Jayni and Julia

Jayni Carey tries out some of Julia Child’s most famous recipes on a new episode airing at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Boeuf Bourguignon

As in the case with most famous dishes, there are more ways than one to arrive at a good boeuf bourguignon. Carefully done, and perfectly flavored, it is certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man, and can well be the main course for a buffet dinner. Fortunately you can prepare it completely ahead, even a day in advance, and it only gains in flavor when reheated.

Vegetable and wine suggestions: Boiled potatoes are traditionally served with this dish. Buttered noodles or steamed rice may be substituted. If you also wish a green vegetable, buttered peas would be your best choice. Serve with the beef a fairly bull-bodied, young red wine, such as Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone, Bordeaux-St. Emilion, or Burgundy. For 6 people.

Ingredients:

A 6-ounce chunk of bacon

A 9- to 10-inch fireproof casserole 3 inches deep

1 Tb olive oil or cooking oil

A slotted spoon

3 lbs. lean stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes

1 sliced carrot

1 sliced onion

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 Tb flour

3 cups of a full-bodied, young red wine such as one of those suggested for serving, or a Chianti

2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon

1 Tb tomato paste

2 cloves mashed garlic

1/2 tsp thyme

A crumbled bay leaf

The blanched bacon rind

18 to 24 small white onions, brown-braised in stock (recipe follows)

1 lb. quartered fresh mushrooms sautéed in butter (recipe follows)

Parsley sprigs

Remove rind, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef.

Dry the beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in the lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so 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. Set them aside until needed.

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 bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.

Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have 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 of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.

() Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

For immediate serving: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorated with parsley.

For later serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

— The recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon is from MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck (Volume One). Copyright 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

Oignons Glacés A Brun

(Brown-braised Onions)

Brown-braised onions are used whenever you wish with a brown effect, such as in brown fricassees like coq au vin and boeuf bourguignon, or in a mixture with other vegetables.

For 18 to 24 peeled white onions about 1 inch in diameter:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Tb butter

1 1/2 Tb oil

A 9- to 10-inch enameled skillet

1/2 cup of brown stock, canned beef bouillon, dry white wine, red white, or water (Julia recommends brown-braising the onions in stock.)

Salt and pepper to taste

A medium herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, 1/2 bay leaf, and 1/4 tsp thyme tied in cheesecloth

When the butter and oil are bubbling in the skillet, add the onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling the onions about so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect to brown them uniformly.

Brown braise them as follows:

Pour in the liquid, season to taste, and add the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes, until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet. Serve them as they are, or follow one of the suggestions at the end of the recipe.

() The onions may be cooked hours in advance, and reheated before serving.

— The recipe for Oignons Glacés A Brun is from MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck (Volume One). Copyright 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

Champignons Sautés Au Beurre

(Sautéed Mushrooms)

Use these mushrooms either as a vegetable alone or in a combination with other vegetables, or as an integral part of such dishes as coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon, poulet en cocotte. Successfully sautéed mushrooms are lightly browned and exude none of their juice while they are being cooked; to achieve this the mushrooms must be dry, the butter very hot, and the mushrooms must not be crowded in the pan. If you sauté too many at once they steam rather than fry; their juices escape and they do not brown. So if you are preparing a large amount, or if your heat source is feeble, sauté the mushrooms in several batches.

Ingredients:

A 10-inch enameled skillet

2 Tb butter

1Tb oil

1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, washed, well dried, left whole if small, sliced or quartered if large

Optional: 1 to 2 Tb minced shallots or green onions

Salt and pepper

Place the skillet over high heat with the butter and oil. As soon as you see that the butter foam has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add the mushrooms. Toss and shake the pan for 4 to 5 minutes. During their sauté the mushrooms will at first absorb the fat. In 2 to 3 minutes the fat will reappear on their surface, and the mushrooms will begin to brown. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.

Toss the shallots or green onions with the mushrooms. Sauté over moderate heat for 2 minutes.

(*) Sautéed mushrooms may be cooked in advance, set aside, then reheated when needed. Season to taste just before serving.

— The recipe for Champignons Sautés Au Beurre is from MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck (Volume One). Copyright 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

— A special thanks to the Julia Child Foundation, www.juliachildfoundation.org for allowing the recipes to be reprinted for our viewers.