Burgundy Beef Dinner

One of my all time favorite meals to fix for company is Burgundy Beef from The Pillsbury Cookbook dated 1989.  It cooks for hours, so leave yourself about 4 hours before you need to serve, and the meat is so tender that it just falls apart.  If you try to hold it too long it will fall apart before it gets in your mouth, but it is still delicious, so I don't worry too much.  I usually serve it over rice or sometimes garlic mashed potatoes, but this time I served it with Crash Hot Potatoes from the Pioneer Woman (PW) Cooks, Food From My Frontier cookbook.  It is her second and I love both of them. 

I also used her Buttered Rosemary Rolls, but I didn't have any Rosemary, so I used other herbs and they were delicious.  I MEANT to have Rosemary.  I PLANTED Rosemary, but when I got back from the store, having not BOUGHT any Rosemary, I discovered that my planted version was stunted and not too fond of growing.  So I used the dried Fines Herbs I had in the pantry.  I am becoming an intrepid country woman and you can't scare ME with an herb I don't have.  I'll find a blend of herbs and use that.  I do love rosemary rolls and breads, but these were good and I would not hesitate to use the Fines Herbs again.


Burgundy Beef

3 slices bacon, cut into one inch squares
3 lbs. beef round steak, cut into one inch squares
2 cups Burgundy
1 can beef broth
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bay leaf
16 oz. can pearl onions, drained or about 1 cup of the frozen ones  You can do fresh, but peeling them is a pain
20 or so baby carrots
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
2 Tablespoon flour

Cooked rice or mashed potatoes or PW smashed potatoes.

Heat oven to 350.

   

Fry the bacon in a Dutch oven until crisp.  Remove and drain on paper towels and save for two hours.  While the bacon is cooking, cut the beef into squares.  You will need to cook it in batches or it will not brown, it will steam. 

   

After the bacon has cooked, add about 1/3 of the beef to the drippings and cook until browned.  Remove with a slotted spoon to a clean bowl and add the next third until all the meat is cooked. 

   

Return the meat to the Dutch oven and add the wine, beef broth, thyme, garlic and bay leaf.  Cover and place in the preheated oven for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  If you need to add liquid, use more Burgundy or beef broth, or a mixture of both.  Don't let the liquid cook away, but you don't want to end up with a bunch of liquid.  You want maybe 1/2 to 1 cup when you are done.

   

Add the bacon you cooked first, the carrots, garlic and the onions.  Cook for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat and the vegetables are tender.

   


   


Just before serving, remove the meat and vegetables and toss the bay leaf.  Keep the meat and vegetables warm.  I like to put the bowl in the microwave and then not turn it on.  The close quarters keeps them warm enough.

   

In a small bowl mix the softened butter and the flour together.  When it is smooth, add a Tablespoon or so of the cooking liquid to the butter mixture.  Stir it until smooth.  Add some more liquid and stir again.  The add the mixture to the cooking liquid in the pan and cook over medium heat until it thickens.

Return the meat and the vegetable to the pan and heat through.  Serve over rice or potatoes or alongside...

Crash Hot Potatoes

!5 or so whole new potatoes or any other small round potatoes
3 Tablespoons olive oil
minced rosemary (or any other herb of choice)
salt and pepper

Scrub and dig out any bits of the potatoes that look weird.  That is my editorializing.  Don't peel them.  Just get rid of the spots you didn't notice when you were buying them.

   

Put them in a pot and cover them with water. Add a couple pinches of salt.   Boil them until fork tender, about 20 minutes.

   

Preheat the oven to 450.  I sprayed a jelly roll pan with Pam to keep them from sticking.  Set the cooked potatoes on the prepared pan and gently press down to mash each one. Then rotate the masher 90 degrees and do it again.   It may help to put a small X on top of each potato with a sharp paring knife first it they don't want to smash and still stay together.

   

Drizzle the tops of the potatoes with the olive oil and sprinkle them with salt, pepper and rosemary or the other herb of choice.

   

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until brown and crisp.  SO delicious...even if a few of mine fell apart when served!

   

You can also use butter instead of the olive oil or add some cheddar cheese.

Make sure you serve this whole thing with some fresh, soft, pillowy yeast rolls.  These are also from PW and so delicious and easy.

Buttered Rosemary Rolls

Frozen, unbaked dinner rolls
butter
chopped fresh Rosemary or other herb, if yours has refused to grow, even though it has been raining nonstop!
coarse sea salt to taste

   

Melt a Tablespoon of butter in a cast iron pan over medium low heat.  Let the pan cool for 10 minutes.  Place the rolls in the pan, allowing room for them to expand.

Cover the pan with a dish cloth and set aside in a warm place for about 2 hours.  Mine took more like 2 1/2 hours.  I guess my place wasn't warm enough. 

Preheat the oven to 350.

   

When they have doubled in size, they will be soft and pillowy.  Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in a small bowl and gently brush on top of the rolls.  Sprinkle them with salt and the herb you have chosen.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a golden brown.

   

Make sure you made enough for everyone to have at least two.  Or you won't get any.

   

Serve with a green salad and you have a perfect dinner for company.