Budget Beef Bourguignon: Succulent Beef Stewed in Cheap Merlot

When the weather cools, and I see football on television, I think of two things; hey, look at the size of that guy's neck, and, this is a great time of year to make stew. This video recipe for Beef Merlot is one of my favorites, and a take-off on the venerable Beef Bourguignon, beef braised in Burgundy wine.

Whenever I see wine on sale it always seems to be Merlot. It's usually stacked at the end of the aisle, a tall pyramid of bargain booze. Why Merlot? Is it easier to grow? Have sales gone down because of what that guy said in the movie Sideways? Who knows, but it's usually good quality, and makes a great cooking wine for this stew recipe.

The other trick in this video is putting the stew on top of mashed potatoes, instead of cooking them in the sauce. As I say in the clip, I hate to see little chunks of broken potatoes in this stunningly beautiful sauce. Besides, what's better than mashed potatoes and gravy? And, as far as gravies go, it doesn’t get much better than this. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 1/2 lbs beef chuck roast, cut in 2-inch cubes
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 carrots, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 ribs celery, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1 bay leaf
4 springs fresh thyme
2 cups merlot, or other red wine
2 cups beef broth
mashed potatoes

My Amazin' Tomazins! The Dumbest Thing I've Ever Filmed

This would have been the second dumbest thing, but, I've never filmed congress. This video started with great promise - I had about 3/4 of a pint basket of sugar-sweet cherry tomatoes. I've never made sun-dried cherry tomatoes before, but had slow-roasted Roma tomato halves a long time ago, and they came out pretty good.

I'm not a big sun-dried tomato fan, the jarred ones taste like medicine to me, and I avoid them on menus whenever possible. I figured these would be much better - sweeter and juicier. What I got, 12 hours later, and who knows after how much cooking gas, were what best could be described as cherry tomato raisins.

They didn't taste bad, and Michele liked them, but considering all the time and wasted fuel, the tiny ramekin I ended up with surely didn’t justify the effort. Talk about severe shrinkage! I think you'll all agree this video recipe is of no practical use, other than maybe to mock me. Hey, at least the name is kind of catchy. Enjoy!

Sunday Night Tease: Tomorrow You Will See the Dumbest Thing I've Ever Filmed

The Roof, the Roof, the Roof is on Fire…

There was a rich family that lived in a large house in a small village. The rich family threw a party and invited the rest of the town. At this party, a few wealthy guests were given champagne and caviar, and the rest of the guests got cocktail franks and warm beer.

Later that evening, after most of the guests had left, some of the wealthiest guests joined the rich family in a drunken game of naked twister. Someone slipped on a cocktail frank that one of the poorer guests had dropped, and knocked over a candle. Soon the large house was engulfed in flames.

The rich, drunk, and naked guests ran out on to the street, and screamed for the gathering crowd to help them put out the fire. But the mob, still angry they were only fed cocktail franks and warm beer, shouted back that the wealthy family should put out the fire themselves since they started it. Water was in very short supply, and the wealthy family insisted that they needed some from every well in the town.

The townspeople argued that the family had the deepest well in town, and should have plenty to put out the fire. The rich family said the well was dry because they'd just had their servants wash their many cars. This angered the mob even more.

As they argued, the fire spread, and the entire town burned to the ground.

What do you think?
	Like most of the politicians, I am clueless.
	When there is a fire nearby, put it out, and then argue about what happened.
	Let the mother burn, it may shake things up.
	I like cocktail franks and warm beer!
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Photo (c) Flickr user aagius

Helping Solve the World's Other Oil Crisis

Right up there with debates about offshore drilling, and the nation's outdated and inefficient crude refineries, is the country's frustration with how the heck do chefs make those cool, colorful infused oils. Well, wonder no more. As promised, in Part 1 of the 24-item "Food on Foodbuzz" tasting menu, here's a video recipe showing the extremely easy method for making infused oils.

This smoked paprika oil uses the faster, heated method, as opposed to some chefs who simply mix oil and powdered spices, and leave them for a few weeks to infuse. This technique only takes a few hours and works just as well. Some would even argue that the heat at the beginning of this recipe brings out a deeper flavor in the pepper, than the uncooked version. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
1 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika, or other powdered spice
1/2 cup grapeseed, or other neutral flavored oil

The Rest of the "Foodbuzz 24"

Here are the other 23 posts from the "24 Meals, 24 Hours, 24 Blog Posts" Event. Check out the amazing variety of themes, ingredients, and locations. Enjoy!

24, 24, 24: Chocoholic Heaven
from Culinary Escapade

24, 24, 24: Farmers’ Market Iron Chef: Battle in the Kitchen/ Spicy Salty Sweet
from Spicy Salty Sweet

24, 24, 24: Farmers’ Market Iron Chef: Battle in the Kitchen/ Food Woolf
from Food Woolf

24, 24, 24: Welcome to the Chateau - An Evening of Wine, Food, and Art
from Chateau Petrogasm

24, 24, 24: Criminal Tastes - An Illegal Supper
from The Nourished Kitchen

24, 24, 24: First Annual Farm to Table Dinner
from Miami Dish

24, 24, 24: `Aha`aina - Recapturing the Global Flavors of the Luau
from Accidental Scientist

24, 24, 24: A Tomato Garden Party
from Jersey Bites

24, 24, 24: Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet
from Red Cook: Adventures From a Chinese Home Kitchen

24, 24, 24: No Menus: an Underground Restaurant Affair
from No Recipes

24, 24, 24: From Provence to the Catskills - a Voyage from David to Bertolli
from Constables Larder

24,24,24: Eating Art: A Tasting Menu Inspired by Masterworks of Art
from Feeding Maybelle

24, 24, 24: The Four Corners of Carolina BBQ Road Trip
from Hugging the Coast

24, 24, 24: A Sweet Trompe l’oeil
from Cake Spy

24 24 24: From Matambre to Empanadas: An Argentine Dinner
from La Vida en Buenos Aires y Afines

24, 24, 24: The Very Best of British
from Food Stories

24, 24, 24: Hot Weather Lunch
from Food Junkie Not Junk Food

24, 24, 24: Eating with Tuscan Locavores
from Wandering Italy

24, 24, 24: Medieval Cuisine Of Serbia
from Palachinka

24, 24, 24: A Spanish Menu - My Gift to the Winners of the Olympic Games
from Spanish Recipes

24, 24, 24: Eat Like a King- Feast For a Maharaja
from Passionate About Baking

24, 24, 24: East Meets West in A Tropical Garden City
from Noob Cook

24, 24, 24: Behind-the-Kitchen with Chef Hu-nam Kim of Star Chef
from ZenKimchi Korean Food Journal

24, 24, 24: Aussie BBQ Bonanza - Celebrating Diversity
from Fig and Cherry

Rested, Refreshed, and Planning Some Great One-Course Meals!

Thanks to everyone for the extremely kind and enthusiast emails and comments regarding the 24, 24, 24 menu. Like I said, it was a lot of fun, and I hope it helps expose this site to many more new visitors. To that end, if any of you have time to spread the word, I would be deeply appreciative.

My schedule of cooking, filming, and writing makes promoting this blog a real challenge. I know that many of you probably use websites like Twitter, Digg, Stumbleupon, Facebook, etc., to share and recommend blogs, and blog posts that you enjoy. If you can assist me by helping spread the word with those types of resources, it would allow me to concentrate even more time on what I really love to do; cook, film, write, and teach. Thank you all.

Today's the Day - Tomorrow's the Way

I'm up to my ears in misenplace, and will be incognito until tomorrow, when I will share this 24-item tasting menu via video, photos, and text. Until then, grab a slice of pizza, and enjoy the day like it's the last day you will be able to taste garden-ripened tomatoes this year. Some slices are such sweet sorrow.

24 Meals, 24 Hours, 24 Blogs

There's something cooking. Sunday, we make history together.

French Onion Soup - So Good it Will Make a Mime Chatty

What a great time of year for a crock of French onion soup. Who can resist that bubbling raft of Gruyere cheese covering the rich, aromatic broth? It's too bad you get to experience one of life's great culinary treat so rarely. That surge of excitement, and saliva, that comes with seeing it on a menu is both welcomed and infrequent.

So, make it yourself! French onion soup has to be one of the easiest soup recipes ever. To make it the right way you do need a few hours, but it's probably raining out anyway. There are many great ways to spend a rainy fall afternoon, but few are as satisfying as listening to the rain, while smelling onions slowly sweetening in warm butter.

Do yourself a favor and throw out every French onion soup recipe that calls for those expensive "sweet" onions - you know, Walla Walla, Maui, Vidalia, etc. Those varieties are "sweet" because they have lower levels of the sulfuric compounds that give onions their sharp, strong taste when raw. These mild onions are awesome when eaten raw in salads, or on sandwiches, but when cooked, do not taste any better than your basic yellow onion. If you don’t believe me, email Alton Brown, whom I stole this rant from. Enjoy!





Ingredients:
3-4 large yellow onions, cut in large dice
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 tsp kosher salt
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1/4 cup dry sherry wine
3 cups high-quality beef broth
2 cups high-quality chicken broth
1 cup water
toast
shredded Gruyere cheese

Mime photo (c) Leesa0502