even a bit more in the “soup”. Any reservations about poaching the filet that I had was quickly extinguished with the first bite. Everyone, including the kids (even the picky one!) loved it.

It’s a hearty, rich dish, soothing with it’s broth, luxurious with the filet and very fulfilling with the vegetables. A perfect celebratory meal. We served it with a warm, fresh baguette which we used to soak up every last bit of broth. A dollop of horseradish sauce (or mustard) and a sprinkle of fleur de sel is all it needed!

I also found this terrific interview with Dorie discussing this very dish… check it out!

While I cannot share the actual recipe, you can (and should!) buy the book and cook along with us. It’s great fun! Every Friday we make a new recipe. Looking forward to next weeks! For details and to see how others are recreating the dishes from this awesome book, check out the FFWD site.

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Salisbury Steak Recipe- An Easy, Fast Midweek Dinner

January 14, 2014 by Renee

I’ve made this Salisbury Steak recipe twice in the past few weeks and it’s quickly giving my meatloaf a run for it’s money as the most requested dinner in my house. Even the little guy loves it and eats a whole patty, which is a lot for him.

When I first made Salisbury Steak years ago, I didn’t have any mustard powder in the cupboard so I used yellow mustard instead and I’ve never made it any other other way since. I just love the mustard flavor too so sometimes I will add a bit more in.

My favorite part is the gravy. It becomes so rich and creamy with the addition of butter and cream right at the end. Serve with a good starch, like mashed potatoes or thick egg noodles on the side to sop up any that is remaining.

From start to finish this recipe only takes about a half hour to make, so it’s perfect for a last minute, quick dinner for the middle of the week. Don’t bother washing the pan in between sauteing the onions and frying the patties. You’ll also want to keep some of the bits of browned meat in the bottom after you drain the oil for your gravy.

It’s been a long time since I’ve made this and I am glad I brought it back into the rotation. I hope you like it too!

Salisbury Steak

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

Author: Renee

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons butter, divided into single tablespoons
½ cup plain breadcrumbs
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon ketchup, reserve 1 tablespoon for the gravy
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, reserve 1 teaspoon for the gravy
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups beef broth, reserve 2 tablespoons to make a slurry
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Salt & Pepper to taste

Method

In a large saute pan over medium high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the sliced onion and cook until they are just softened. (The onions will cook more later.) Remove to a bowl and set aside. Don't bother cleaning the pan as you will reuse it.
In a large bowl combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, ¼ cup of ketchup, mustard, 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce, and a few grinds of fresh black pepper. Mix well and shape into 4 oblong patties.
Over medium high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter combined with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in your large saute pan. Add the beef patties and brown on both sides being sure to not flip the patties too soon as you don't want them to fall apart. Continue until cooked through. (About 5-7 minutes.)
Remove the patties to a plate and drain the pan of the oil.
Reduce the heat and return the onions to the pan. Add the beef broth minus the 2 tablespoons. Add 1 tablespoon of ketchup and 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce. Mix well.
To make the slurry, in a small bowl combine the cornstarch and the reserved beef broth. Mix with a fork until all of the cornstarch is dissolved.
Bring the gravy to a boil then add the slurry stirring continuously. Your gravy will thicken quite a bit.
Return the beef patties to the pan and coat with the gravy, continuing to cook until heated through.
Finish by adding 1 tablespoon of butter and heavy cream. Stirring to mix into the gravy. Add salt & pepper to taste. (You may not need any salt as Worcestershire sauce is quite salty.)
Remove the patties, gravy and onions to a serving platter. Enjoy!