Adventures in Cooking - Part 1

I've been doing some experimenting in the kitchen of late. I'm not sure what has caused this - the cold, snowy weather; boredom with my usual repertoire; or repeated viewings of "Julie & Julia"! But on Super Bowl Sunday, I decided it was time to tackle Julia's famous Beef Bourguignon! I looked at several versions on the 'Net, but this one from "Good Morning America" seemed the most straightforward. So, after purchasing the ingredients which included a 1/2 lb of bacon


Three pounds of beef!


Tons of onions!


And an entire bottle of red wine.



(Seriously, how could anything that includes all of those things be bad!!)

It had to bake for 3-4 hours; towards the end, the house smelled divine - I couldn't wait to dig in!

The final step is sauteing some pearl onions, then adding them in.



Almost ready!


And voila!


Yes it took nearly all day - but it was Super Bowl Sunday, so what else was there to do. And, I must say, it was awesome! It also reheats really well - I even used the beef in a sandwich. I have two servings stashed in the freezer which I may use as a base for either Beef Pot Pie or Shepherd's Pie.

I'm always looking for something special for New Year's Eve dinner, and I think this is at the top of the list!