Food & Wine listed a recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon with the name Jacques Pepin with it. I thought, "Well if something can pull me back into the cooking game, it's Jacque Pepin's beef bourguinon."
First, let me say: There were a few items that I couldn't/wouldn't comply with. The man called me from the grocery store & couldn't find pancetta or cippolini onions. We got bacon & "white boiling onions" that basically resembled large pearl onions. Also, I didn't peel the baby carrots. Who peels baby carrots? The French, that's
who. Nobody else. Being not French, I plopped those right into the mix. (I blow my nose in their general direction!)
When the recipe called for boiling the pancetta, I cooked my bacon in the skillet instead. I wasn't going to boil bacon. That is le gross. Then, I crumbled it into the vegetables (or garnishes as Chef Pepin calls them).
How was it? Well, the sauce was very good. Originally, I didn't put any butter in the sauce as we were fresh out, but it definitely tasted better once I added it.
Words of advice:
1. Get the pancetta. Bacon didn't make it better. There is something about chunks (not scraps) of lardons that make recipes better.
2. Get a full flavored Burgandy, Cotes du Rhone, or Beaujolais wine. I used a South American Syrah, which was rather flat. The French recipe poo-pooed it.
3. Let it stew for longer. The broth wasn't reduced enough as per Food & Wine's pictures. It would've been much better if it was more concentrated.
The man gives the broth a 4/5 stars - but the stew together got only 2 or 3 stars.
I'd give it a 3/5 stars. I liked it, but I'm on the look out for something better. Neither of us packed it for lunch the next day.
Next boeuf bourguinon is going to be Julia Child's from Mastering the Art of French Cooking (recipe here). I hope it's better!
I like the way you change things in the recipe. This looks pretty good especially now that it is getting colder.
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