My husband and I saw it over the weekend. Watching it made me want to blog. It made HIM want to cook, and now ne wants to attempt to make Julia’s famous Boeuf à la Bourguignonne.

I thought other people might want to try it, too, so here’s the recipe, straight from Julia Childs’ cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Boeuf à la Bourguignonne
Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

6-ounce chunk of bacon
9- to 10-inch fireproof casserole, 3 inches deep
1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil
A slotted spoon
3 pounds lean stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes
1 sliced carrot
1 sliced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups of a full-bodied, young red wine such as one of those suggested
for serving, or a Chianti
2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 teaspoon thyme
Crumbled bay leaf
Blanched bacon rind
18 to 24 small white onions, brown-braised in stock
1 pound quartered fresh mushrooms sautéed in butter
Parsley sprigs

DIRECTIONS

Remove rind and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, ¼-inch thick and 1½ inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1½ quarts of
water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450º. Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly.

Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef.

Dry the beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.

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

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour.

Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in the wine and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind.

Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 2½ to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed.

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it.

Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2½ cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.

Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

For immediate serving: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times.

Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley.

For later serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to a simmer, cover and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

It’s that time of year again…summer drawing to a close; school supply stores and clothing stores kicking up their ads a notch; and kids, parents, and teachers starting to get ready for that first day of school, mumbling, “How’d summer vacation go by so fast?”

Well, you can thank ‘good ole time’ for that. But, don’t get flustered. Here are a few tips to help get you and your family in gear.

First thing to tackle – school lunches.

Food is an important part of good health, energy, endurance, and alertness (all needed for a good school experience). By now, we should all know the common ‘bad’ things to eat, but as a reminder, here are some foods to avoid:

1. White bread
2. Foods with a lot of preservatives
3. Foods with trans fat
4. Foods with High Fructose Corn Syrup
5. Foods with a lot of sugar
6. Processed foods (including cold cuts)

You might be thinking – But, these are the tasty and fast foods to eat and prepare.

Well, not really. There are many healthy substitutes for lunch and snacks that are fast to prepare and actually taste great.

For lunch try:

1. Real turkey sandwich (wheat or whole-grain breads for all sandwiches)
2. Organic Peanut butter (low sugar) with All Fruit spread sandwich
3. Cheese sandwich or cheese on whole-grain crackers (try a goat cheese)
4. Hummus on whole grain crackers

TIP: Look for cold cuts that do not contain preservatives or nitrates.

For snacks and drinks:

1. Baby carrot sticks (most kids love this as a snack)
2. Baked chips
3. Homemade cookies with healthy ingredients (you can make a large batch and freeze what you don’t immediately use, then take them as needed for a quick and easy snack)
4. 100% Juices
5. Water

Along with healthy eating, try to think eco-friendly. One easy “green” thing to do is purchase an eco-canteen for your child. Use this instead of buying water and juices in plastic containers. It’s healthier for your child and better for the environment.