I enjoy cooking with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food...

Boeuf Bourguignon. I mean is there a more comforting meal? I was watching Julie and Julia a few weeks ago and I was inspired. I could practically smell the beef cubes cooking in the lard and the wine reduction and a craving was born instantly. I needed to make boeuf bourignon... like right now. and so I did.

I remember as a kid I hated beef stew. The meat was always dry and the broth too soupy and I just couldn't enjoy it. It turned me off of stew for a long time but then I had a few good ones in restaurants and through friends and I slowly started changing my mind about the ultimate comfort food. This recipe though. It's warm, it's classic, it's comforting and filling and honestly the perfect meal for a cold winter evening. I chose to make it on the warmest rainiest day we've had in weeks but hey whatever it was my day off I had planned for snow and boeuf bourignon and nothing was going to get in the way.

I've taken to cooking fancier, longer, more time consuming recipes on my days off lately. I can't think of a better way to wind down on my day off then by taking my time with my ingredients and chopping my vegetebles perfectly, slow cooking meat, or whipping up a dessert that I normally may not have made just because on any regular day I just simply do not have the time. But on my day off I take my time. It's so worth it when the smells start to invade our home and that moment that Mike comes home and gives me that look. The one that says ''thanks for making this our home'' I could not ask for a greater recognition. I cook to take care of people, to make them happy, to make what could have been the worst day ever end on the greatest note possible. That's what keeps me going and that's what makes me happy.

So this Boeuf Bourguignon. I apologize to the great Julia Child because although I was inspired by her recipe I may have strayed a tiny bit and have gotten a bit fancy with my ingredients. It can't be helped. She is still the chef of all chefs and my greatest kitchen inpsiration but I had to. And it was worth it. So here is my recipe for Boeuf bourignon. Get yourself a bottle of wine and a crusty french bread on a cold winter day off with a few hours to spare and be prepared to get cozy!

Boeuf Bourguignon

3 tbsp melted butter, plus 2 tbsp for cooking

3 tbsp AP flour

5 oz diced full fat pork flank

2 1/2 lbs beef cubes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 carrots,diced (but chunky I kept them half moon)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup brandy

2 cups red wine (I used cabernet sauvignon)

2 cups of beef broth

2 sprigs of thyme

2 bay leaves

Pearl onion and Mushroom topping

1/2 lb coffee button mushrooms, quartered (or halved if they're tiny!)

6 oz pearl onions, quartered

3 tbsp butter

1 sprig of thyme

1 tbsp whole seed dijon mustard

1. Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees, mix the melted butter and flour in a bowl. set aside.

2. In a large oven safe pot (a creuset style dutch oven works best but any kind of oven safe pot will work too!) heat up pork flank cubes with 2 tbsp butter until the fat has melted and the pork is crispy. Remove the meat and save.

3. Brown the beef cubes in the remaining fat. Be careful not to crowd the pot as you will need to turn them over. Cook for maybe 45 seconds on each side and set aside with the pork flank.

4. Add the carrots and onions to the pot with the remaining fat and brown for a couples of minutes. Add the brandy and wine and reduce. Add stock and reduce a bit more. (you should be left with about half the liquid that you started with)

5. Stir in the butter and flour mix that you prepared at the beginning.

6. Transfer the beef and pork back into the pot. add the thyme and bay leaves.

7. bake in the oven for 1 hour. (your total cooking time will be 1hour and 45 minutes but more on that later.

1 hour later your place will be smelling absolutely divine. The aromas will fill your home and will transport you to a tiny cozy cottage in the country side where you're coming in from playing in the snow or shoveling said snow and your cheeks are rosy and your home is as cozy as can be and your loved ones are present, maybe the fireplace is going, maybe there's a golden retriever dozing off somewhere on a carpet. hmmm that's the dream isn't it?

At this point its time to prepare the onions and mushrooms!

Pearl onion and Mushroom topping

1. In a deep dish pan brown the butter. Browning the butter is essential and I cannot recommend it enough. It's a low and slow process. We've talked about this before but I'll explain it once again. You'll want to melt the butter slowly while stirring it. Eventually your butter will start to froth and turn a darker oaky color. It will smell a little nutty and creamy.

2. At this point you want to add your onions that should be peeled and cut in quarters

3. Add your mushrooms and brown, you'll want to lower the heat at this point and let them cook down slowly.

4. Add the dijon and the sprig of thyme

5. Remove your pot or dutfch oven from the oven (be very careful it is very hot and please do not do what I did and forget that the handles also get hot, use oven mitts. You have them for a reason!)

6. Add the onions and mushrooms to the pot and return it all to the oven for 45 minutes.

7. Serve with a good glass of red wine (I strongly suggest a Cabernet Sauvignon but that's just my opinion, you do you boo!) and a crusty french bread. Maybe light a few candles. and put on some music, I strongly suggest Anderson East, his low raspy voice just works wonders on a cold november evening. And enjoy.

This meal was just what we needed yesterday. Despite the warmer day Mike was feeling a bit under the weather. He'd had a rough morning and this maybe didn't fix the issues completely but it definitely softened the blow. It's funny though, had you asked me years ago if I would have seen myself cooking long fancy meal, working all day to create a home for my special guy and I, I probably would have laughed at you and mumbled something about being a strong independent woman who isn't a grown man's mother (besides my own child's mother obviously). I never thought I'd be the one to love to stay home on my day off and cook a beautiful meal just because I know that that would make my guy happy and feel loved. Or maybe I just never thought I'd be lucky enough to get there but here I am. And here feels pretty darn good.

Till next time.

Stay sweet!