{Some Like it Hot}

Dreams are tough. High maintenance.

Sometimes they give you unrealistic expectations. In your dreams, you can be anything you want. Superman. Moviestar. Nobel Physics Prize winner. 

Or, in my case, a superb French cook.

Yes, I would love to cook excellent French food. After all, it's one of the best and most diverse cuisines in the world. Or so I'd like to think. 

From Breton butter biscuits to perfect Parisian Palmiers to Provençial Pissaladiéres to Burgendy beef, French food spans from buttered cakes to flaky pastries to oysters marinated in white wine to goose liver and stuffed pigeon.

And it's all so, so hard to make. 

But mostly, worth the blood, sweat and tears.

It takes time, but recipe afte recipe, my skills develope and, bit by bit, my talents in French cooking improve.

I'm made this for someone. A very special person who loves his beef. And in particular, beef from Bourgogne.

{Bouef bourguignon}

Adapted from About.com

*Ingredients*

Marinated the night before:

1,3 kg beef chuck, fat removed and cut into cubes

1 full bottle red wine

1 onion, chopped coarsely

7- 10 garlic cloves, cut in half

3 bay leaves

12 black peppercorns

For the stew:

2 tbsp canola oil

15 mini-carrots, cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise

¼ cup plain flour

2 ½ – 3 cups red wine

3 cups beef stock

1 tbsp tomato paste

227 g bacon, cut into stripes

24 frozen pearl onions, defrosted 

For the garnish:

1 tbsp canola oil

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

24 g mushroms, cleaned, steams removed and cut into quarters

1.Marinating the beef: Put the meat in a large bowl. Combine the rest of the marinated ingredients and pour over the meat. Cover and refrigerate overnight, stirring a couple of times if possible. To make the stew, plan on starting at least 4 hours before you plan to serve it, about 1 hour or preparetion time and 3 hours of cook time. Remove the meat from the marinade. Dry the mat on paper towels, patting them to make sure they're dry enough. Season with salt and pepper.

2.In a large, ovenproof pot, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook about 5 minutes. Do not allow it to brown! Remove with a slotted spoon and reseve. Preheat oven to 135°C. Working in batches, add the meat to the pot and brown well. Do not crowd the meat; it may take 4 - 5 batches to finish. Reserve.

3.Add 1 tbsp of the oil, the add the pearl onions and carrots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until they are coloured. Lower the heat to medium low and sprinkle on the flour, continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add the bacon and the beef back into the pot and toss them well to coat with the flour. Add the redwine, beef stock and tomato paste and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, cover the pot and put into the oven. Cook for three hours. Then, remove the top and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

4.Garnish: Just before serving, heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a frying pan. When the oil is very hot, add the mushrooms and cook without stirring until they are well browned on one side. Stir and continue cooking for 8 minutes, stirring occasionaly. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 3 minutes. 

Norsk versjon

{Bouef bourguignon}

Adaptert frå About.com

Ingrediensar:

Marinert kvelden før:

1,3 kg storfekjøt, i bitar og utan feitt

1 flaske raudvin

1 lauk, grovt hakka

7 – 10 kvitlauksfedd, skorne i to

3 laurbærblad

12 svarte peparkorn

Gryteretten

2 ms olje

15 små gulrøter, skorne i fire

1 ms tomatpuré

227 g bacon, skorne i striper

24 perlelaukar

38 g mjøl

625 – 750 ml raudvin

750 ml kjøtkraft

Garnityr

1 ms olje

1 ts hakka kvitlauk

Salt og pepar

24 g sopp, rensa og skorne i fire

1.Kvelden før: Legg kjøtet i ein stor bolle. Ha i resten av marinadeingrediensane. Dekk bollen til og ha i kjøleskapet over natta. Rør av og til. For å laga gryteretten, må du planleggja minst 4 timar før du planlegg å servera, med omlag 1 førebuingstime og 3 koketimar. Fjern kjøtet frå marinaden og tørk. Krydra med salt og pepar.

2.Varm 1 ms av olja ved mediumsvarme i ei stor, eldfast gryte. Ha i baconen og kok i omlag 5 minutt. Ikkje brun dei! Ta baconen vekk og legg på ein tallerk. Forvarm omnen til 135°C. Ha kjøtet i gryta og brun. Ikkje brun for mykje kjøt om gongen. Det er betre å dela kjøtet i fleire porsjoner og bruna kjøtet porsjon for porsjon. Ha all kjøtet på ein tallerk.

3.Ha i 3 ms av olja, ha i perlelauken og gulrøtene og kok i 5 minutt. Rør til dei får farge. Senk varmen til medium og strø på mjølet og kok i 5 minutt. Ha baconen og kjøtet tilbake i gryta og rør godt saman med dei andre ingrediensane. Hell raudvinen, kjøtkrafta og tomatpuréen i og rør saman. La gryteretten koka, dekk gryta til og ha i omnen. Kok i tre timar. Ta av gryteloket og kok for 15 minutt.

4.Garnityr: Rett før servering, varm 1 ms olje i ei steikepanne. Ha i soppen når olja er varm og rør heilt til soppane vert brune. Rør og kok i 8 minutt. Ha i kvitlauken og kok i 3 minutt.