What to Eat in France: Boeuf Bourguignon

Published by Saturday, November 14, 2015 Permalink 0

What to Eat in France: Boeuf Bourguignon, or Burgundy-style beef stew in red wine, inspired by French chef Bernard Loiseau

by Jonell Galloway

Boeuf à la bourguignonne, also referred to as beef or boeuf bourguignon, is a French classic from the Burgundy wine region of France. It is made with red Burgundy wine, and simmered for hours. It makes up part of what the French refer to as “plats cuisinés“, or slow-cooked dishes.

This recipe is quite easy to make, and should serve about 8 people. Plan to make it well in advance, since it is best when it is left to marinate for 24 hours and cook slowly several hours on the day of serving. It is the perfect dish for dinner parties or potlucks, and is one of the best leftovers around.

Boeuf Bourguignon Recipe

Click here for metric-Imperial-U.S. recipe converter

Serves 8

Preparation time: 45 min

Cooking time: 2 1/2 to 3 hrs
Marinating: 24 hrs
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What to Eat in France: Saffron Mussel Soup

Published by Wednesday, July 29, 2015 Permalink 0

What to Eat in France: Soupe de moules safranée, or Saffron Mussel Soup

by Jonell Galloway

Saffron mussel soup is from the Loire region. The particularity of the Loire version of this soup is that it has leeks, which are not commonly used with mussels. The Loire Valley produces more than 24% of all leeks in France, more than any other region.

The proportions of the ingredients can vary, although the fumet needs a bit more precision than the mussels and soup. The general rule is to make as much fumet as you need for the amount of mussels you’ve cooked.

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Food Art: Taste and Light, a food photography exhibition by Rob Stewart

Published by Thursday, February 28, 2013 Permalink 0

Artichokes

Picture 1 of 24

Bio

I have been passionate about food for a long, long time now. The creative door was pushed wide open for me in the 1970’s – working as a young commis chef at the Carlton Tower Hotel in London. An inspirational chef, Bernard Gaume, at the forefront of UK Cuisine Nouvelle – in its correct context as taught by Fernand Point and further developed by Michel Gérard, Roger Vergé and the Troisgros brothers; not the misunderstood object of derision it later became. But oh, the ingredients! Live langoustine and crayfish every week, baskets of wild mushrooms in season, direct from France and the fish! So fresh and always whole and untouched until we got our hands on them. And the herbs, boxes of intensely fragrant basil and tarragon and my own favourite chervil whose subtlety belies a very happy marriage with eggs and cream. Ingredients that are sirens to the soul, how could one not fall in love with cooking? I should mention foie gras too – for which (and I make no apology) I have developed a life-long passion. I never thanked M. Gaume – and I should like to, I owe him a lot; he got me started.

A new chef joined us – Ian McAndrew – a brilliant chef of his generation, who was kind enough to introduce me to Anton Mosimann at the Dorchester Hotel and the journey began again, lifting me to new heights and experiences. This quietly charismatic chef had incredible vision and a passion for the best ingredients that was so infectious. Special moments were travelling with Hr Mosimann to the Dracula Club in St Moritz to cook a special dinner for 50 people, and competing in the Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt (and winning gold) as part of the Dorchester Hotel team. There is a picture of me (with others) in The Essential Mosimann; I didn’t know this when the book was first published and only saw it years later. It brought back many happy memories!

On my return from a season at the Hotel Kulm in St Moritz, I applied for, and got, a position at the Connaught Hotel in London. Michel Bourdin was only the 4th Head Chef there in 80 years and the kitchen was steeped in history, tradition, experience and…truffles! These have since been added to my list that includes foie gras – nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, compares to the aroma of a wicker basket full of fresh truffles. Almost impossible to describe flavour or aroma – and I have been asked many times. Holder of two Michelin stars, the passion M. Bourdin held was so tangible and visible – Hr Mosimann and M. Gaume had this too, but it was quieter, controlled. With M. Bourdin it was always bubbling on the surface in a way that was exciting and very Gallic!

I worked at the Carlton Tower and Connaught twice, the Dorchester only once, but for a longer period. Although there were other good kitchens, it is these three brilliant and great chefs that nurtured my love of food.

And so on to photography. A passion developed later in life, and one I wished I’d started much earlier. So much thought goes into the way a chef wants to present a dish and yet it is eaten so quickly! A photograph preserves that moment in time, yet if the food is to be eaten as well, the opportunity to get the shot is as fleeting as a landscape photographer catching the dying rays of the setting sun. Food ingredients themselves also offer endless scope for photography, whether a macro shot of mushroom gills or a beautifully back-lit rhubarb leaf or colourful stems of rainbow chard. The photograph gives us the opportunity to show our appreciation and respect for fine ingredients in a way that presents them at their best and stimulates our senses.

Whether a finished dish, a beautiful ingredient or the people that inspire, food photography should seek to convey that passion and make us hungry for more!

 

You can see more of Rob’s work at Real Food Photography.

 

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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, September 21, 2012

Published by Friday, September 21, 2012 Permalink 0

by Simón de Swaan

Some sensible person once remarked that you spend the whole of your life in your bed or in your shoes. Having done the best you can buy shoes and bed, devote all the time and resources at your disposal to the building up a fine kitchen. It will be, as it should be, the most comforting and comfortable room in the house.–Elizabeth David, Slow Food, 1951

here was a British cookbook writer who, on her return from “exile” in Egypt after WW2, decided that action had to be taken with regard to the quality of food in Britain. She was outright hostile to second-rate cooking and the use of frozen, canned and out-of-season ingredients, and is, in many people’s mind, a precursor of the concept of Slow Food. In any case, she was a primary mover in bringing true traditional home cooking using quality ingredients back into the mainstream in Britain.

All her books are listed here, and most are still available at Book Depository or other online independent booksellers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, August 31, 2012

Published by Friday, August 31, 2012 Permalink 0

by Simón de Swaan

Some people like to paint pictures, or do gardening, or build a boat in the basement. Other people get a tremendous pleasure out of the kitchen, because cooking is just as creative and imaginative an activity as drawing, or wood carving, or music.–Julia Child


Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is best known for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her début cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which premiered in 1963.

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French Food Quote: Daily Food Quote, August 5, 2011

Published by Friday, August 5, 2011 Permalink 0

by Anne Bragance

A woman’s movements when in her kitchen need no interpretation; they are like the musician’s movements when he is playing his instrument, like those of a painter as he sits in front of his canvas. No words are required to understand.

Les gestes d’une femme dans sa cuisine sont immédiatement intelligibles, comparables un peu à ceux du musicien qui joue d’un instrument, à ceux du peintre devant sa toile. Nul besoin de paroles alors.

Anne Bragance, Un goût du soleil

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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, August 5, 2011

Published by Friday, August 5, 2011 Permalink 0

by Simon de Swaan

Rational habits permit of discarding nothing left over, and the use to which leftovers (and their economic allies, the wild things of nature) are put is often at the heart of a cooking’s character.–Richard Olney

Richard Olney (1835-1917) was an American cookbook author, most noted for The French Menu Cookbook, and included in The Guardian‘s “The 50 Best Cookbooks.” The Guardian said: “On a summer afternoon at his home in Provence in 1999, the American food writer Richard Olney went to lie down after a light lunch, and never woke up. He was 72, and had led an interesting and fulfilling life (his friends included the writer James Baldwin, the poet John Ashbery, and the painter John Craxton). He had also, unlike many people, been able to cook his own last meal.”

 

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French Food Quotes: Daily Food Quote, July 26, 2011

Published by Wednesday, July 27, 2011 Permalink 0

by Jonell Galloway

This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook — try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!–Julia Child

Julia Child brought French food to post-war America. When her husband Paul was posted to Paris, she studied at L’Ecole du Cordon Bleu, and went on to form her own cooking school with fellow students Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle. The threesome went on to write the 2-volume classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which covered all the basic techniques and dishes of classic French cuisine.

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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, March 31, 2011

Published by Thursday, March 31, 2011 Permalink 0

by Simón de Swaan

Gastronomy is the intelligent knowledge of whatever concerns man’s nourishment.–Jean-Antheleme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), in The Physiology of Taste (1825)

Jean-Antheleme Brillat-Savarin was a French lawyer, magistrate and author who helped to develop the art of food writing. His most famous and influential book, The Physiology of Taste, consists of 8 volumes and was published in December of 1825, two months before his death at the age of 71. His influence is so significant that a cow’s milk cheese, a rum yeast cake, and a ring mold are all named after him.

The Rambling Epicure

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