Friday, December 17, 2010

French Fridays with Dorie - my go-to beef daube

This is Dorie's go-to beef daube...and it will forever more be mine too!  This is one fabulous dish.  When we were in France this summer, friends had us over for our last night at the farm house and made Boeuf Bourguignon, which is similar to a daube.  The bourguigon is a fairly simple dish to make (unless you're following Julia's recipe) and the daube really is too.  Get a good cut of meat, season it with lovely winter vegetables and a bouquet garni, add lots of red wine and then braise for a couple of hours.  What you end up with is a little bit of heaven.

Gather your ingredients

Admire the lovely produce

Admire a little more

You have to admire the meat too, you don't want it to feel left out, after all it is the star of this show!

Put your herbs together in a bouquet garni (that's just fancy talk for wrapping up the fresh herbs in cheesecloth)

All tied up!

Everything is better when you start with bacon

Browning the meat in bacon fat...yum, yum

Onions and shallots get to sweat

Carrots and parsnips join the fun (don't leave out the parsnips, they're important!)

Almost forgot the garlic

Every thing's ready to cook for a couple of hours

When it's all done, here's what you get

Up close and personal...too personal?

I made Dorie's herbed spaetzle to go with and it was fabulous!

The spaetzle was so yummy!

The daube had layers and layers of flavor.  The smoky bacon was underneath everything, the herbs added just the right amount of perfume and the wine tied everything together.  I used Dorie's suggestion of a coastal syrah (from Kendall Jackson) and it was perfect!  I'm going back to the store and buy a case...this is the wine to use for stews.

If you are looking for the perfect way to show your family some wintertime love, this is the meal for you!  If you'd like the recipe, buy Dorie's book (don't worry, I don't make a commission...I just want to make sure Dorie sells enough books so she can write another one!).  If you'd like to see what everyone else at FFwD made this week, check it out.  If you are feeling inspired to join the club, do it.  It's so much fun and we are cooking so many great things...the more the merrier!  Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

34 comments:

Trevor Sis Boom said...

I made this too and I am so in love with it. Thanks for all the process photos. I should just hang it up when it comes to these and link to you!

Welcome to our crazy blessed life said...

Glad my post made you chuckle this morning! :) I love the way your showcased all of the veggies in your photos. This was wonderful!

Anonymous said...

I just love all your process photos, especially the ones "admiring" your vegetables! Great post!

Amy and Lori said...

Your pictures are gorgeous as usual! You make me want to cook this recipe all over again. Perhaps I'll show the family more wintertime love over Christmas.

Cher Rockwell said...

Lovely pictures. Makes me want to sit down and have a bowl! I was so glad this recipe wasn't as inlved as Julia's (and will apply Dorie's short cuts in the future!)

Flourchild said...

I love this one..I have made it about three times now!! It looks really good and I love all of your pictures..make me HunGrY!!!

Jessica of My Baking Heart said...

Beautiful photos, Steph. And the spaetzle? OMG - my absolute favorite dish. Period. :)

Susan said...

Wonderful photographs - and nice addition of the spaetzle! I'll be making 2 versions of the nuts later today.

Anne Marie said...

Spaetzle! You're kinda brilliant! That looks so perfect for a winter meal. Thanks for the tip on the wine. I'm not a wino so I depend on people who know their wine. The wine I used was...I don't remember. It was red and it was "unstructured", according to the wine guy. Next time, the Kendall Jackson syrah.

Anonymous said...

Love your post! Way to splurge on the Kendall Jackson Syrah! We went with 2 buck chuck from Trader Joes at our house. Would love to try this with spaetzle next time - what a great pairing!

Renee said...

The spaetzle looks like the perfect accompaniment! I'm going to make them myself to go with my next stew.
Renée

Kris' Kitchen said...

WOW! Gorgeous photos!!! I am in awe of them. My point and shoot camera does fine for me...until I see such better work. And your stew, etc also looks wonderful. Nice post.

Elaine said...

Seeing your photos just make me want to make it again this weekend. I love all your process photos - so pretty!

A.W. said...

Looking good, Steph! Like the new blog design too!

Christina said...

I love your vibrant photos! And I love spaetzle; it's a perfect choice for this and now I want some. Beautiful work.

Amanda said...

Love it with the spatzle! I made this for my family this week too with several alterations (this is a tough recipe for a family that doesn't eat pork or use alcohol!!)

Candy said...

I loved this too and wish I had tried the spatzle. Maybe next time! Love all the photos!

Kathy said...

Your daube looks fantastic and I loved your photos! I will have to try the spatzle sounds wonderful!

tricia s. said...

I know everyone is already saying this, but....your photos are amazing. They really provide such a great treat and clarification to the journey and process. Thanks for sharing !

Beth said...

Steph...Your pictures are great. I love the lighting and the food looks devine. I always enjoy your post. It is nice to be back and to see what everyone has been cooking. This would be good for a day like today it is pouring. Hmmm I think I'll go cook now. :)B

Anonymous said...

Everything looks great but I love spaetzle and never tried Dorie's. Thanks for giving me wonderful homework.

Anonymous said...

Everything looks great but I love spaetzle and never tried Dorie's. Thanks for giving me wonderful homework.

Mardi Michels said...

Wasn't this the best? Also, now I have seen this, I MUST. MAKE. SPAETZLE. Perfect pairing!

Judy said...

Great photos! I definitely think the wine makes this dish; sure makes the kitchen smell good while it's cooking!

Lana said...

I am yet to make the daube, but looking at your pictures, it will have to happen soon, especially if you say that it is not too time-consuming.
It's raining hard here in California, and a dish like this would fit right in.
Did you change your background? And if not, are you a fellow seamstress, or am I just reading too much from these ribbons?

Steph said...

I love all of your pictures! I absolutely feel in love with this recipe

dorie said...

It's true, anyone could make the recipe by just following your pictures -- great, great job. I'm so glad you were happy with the Daube.

Betsy said...

I LOVE your photos! Your vegetables looks great, definitely worth admiring! The final dish looks yummy! Can't wait to make this one. Great job!

Ana said...

Absolutely great step by step instructions & photographs. I had decided against making this - December is just too busy around here - but you've made me change my mind. Thanks for the wine suggestion.

Ann (napangel) said...

What beautiful photos of the entire process! I've never had spaetzle before ... I'm going to have to try it! I just love this stew!

luciacara said...

Great photos! Your ingredients look so nice & fresh :)

Unknown said...

I loved admiring your meats and veggies! What a great idea!

Anonymous said...

mmmmm. that spaetzle looks great. yum!

Anonymous said...

Your photos were hilarious! Mine turned out much darker red, almost purple.... but still pretty good - enough that I will try it again!