Well, this last weekend I made Boeuf Bourguignon. It turned very well, but. It could have been better. The Beaujolais Nouveau was not really up to the task; it needed a red wine with a lot more body. The beef I used, although it said it was chuck steak it didn’t have enough flavour. Maybe chuck steak here in the USA is not the same cut as chuck steak in the UK.
I should have used shin of beef, that is my preferred cut of beef when cooking a beef dish slowly. Rump or flank steak, I should think, would be fine.
They were minor self-criticisms; it turned out quite good, very good according to the friends who shared the dish with me.
I accompanied the dish with plain boiled potatoes, extra fresh cooked carrots and fresh gardens peas. It looked very classy but I forgot to take a photo to show it off.
For wine, I served an Argentinean Malbec, a wine I’m quite partial to.
For starter nibbles there were smoked oysters on crispy toast. For after dinner Roquefort and Camembert cheese with crusty French bread or crackers, also in season cherries.
Cooking and eating won’t be so much fun for me in the next few weeks. I have to fall back onto the South Beach diet plan of eating. I want, no need, to lose 20 pounds. I’d like to do before the winter months set in.
South Beach have some very good recipes and eating ideas, but. It’s the things I love I’ll have to miss out on.
Over the next few weeks I’ll include some of the recipes I use. For those of you like me, who need to shed a few pounds it might encourage you to try as well
