Friday, June 12, 2009

Cooking Adventures - Beef Burgundy AMK Cookbook (red)

I think one of the requirements of having a veg garden is to like to cook with the contents. And I've gotten more adventurous as I've gotten older. (Though I still haven't found a recipe worth making again with my tarragon or lemon balm.) So tonight I tried making Beef Burgundy. Roasts were on sale this week, and I thought trying something new would be nice...

Even with fresh parsley and thyme from the garden, I was completely underwhelmed. Perhaps a roast cooked whole not chopped up, perhaps with red potatoes instead of noodles. No bay... The meat tasted good, but not remarkable.

And it also underscores the major weakness I find with America's Test Kitchen's magazine (Cook's Ill) and the good cookbook I used. No pic at all. I want a color pic to help me gauge if I messed up, or if it's just not that wow.

And now my parsley is quite small - and I don't think it helped the dish at all. (pouts)

3 comments:

islandgardener said...

I don't know what the recipe called for, but perhaps some garlic might have been good. And freshly ground pepper. I always sear my roasts first, in some olive oil, to get the surface nicely browned. Then I add in some water, wine, or broth and braise briefly to get the nice stuff off the bottom of the pan. It's a good start to a broth or gravy. Then, into the oven.

Ellen Zachos said...

If you're looking for a recipe that makes the most of tarragon, check out the Silver Palate recipe for Pasta with Lobster and Tarragon. (I'm not with my cookbook so I can't check on the exact title of the recipe.) It's one of my best, most reliably delicious recipes. Never fails and always impresses.

Tatiana said...

I hear ya - I find photos invaluable when it comes to recipes. And I agree with island gardener - garlic can be a big boost. Some recipes are easy to add flavor to, others - not nearly as much. Garlic, wine, soy sauce, ginger can all find a home in braised meat. Not necessarily at the same time :)