Easter Sunday Beef Bourguignon with Fresh Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta

This year for Easter Brian and I made Beef Bourguignon. Because of the industry in which we work, we usually have to work on the weekends, so unfortunately we couldn’t go home to Houston or Orange, nor could we go to church, sadly, because I had to work Sunday morning.

So when I got home I started the whole wheat pasta, and Brian helped me roll it out, and I think we’ve established a new tradition for our little fledgling family. I’m definitely buying a hand crank pasta machine because they’re not too expensive and they make pasta making much easier and much more likely to happen on a regular basis. Fresh pasta is so delicious, it just warms you inside and makes you feel all fuzzy and happy. I would be perfectly happy with just fresh homemade fettuccini with butter, fresh chopped parsley, a touch of parmesan and a little salt.

Today, though, I went all out and made beaof bourguignon to celebrate Easter and also to celebrate ourselves. Brian and I have made it this far through this culinary school experience; it’s almost over and I’m very proud of how well we’ve done so far. There were times when we fought out of frustration and exhaustion and times when it was difficult to see each other because we were so busy, but we’re still together, still in love, and still getting married.

We’re not out of the woods yet, though. Today I start restaurant block at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts – Austin (they changed the name. It’s better, right?). During restaurant we work at one of the school’s two restaurants. I chose to work the PM shift at Ventana, which is fine dining, because I got the culinary externship, mentioned in Stuffed Cabbage Rolls on Make-up Saturday, at the Austin Hyatt Regency Hotel!

In order for all of this to work out, I’ll have to work the AM shift, 5:30 AM to 2 PM, at the hotel and 3:30 PM to 10:45 PM at school. I’m very excited about working at the Austin Hyatt Regency Hotel because I know in my heart that it will be a great experience for me and a step in the right direction. It will be hard for the first five weeks while I’m in restaurant at school and working at the hotel, but I know that we can do it. It will be worth it for my career and after we get through with all of this I know our relationship will be much stronger. I feel like right now I have culinary blinders on and I’m pointed at a goal that even has an exact end date, July 24, 2010, graduation day.

Whole-Wheat Pasta Dough

Whole wheat flour alone produces a very sticky dough with a grainy texture. All-purpose flour needs to be added to provide gluten which creates a smoother dough. (Makes 1-1/2 pounds)

• 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1-/1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons warm water

1. Place the flour on a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center.  Break the eggs into the well. Add the salt, oil, and water. Beat the mixture in the well with a fork. Using a fork, gently start to work the flour into the liquid. Continue until the dough becomes sticky and difficult to work with the fork.
2. Use your hands to form the rough dough into a ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.Wrap with film and refrigerate 10-15 minutes. The longer the dough rests the easier it is to roll out.
3. Divide the dough ball in two roll out very thin either with a rolling pin or a pasta machine. Cut into 1/4″ wide 9″ long papardel. Transfer to a bowl, dust vigorously with flour so they don’t stick together and cover with film so they don’t dry out. Do the same with the second dough ball.
4. To cook bring large pot of water to the boil, add copious amounts of salt just before the water simmers. Cook the pasta till aldente. Aldente happens much more quickly with fresh pasta than dry so keep an eye on it, and test them by tasting for texture.

Beaof Bourguignon

• 2.5 lbs stew meat
• 4-5 bacon strips cut into lardon
• .5 lb button mushrooms quartered
• 15 white pearl onions (I couldn’t find any today, so I’m using about 3/4 C. scallions cut on a bias)
• 2 small white onions large dice
• 2 carrots large dice
• 2 celery large dice
• 2 cloves garlic smashed
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 3-4 parsley stems
• 4 tbs butter
• 3/4 C. red wine
• beef stock about 32 oz, or enough to cover meat and mirepoix
• 2 carrot 1/4″ dice
• kosher salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
• parsley finely chopped
• 2 tbs butter

1. Cut the tips off the pearl onions but leave the root in tact. Simmer them in unsalted water until tender. Shock in ice cold water and pop them out of their skins. If using scallions skip this step.
2. Start bacon in a large soup or stock pot, or braising pan on medium heat to render the fat. When fat has rendered turn up the heat to crisp them up. Remove from pan and reserve in a warm oven. saute the mushrooms in the bacon fat, season with salt and pepper, remove and reserve with bacon in oven. Saute the pearl onions to caramelize them in the bacon fat, season with salt and pepper, remove and reserve with bacon and mushrooms.
3. Season the stew meat with salt and pepper. Brown on all sides in same pot. Don’t over crowd the pan! Remove the meat and reserve on a plate. Add 2 tbs butter, saute the onion, carrot, and celery season with a little salt and pepper. When mirepiox is tender and caramelized deglaze with the red wine scraping the suc (browned bits) from the bottom of the pan. Add the thyme, bay leaf, and parsley stems. Reduce the wine to au sec (almost dry).
4. Return the meat along with any juice that has collected on the plate to the pot. Add enough beef stock to cover the meat. If, by chance, you don’t have enough stock, just finish it off with water. Bring to a simmer, cover tightly and simmer for two hours.
5. After simmering for two hours, strain and return the liquid to the pot and add the 1/4″ dice carrot and cook till the carrots are aldente and the stock has reduced to nappe consistency, then monte au buerre (add 2 tbs of butter to the pot shaking the pot and stirring at the same time). Pick the meat out of the mirepiox and reserve the meat; discard the mirepiox. When the carrots are almost cooked and stock is almost finished reducing return the meat to the pot to heat through.
6. While your stock is reducing cook the pasta in boiling water with copious amounts of salt. Have a bowl with a 2 tbs butter broken up, chopped parsley and a little salt ready to hold the pasta while you finnish up your sauce.
7. Serve in a warm bowl with pasta on bottom, meat on top and sauce an carrots all around. Garnish with the bacon, mushrooms, and pearl onions (this garnish is known as a la France). If using scallions saute them in a little butter first only to soften just a little.