Last night, I "accidentally" had a trial run of my main dish for my first Friday Night at Ted's at Gretchen's. One of the books I found with my Uncle Ted's things, is a nearly pristine copy of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It's winter here in MN and it's cold. No better time for boeuf bourguignon. Throughout the course of the day, I had a conversation with my best friend, with whom I don't get to spend nearly enough time, and she and her daughter had no plans for the evening. No better way to test out a recipe than with my best friend!
So, I began cooking. My husband came in and told me I was doing it wrong, then handed me a glass of beaujolais. "Much better," he said. "Julia and Ted would be proud."
Fortunately, I did the "hard" part of the recipe before I'd finished my first glass of wine.
Boeuf bourguignon takes a long time to cook. During which time, there is little to do except continue to drink wine with my best friend. Right before it was time to serve it, I made noodles. Turns out, making noodles after 4 hours of simmering boeuf bourguignon and drinking wine with my best friend, is a very difficult task for me. So, we had delicious boeuf bourguignon served over congealed, sticky noodles that would have been excellent for hanging new wallpaper or perhaps a child's craft project. Good thing the boeuf bourguignon was so good.
I've decided on the following menu for the first Friday Night at Ted's at Gretchen's - the recipes for this round are a combination of Ted's handwritten recipes and recipes I've found in his cookbooks. I'll post the actual recipes in the coming days. I'm still debating about the dessert. Pictures won't come until AFTER the dinner on Friday, February 3.
mixed greens salad
Julia Child's boeuf bourguignon
buttered potatoes
