Bourginon

I made (and ate) a complex dinner, with lots of help from my friend MAP, for 7 people, and while it was very rich food, two things saved me: I served very modest portions (a few people wanted seconds, which was nice), and I ate very lightly all day, which was easy because the food was quite laborious.

MAP came over around noon, and we immediately started on Julia Child's famous beef bourginon, which is basically just cheap beef cubes braised in stock and wine. We had to brown bacon lardons, cube some bottom round and brown it all in the bacon fat a few cubes at at time, then brown the veg, then bake it all in a coating of flour and seasoning to get some crust going, then cover it in wine and stock with herbs and aromatics, then bake it covered for 3 hours, while braising pearl onions separately, sauteing white mushrooms separately, and after the braise, separating the braising liquid, defatting, reducing, and tossing everything back together. While all that was happening, we dashed out latkes and apple sauce, a flourless chocolate cake, and most interestingly, mint linguine.

I never made mint linguine, but thought in terms of lamb with mint sauce -- the vegetal character of mint in a savory dish really sets off a heavy red meat, and there are few red meats heavier than braised stew meat. Using the same method as spinach pasta, I blended eggs with mint leaves until there were no more leaves, and incorporated it into AP flour as I always do. The final product was pleasingly minty in a laid-back way, and really sang nice high harmony to the bourginon's deep bass-profundo chorus of flavors. The beef it self was a little dry and stringy (should of stopped at 2.5 hours, but we went out to get Edie on a swing and ended up cooking 3.25 hours, oy)

Peeps seemed to like the food, many bottles of wine consumed, Edie slept like a, well, baby. I hope I have more casual mid-week dinner parties like this as Edie gets older, so she sees how adults enjoy each other's companies, mediated by no more than good food and a few drinks.

AM SNACK: 8:45am, iced mint green tea

BREAKFAST: 10:45am, brown rice spicy shrimp nori roll, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 2:30pm, sardine sandwich on demihippy bread, water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7pm, mini latkes with spiced apple sauce, beef bouginon over mint pasta, chocolate plate including macarons, truffles and flourless chocolate cake, 2 glasses of wine, shot of amaretto, 1.75 bowl hunger 4/5