If Christmas is anything, it sure is filled with food. For treats to give away, I made 2 kinds of chocolate bark (one white chocolate/candy cane and one vegan dark chocolate/salted mixed nuts), a peanut butter/dark chocolate fudge, vegan chocolate-peanut butter squares, and my friend Kyla’s recipe for dark chocolate gingerbread truffles. Yes, I definitely went overboard on the sweet gifts and we still have lots in our fridge to keep us nibbling throughout the new year.
On December 24th, Cornelius and I woke up with Bailey’s fever. Bailey’s Irish Cream went into our morning coffee and managed to sneak it’s way into our waffle batter. Definitely a delicious way to start the day! The rest of the day was spent playing board games and watching movies — everything from “The Lords of Dogtown” to “The Shop Around the Corner” (my favorite Christmas movie I’ve decided). Cornelius made me my favorite drink, the classic Canadian Caesar and I made him a blender drink full of strawberries, orange juice, vodka and Southern Comfort. It was time for dinner.
When I was little, my mom would often make boeuf bourguignon for Sunday dinners from her trusty Madame Benoit cookbook. I shamefully do not have any Jehane Benoit cookbooks so my recipe came from another old standby, The Joy of Cooking. This meal is rich and beyond satisfying and made a perfect Christmas Eve meal. I was hoping to serve it with dreamy white beans from the lovely Orangette, but I forgot to soak the beans the night before. Instead, I opted for roasted potatoes sprinkled with fresh thyme. Not a bad choice.
boeuf bourguignon
1/2 lb. bacon
Peel, add and saute lightly:
12 small onions or 4 shallots
Remove pork and onions from the pan. Cut into 1 inch dice and saute in the hot fat until light brown:
2 lbs. lean beef
Sprinkle the meat with:
1 1/2 T flour
Place it in an ovenproof dish with:
1 t salt
4 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1/2 t thyme
Cover meat with dry red wine and water (3/4 part wine to 1/4 part water).
Cook covered in oven for 1 hour. Place the pork and onions on top and contiue to cook for another hour or until the beef is tender. Or simmer the beef covered on top of the stove for about 1 1/2 hours in all. Add 1 c sauteed mushrooms and heat through. Adjust seasonings if necessary.*Before I added the mushrooms, I added a bunch of baby carrots cut in half. Sometimes a bit of veg is necessary!
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yum!
Hm. Bailey’s in waffle batter! Breakfast suddenly got a lot more appealing. 😉 – Jana
Thanks Rachel and Jana!