Boeuf Bourguignon and Coquilles St Jacques Recipe

So today I am trying something different. I have been asked about technique and other such humdrum stuff. This is the almost start to finish for a dinner out of my kitchen.

I have a bijou galley kitchen, which simply means it is extremely small, though conveniently designed, and that the appliances date from the Johnson Administration.

Thanks to the dollar store, IKEA, Goodwill, The Salvation Army, Ross and a few friends that have contributed to the cause I have the equipment to whip up d@mn near anything in this pokey hole.

Today we are working on Boeuf Bourguignon with an appetizer of Coquilles St Jacques, this will be served with a tossed green salad with French Vinaigrette, fresh French bread from the bakery (We will pick that up this afternoon, fresh at four o'clock). Dessert will be the Strawberry sorbet I published earlier today.

The menu:

Coquille St Jacques (Scallops in white wine and cream sauce)
Boeuf Bourguinon (Beef slow cooked in red wine with pearl onions and mushrooms)
Boiled New Potatoes - Fresh Baked French Bread
Green Salad with French Vinaigrette
Strawberry Mint Sorbet

The Wines:
For the Scallops we went with a young Chenin Blanc of a nondescript house
For the Beef, we had an absolute treat a Gypsy Dancer Pinot Noir, more expensive than a bottle of twenty year old Glenfiddich. My recommendation would be a robust Pinot Noir or Merlot. Ask your wine merchant for a wine to go with Boeuf Bourguinon and they will set you on the right path, mention a budget though or you may end up with a 60 dollar bottle, they are worse that insurance salemen! I still don't know at what time a hippopotamus will run through my drawing room, but should it happen I am insured.
With the salad, no extra wine was served, only heathens drink wine with vinegar...OK I fail on that rule quite a bit.
The dessert, by it's nature of being a sorbet, should be served only with Champagne if anything at all. We felt tipsy enough to roll though this course without any more wine.

For the beef:

Bacon

Olive oil

3 pounds of beef cubed

Two onions chopped

Bay leaf

3 Cloves garlic

½ teaspoon of thyme

2 cups of red wine

1 Tbs tomato paste

2 cups of beef stock

1 Carrot peeled and sliced

24 Pearl onions

½ Pound small button mushrooms

Cornstarch to thicken (just a wee bit)

Boiled new potatoes to serve

Butter or olive oil for the onions and mushrooms

For the Scallops:

1 Pound of small scallops

1/2 cup of white wine

1/4 cup of water

2 Tablespoons of butter

1/2 Cup of half and half or cream

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup of shredded Swiss cheese

2 Tablespoons of parsley

4 Cockle shells, shell shaped dishes or large ramekins

We actually start in the middle of the process with the first picture.

This shows the beef, started a few hour earlier and left alone, the reserved scallops in the center in the baking dish, on the lower left the scallop cooking liquid being reduced, and on the right front burner the shallots being sauteed.

For the beef one should start early, brown the bacon in a large pot over low heat till it is browned and the fat has been rendered. Add the beef turn up the heat and brown all over stirring occasionally, take about five minutes and add the sliced onions and garlic. Stir well and keep stirring till the onions are golden. Add the tomato paste a stir, it should start to turn brown, then add half the red wine and using a wooden spoon (I use bamboo) scrape up the bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Now add the bay leaf, the thyme and the parsley sprigs. Continue to cook over relatively high heat for five minutes then add the, carrots, beef stock and the rest of the wine reduce the heat to the lowest and cook covered for one and a half hours, do not stir, do not uncover except to check flavor. After a time even on low it will begin to bubble when it reaches the perfect simmer (That is when the heat is so low there is no where to go but the ingredients are so hot they bubble anyway).

For the scallops: Heat the wine and water in a small pan, add the scallops and cook two to three minutes. Strain the scallops reserving the cooking liquid. Set the scallops aside. Return the liquid to the pan and add the bay leaf. Place the liquid over medium high heat and reduce to about half of what it was.

In the meantime saute the shallots in a bit of the butter, see left, use medium heat, if they brown that is OK, but as soon as you notice it take them off the heat for a second and add the cream add a teaspoon of cornstarch mixed to a paste with a tablespoon of water. Stir constantly, it will get thick, remove from heat as soon as it thickens.














Left we are stiring the thickened shallots and cream into the reduced scallop liquid, it may separate for a second, but whisk as seen left for a few minutes and remove from the heat. Add the reserved scallops and set aside.



















Returning to the beef:
Saute the pearl onions and mushrooms in separate pans in the remaining butter. The onions should get caramelized, after five to ten minutes, the mushrooms should be cooked for about five minutes, either set aside or if the beef has cooked for two hours add to the stew and cook uncovered for 45 minutes to one hour. Just enough time to jump in the shower and get all the skank off from cooking all day, and dress in something resembling human.





To the left we have the beef getting ready for it's last 45 minutes of stewing.
















About twenty minutes before dinner boil some peeled new potatoes in plain water, cook them well and set them aside but keep warm.

If you have not already, stir the scallops into the sauce and deposit in the ramekins or scallop shells ( I got these from the Salvation Army 1.99 for four! *Note if you do buy scallop shells from anyone other than a fishmonger, make sure they have not been varnished or anything funky, this goes for shells that you might be tempted to buy at Craft Stores, where they are often treated with bleaching agents. )

Here to the left are filled shells ready to head under the broiler.











The result, broiled Coquilles St Jacques. They have been photograghed as served on a heated slab of slate placed on a thick wood board (So as not to damage the table.). However the lemons tend to sizzle.

Sorry it's an old technique.

My mother would serve fondue in a rather similar way. She would place as many bricks as there were guests in the oven or on the outdoor grill.

At serving time a wooden board soaked in water and dried off would be placed in front of each guest, then a hot brick would be provided and placed on the board, it would steam with the wet board, then a ramekin of bubbling fondue was placed on the brick, a collection of raw vegetables and bread chunks was placed in the center. Your own personal bubbling fondue. Though these days I could see myself getting sued for burning someone with a brick incidentally. Believe me, If I burn you with a brick it was not accidental.

I will add the picture of the beef, tomorrow as the light is not well, and the stupid standing lights are interfering with my ironing board.