♨酒香牛肉～晚餐电影Julie and Julia

记得在国内时，未婚夫问我的家人我有什么缺点，父母轻描淡写地说：“贪玩儿”，姨妈很直率地说：“不会做饭！赶快学吧！”说完她的眼泪就噗啦啦地流淌下来，生怕我们吃不上饭。未婚夫用他仅有的一点儿中文说：“我们不吃，或者去饭馆儿。”逗得大家哄堂大笑。

先生做好了饿肚子的准备，以为我真的不会做饭，其实没吃过猪肉，还没见过猪跑吗？小时候六七岁还是用蜂窝煤火的时候，我就熬粥揉面，卖肉的叔叔还以为我手上的面是过家家留下的呢。大家聚到一起的时候，姥爷表哥都是烹饪高手，哪里轮的到我掌勺呀？可打打下手，一起包饺子擀皮儿这些活儿还是做过的。

真正有了自己的家，先生很惊讶地发现我还是会做饭的，而且他很容易满足，做什么都夸好。小姑子开玩笑说你害得我们不能去中餐馆了。我想着就是把味道做得复杂一些，酸甜苦辣咸都添进去，选最好的料，做出来自然差不了。赶碰到那些真正会做饭的朋友面前，我就露馅儿了。

～今天试试微甜葡萄酒zinfandel烧牛肉，配上番茄土豆胡萝卜，还有自家产的大枣儿～



原材料如上图：
～牛肉3-4 磅，切成2-3厘米块状
～3-4个大号西红柿，切成小丁
～红皮土豆1~2磅，切成2厘米见方的块
～胡萝卜一磅切成小块
～zinfandel微甜金粉黛酒半瓶
～橘子皮调味
～大红枣适量
～海盐，酱油，可乐半听，烧烤酱调料

 
1. 锅底放少许橄榄油，开大火，加入牛肉翻炒至四面变棕色
2.加入半瓶zinfandel酒，盖上锅盖，闷烧片刻，撇去浮沫
3.加入西红柿丁，和一两个橘子皮撕成小块，这些最后都会化在汤汁里，加少许盐改中火
4.一小时后加入酱油，盐适量，烧烤酱3勺，半听可乐调味
5.半小时后加入土豆块，胡萝卜块。我喜欢红土豆果实比较清爽紧密。
6.再过半小时，若需要再添加酱油盐调味。快出锅时最后十分钟加入冷冻红枣（如果是干枣，可以提前一些加）

 
先加的番茄帮助牛肉绵软，橘皮轻轻一碰就碎在汤里增添清香，微甜的金粉黛酒让汁水浓郁，后添的土豆胡萝卜和牛肉一起成熟，借用可乐，酒和烧烤酱的复杂味道让做出来的食品有层次感，尝尝吧！


去年大枣丰收了，做了酒枣，送人，剩下的冷冻，熬粥，这不，炖肉时也用上了

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

你看过电影Julie&Julia吗？影片里小职员Julie不甘寂寞，开了美食博客，准备每天做一两份法国美食，为自己定下计划365天524个菜谱，学习烹饪大师Julia Child的方子。

让我想起多年前我常在电视里看到Julia Child讲解如何做饭，先生和我常常学她高扬的语调...她的声音真是让人过耳不忘。

影片里的Julia与丈夫在五十多年前来到法国，潜心学习法式烹调，并著书将正宗法式大餐教给美国主妇们。谁不是生活中一点一滴学出来的呢？




Ingredients One 6-ounce piece of chunk bacon
3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
1 carrot, sliced
1 onion, sliced
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 teaspoon thyme
A crumbled bay leaf
18 to 24 white onions, small
3 1/2 tablespoons butter
Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)
1 pound mushrooms, fresh and quartered

Cooking Directions
Remove bacon rind and cut into lardons (sticks 1/4-inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and lardons for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts water. Drain and dry.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Sauté lardons in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a flameproof casserole over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.
Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the lardons.
In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the excess fat.
Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle
position of preheated oven for 4 minutes.
Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and coves the meat with a light crust).
Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.
Stir in wine and 2 to 3 cups stock, just enough so that the meat is barely covered.
Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove.
Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with one and one-half tablespoons of the oil until bubbling in a skillet.
Add onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling them so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect them to brown uniformly.
Add 1/2 cup of the stock, salt and pepper to taste and the herb bouquet.
Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet and set onions aside.
Wipe out skillet and heat remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms.
Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove from heat.
When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan.
Wash out the casserole and return the beef and lardons to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms on top.
Skim fat off sauce in saucepan. Simmer sauce for a minute or 2, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.
If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons stock. Taste carefully for seasoning.
Pour sauce over meat and vegetables. Cover and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times.
Serve in casserole, or arrange stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley.