Sunday, December 11, 2005

Beef Burgundy with Herbed Noodles

Sundays are always my favorite day of the week and today was no exception. After a quiet morning of coffee & eggs, Adam and I hit up Target to get some much needed groceries. When we got back to the apartment, Adam went straight to the books and I went straight to the oven. Don't you love how domesticated we are becoming ;0?

Last week, I Tivoed a Rachael Ray episode on Beef Burgundy and I thought it sounded fantastic given our weather has been on the chilly side (for Texas, that is anything below 50 degrees). I was shy a few ingredients such as parsley, beef stock, Burgundy wine, and pearl onions, so I improvised and added a few things that I did have.

I gotta say, for not having all of the ingredients on hand, this recipe still came out as a winner.

4 slices bacon, chopped
4 tbls butter, divided
1 box white mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper
1 c. frozen onions
2 lbs lean sirloin, 1-inch thick, trimmed and cubed into 1 inch pieces
3 tbls all-purpose flour
1 c. Burgundy wine (I used the Target cube Cabernet Sauvignon)
1 1/2 c. store bought beef stock (I used Chicken Stock)
Bouquet of 3 or 4 sprigs each sage and fresh thyme, tied with kitchen string

Herb Egg Noodles:
12 ounces wide egg noodles, cooked to package directions
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 tbls chopped fresh dill leaves
12 blades fresh chives, snipped or finely chopped

Heat a large deep skillet with a heavy bottom and a lid over medium high heat. Add bacon to the pan and brown. Remove crisp bacon bits with slotted spoon. Add 2 tablespoons butter to the pan and melt into bacon drippings.

Add mushrooms to the pan and turn to coat evenly with butter and bacon drippings. Season the mushroom slices with salt and pepper. Saute mushrooms 2 to 3 minutes and add onions to the pan.

Continue cooking onions and mushrooms 2 to 3 minutes longer, then transfer to a plate and return pan to the heat. Add remaining butter to the pan and melt it, then add meat to the very hot pan and brown evenly on all sides, keeping the meat moving. Add flour to browned meat in the pan and cook the flour 2 minutes.

Add wine to the pan slowly while stirring. When the wine comes up to a bubble and you have scraped up the pan drippings, add the stock and bouquet of fresh sage and thyme sprigs to the pot. Cover the pan.

When the liquid boils, reduce heat to medium. Cook covered 5 minutes, remove lid and add mushrooms, onions and bacon back to the pot. Simmer with the cover off until sauce thickens a bit. Adjust seasoning and remove herb bouquet.

Toss hot egg noodles with butter and herbs. Place a bed of noodles in a shallow bowl and pour Beef Burgundy over the noodles and serve.


I was a little worried with the final product when I saw how liquidy this dish was, but after once in the bowl, the sauce began to thicken.

Overall, the flavor of this meal was pleasant and by no means over powering. It didn't have the deep wine taste I had imagined; it had a more delicate flavor. I blame this on the chicken stock. The dill added some dimension to the dish and paired well with the buttery noodles.

The only changes I will make for next time will be to use beef stock instead of chicken stock and to use Burgundy wine. I think the additions of those two will give this a rich & deep flavor that will compliment the wintry weather.

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