Channeling Julia

When my husband gave me a Le Creuset French Oven, he also requested I make beef bourguignon. We had recently watched “Julie and Juliet” and the dish at the end of the movie was bouef bourguignon.

I found Julia’s recipe online and read it over and over to get a picture of the process in my mind. Then I browsed other recipes on Epicurious and Food Network. Some seemed more like stew since they called for celery and potatoes. Others were made solely on the stove top. Several called for cognac or brandy to be added to the seared beef and burned off.

I decided to use Julia’s recipe incorporating some of Ina Gartin’s in the last few steps. Warning: this recipe does take hours and hours. Consider making it the day before, like on a Saturday to have on Sunday. Also, it makes 6 servings, and really no more than that. The result follows with my notes:

• One 6-ounce piece of chunk bacon – I used four strips of bacon

• 3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes

• 1 carrot, sliced

• 1 onion, sliced

• Salt and pepper

• 2 tablespoons flour

• 3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy) ended up with ½ bottle of cab

• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock – used two cups

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 2 cloves mashed garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon thyme

• A crumbled bay leaf

• 18 to 24 white onions, small – used a package of frozen pearl onions

• 3 1/2 tablespoons butter

• Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)

• 1 pound mushrooms, fresh and quartered


Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Brown bacon in Dutch oven or oven proof casserole. Transfer to large bowl

Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat oil with bacon fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon. This is one of the time-consuming parts of the recipe and the oil will splatter all over. I use tongs to add and turn the beef. I also lowered the heat a bit.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the excess fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes.

Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust).

Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in wine and 2 to 3 cups stock, just enough so that the meat is barely covered. If I had used all the wine and broth called for, the beef would have had too much liquid, not just barely covered.

Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove.

Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. Check periodically to assure the liquid is just simmering. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Here’s where I went to Ina’s version.

Place frozen onions and 1 cup beef broth in a medium pot. Add the bouquet garni. Bring to a boil. After 2-3 minutes, reduce heat and simmer onions for 20 minutes. Remove bouquet garni.

In a skillet, heat remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms.

Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove from heat.

Remove casserole from oven and place on stove top. If the sauce isn’t thick enough, make a roux by melting 2 T butter in a small pan, adding 2 T flour and whisking until incorporated. Mine was thick already, probably because the oven was too hot and reduced the liquid. Stir the roux into the meat; add the onions and mushrooms. Bring to a simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring once or twice to meld the flavors. Some recipes I reviewed call for a pinch of sugar at the very end to counteract the brassiness of the wine. I didn’t but will try it next time.

Serve in casserole, or arrange stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley. I serve it in large individual soup bowls with a large spoonful of mashed potatoes in the middle and parsley sprinkled over.

Coffee Party Boise

Someone on Facebook invited me to join a group called Coffee Party USA. I looked at the web site and was immediately intrigued. Any opportunity to foster civil discourse is appealing to me and that’s the purpose of the group. www.coffeeparty.com. I have been so mad, frightened, and sad about the name-calling, yelling, press-seeking, and misinformation-spewing being used by extremists, that the notion there was a place to meet others and have reasoned debate on the issues was something I just had to check out.



The Coffee Party is about getting the silent majority to participate in the political process and to foster cooperation in government. It started just 8 weeks ago and already there have been groups formed in at least 44 states (Idaho has one but isn’t listed on the national site.) Meetings have been held in coffee shops across the nation on two occasions already. 376 people have joined the Coffee Party Boise group on Facebook.


I attended the meeting on Saturday, March 27th, held at the Hyjinx Comedy Club. So many people indicated they would attend, it wasn’t possible to meet at a coffee shop. Over 40 people showed up and we divided into smaller groups based on the issue most important to each of us. My group had nine members and it was one of the most invigorating two hours I’ve had in a long time. The goal at the end of the two hour meeting was for each group to have a position on an issue to share with their congressional delegates during the two week recess.


Although we varied in age, background and even political affiliation, the dialogue was energetic, and thought-provoking. People felt safe to express themselves even though their view may have been in opposition to others around the table. And because of this, I began thinking about some things differently, in addition to learning a lot.

Our group didn’t come up with a specific issue to discuss with our senators and representatives; however, we did agree to let them know we don’t like the way things are being done in Congress. And that we expect bipartisan behavior and debate on the issues, not merely sticking to the party talking points and refusing to listen to the thoughts on the other side. We feel that the lack of progress on things that deeply affect the citizens of Idaho is directly attributable to the unwillingness of members of Congress to discuss the issues with people other than those who believe as they do.


It’s too early to tell if the Coffee Party movement will be able to make an impact, but it’s certainly worth participating in a process that aims to bring civility and reason back to the democratic process.

There's a sadness around our little cabin community at the lake. It's a beautiful, cold, sunny day, but it's just not the happy place it usually is.

The matriarch of our neighborhood was diagnosed with a very rare disease just prior to Christmas. She's no longer in danger but she'll be in therapy for a long time. As a result, she and her husband haven't been at their home here for two months. It's lonely without them.

And the neighbors across the road from them haven't been here much either since they are her son and daughter-in-law. It's lonely without them as well.

A huge part of the sadness comes because our adorable little 6 year old neighbor at the lake had a malignant brain tumour removed last weekend and will be in chemotherapy and radiation treatments for months. It's really unbelievable that this could have happened to her, but she is blessed with the most smart, loving, giving parents and brother who ever existed. She has everything going for her; she's tough, happy, energetic and bright. But it's too quiet without them.

The couple who have the cabin up the hill from us haven't been at the lake very often over the past few months either. She's recovering from a recurrance of cancer but we hear she's doing very well. Our dogs miss their dogs.

Even though it's well below freezing today, there's a little something in the air that's hinting spring may be on its way soon. When the flora and fauna come back, we hope our neighbors can as well. It's lonely and quiet without them and we send them our thoughts and prayers daily.

The First Trip in The Dog House

Our first trip out in the new RV trailer, called the Dog House, was to Jackpot, NV, a small casino town just over the Idaho border. It took us almost two days to get the trailer packed up and ready to go, loading in kitchen things, bath items, dog stuff, clothes, etc. Seems we needed to make severaltrips to Fred Meyers and Bed, Bath and Beyond to purchase things we had no idea we needed. And food, of course, but just the basics: cereal, egg beaters, spray butter, bread, coffee, cans of soup. Naturally, we threw in some tortillas and cheese in case we just had to have quesadillas. Really? We’re going to Jackpot where there are all-you- can eat buffets, steak and seafood restaurants, and we have to take soup and quesadillas?


Doug loaded in a case of bottled water, which I thought was overkill since we had 60 gallons of H2O on board. But the first time I took a drink of the trailer water, I spit it out. Apparently, since it’s new, it takes awhile to get the plastic taste out of the system. Boy, did I appreciate that bottled water!


Our RV bed sheets arrived just before we left. We put our featherbed over the ridiculous excuse for a mattress that came with the rig, and the RV sheets and a blanket over top. Doug just insisted we buy a heating blanket for the bed, which I thought was silly. We didn’t put it on the first night and almost froze. Seems the bedroom door to the outside wasn’t actually latched, not to mention not being locked! But we didn’t figure it out until the next morning. Let’s just say, the first thing we did was put the heating blanket on the bed!

Speaking of the bed, Piper, the smaller female schnauzer, sleeps on our bed at home. Riley, the larger male schnauzer, sleeps on the chair in the bedroom. In the RV, there are two carpeted steps on each side of the bed instead of night tables. No idea why. Piper can jump up on anything but since the steps are there, even Riley can come right up. So, the first night, in a small bed, we had two dogs. They were cold too, so they slept right on top of us. Another epiphany! Doug had thrown the dog bed in the RV outside storage area, which again, I thought was a silly thing to bring in such a space-starved vehicle. We put their bed down the second night and didn’t have dogs in the bed until around 6AM, again because they got cold.


So, a big two night trip for our first outing. Just right, I’d say. Long enough to get used to pulling the trailer, setting it up, using the various appliances and fixtures, working the kinks out of the sleeping arrangements, acclimatizing the dogs, practicing departure procedures, stowing the rig back in storage. Now we’re actually ready to go somewhere!

More Reasons Your Schnauzer Needs Lots of Rest

As mentioned in a previous posting, Schnauzers feel a need to assist their humans as much as possible. In addition to being personal trainers and handyman assistants, they are also helpful in the office. As office assistants, they like to empty the trashcan but aren’t too particular about where the contents go. They are also good at collating papers that may be stacked on the floor. And if the temperature in the office gets a little cool, you can count on your Schnauzer to keep your lap warm. While they’re happy to sit at the computer, keyboarding isn’t one of their strengths.

 Another activity Schnauzers like to participate in is cooking. As sous chefs and prep chefs, they’re sense of smell is particularly helpful. And they are always willing to do taste tests. Cleaning the floor is another strength, and just like in the office, they love to dump the garbage.

 Although Schnauzers volunteer for these duties, they are quick to wander off and get some rest when they’re feeling overworked. They want to be ready to go when the next cool project comes up!

WHY YOUR SCHNAUZER NEEDS LOTS OF REST

Schnauzers need lots of rest because they work very hard all day. At least two hours are spent body slamming the back door to get out and chase the squirrel, the horrible squirrel. It sits on the railing looking in the glass back door, flicking its tail, chattering away. Their mom human flings the door open, the dogs bolt out. The squirrel dashes down the railing to the end of the deck and jumps onto a branch. The dogs dash down the railing to the end of the deck and crash into the gate. Then they stick their heads out between the railing slats and vocalize (think shrill screaming) about how close they were to catching the darned rodent. In about three minutes, the dogs come back in, the squirrel slips back onto the railing just outside the back door, starts flicking its tail and chattering, and the whole activity starts over again. Much mental stimulation for both squirrel and dogs, much annoyance and frustration for the humans.

Schnauzers also need rest from their jobs as assistants and personal trainers. As assistants, they spend hours following their dad human around as he uses hammers, screw drivers, wrenches, fixes plumbing, takes down Christmas lights, replaces headlamps on cars. They take full advantage of licking his face if he happens to make the mistake of being on their level. They drag tools away from the job site. They sit and stare and marvel at his abilities. And they frequently give unsolicited advice about how to do the job.

As personal trainers, they motivate the mom human while she’s on the treadmill by sitting beside it and howling. They stand on her stomach when she’s doing sit ups. They crawl underneath her when she’s in the plank position. They take every opportunity to lick her face if they can reach her. Sometimes, mom human goes to the gym just to avoid having personal trainers.

Schnauzers have several other activities that require them to rest frequently. We’ll discuss these in a future article.