This dish is easy to prepare early in the day. It reheats beautifully.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
8 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms
1 large onion, diced
1/2 cup flour
2 pounds boneless round steak, sliced thin (I used a 2 lb round roast)
2 cups low sodium beef broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Cut round steak into serving-size portions. Pound the flour into the steak pieces.
Reserve the remaining flour. Sprinkle the meat lightly with salt and pepper.
In a large heavy skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil and butter. Brown half the steak thoroughly, turning to brown the other side. Transfer to a platter. Repeat with the remaining steak. Add more oil if needed.
Saute the onions and sliced mushrooms in the skillet for about 5 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir in the reserved flour.
Add the beef broth and stir until the flour is dissolved. Return the meat to the skillet, cover, and simmer on low heat for 2 hours or until the meat is very tender.
Check for drying out and add a little water if needed. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Serve steak with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable.
Serves 4 to 6.
Ingredients
1 (3-pound) boneless chuck roast
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon steak seasoning
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, peeled and quartered
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
4 cups beef broth
2 fresh thyme sprigs or 2 teaspoons dried
2 bay leaves
4 carrots, peeled and cut in half
2 large baking potatoes, washed and quartered
1/2 cup flour ( I use Wondra because it dissolves in liquids)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Season the roast on all sides with salt, pepper, and the steak seasoning.
In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the vegetable oil and sear the roast on all sides. Add the onions, garlic, and tomato paste and cook until slightly colored. Add the wine, broth, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring the liquid to a simmer, cover, and place in the oven.
Roast for 1 hour and then add the carrots and potatoes. Continue to cook for 2 more hours. Remove the roast to a serving platter and the vegetables to a serving bowl. Cover and keep warm while you make the gravy
Combine the flour and 1 cup of the braising liquid from the Dutch Oven in a bowl. Heat the remaining braising liquid to a low boil and stir in the flour mixture. Cook until the gravy is thickened. Adjust the taste for salt and pepper. Serve with the roast and vegetables.
Recently my PBS station aired a special about how Julia Child influenced many of today’s well-known chefs as well as the viewers who watched the shows. This special made me realize that I, too, had learned many cooking skills from her shows. Growing up I learned some basic Italian recipes from my mother and father (Italian men like to cook.) but not the kind of food America was eating when I got married. My mother was not an enthusiastic cook and tended to make the same things every week. My father would make things she did not like, such as rabbit or crab in spaghetti sauce. So as a young wife I liked cooking but needed to know more. It was about that time that Julia’s shows came onto PBS. There were no other cooking shows on TV at that time. While her recipes highlighted French cooking, she did focus on skills. I learned how to cook a whole chicken, prepare fish and make good sauces from watching her shows. If you have never made her chicken recipe, give it a try. It comes out moist and full of flavor.
Poulet Poele a l’Estragon
(Casserole- Roasted Chicken)
Ingredients
Seasoning Chicken
1 (3-4 pound) roasting chicken
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 shallot, halved
Browning Chicken
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
For Vegetables
2-3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sliced onions
1/4 cup sliced carrots
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
Sauce
2 cups brown chicken stock, or 1 cup canned beef broth and 1 cup canned chicken broth
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoons port wine
2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon (or 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon)
1 tablespoon softened butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 325° F. Thoroughly dry the chicken. Season the cavity of the chicken with the salt, tarragon and 1 tablespoon of butter. Insert the shallot and rub the remaining tablespoon of butter on the outside of the chicken. Tie legs together with kitchen string.
Heat a heavy, fireproof casserole dish or pot over medium-high heat. Add butter and oil. When the butter foam has begun to subside, lay in the chicken, breast down. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, regulating the heat so butter is always very hot but not burning. Carefully turn the chicken to another side, using 2 wooden spoons. Be sure not to break the chicken skin. Continue browning and turning the chicken until it is a nice golden color almost all over, particularly on the breast and legs. This will take 10 to 15 minutes. Add more oil if necessary to keep the bottom of the casserole filmed.
Remove chicken from the pan and set aside. Pour out the browning fat if it has burned, and add fresh butter. Cook the carrots and onions slowly in the casserole for 5 minutes without browning. Add the salt and tarragon.
Salt the chicken and place it breast up over the vegetables. Baste with the butter in the casserole. Lay a piece of aluminum foil over the chicken, cover the pan, and reheat it on top of the stove until you hear the chicken sizzling. Then place the casserole/pan in the preheated oven.
Roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Baste once or twice with the butter and juices in the casserole. The chicken is done when the drumsticks move in their sockets, and when juices run clear.
Remove the chicken to a serving platter and discard trussing strings. Combine the cornstarch with ¼ cup of the chicken broth and the port wine and set aside. Add the remaining broth to the casserole and simmer for 2 minutes, scraping up coagulated roasting juices. Blend in the cornstarch mixture, simmer a minute, then raise heat and boil rapidly until the sauce is lightly thickened. Stir in tarragon and butter.
Serve chicken with sauce. Good sides are peas, potatoes, asparagus, carrots or broiled tomatoes.
The recipe above is from Julia Child’s, Mastering The Art of French Cooking, Volume One, Pages 249-251.
You can watch the original episodes on Amazon Prime Video or your local PBS online site.
Amazon Season 1 Episode 3 Chicken Video is the recipe for Casserole-Roasted Chicken with Bacon, Onions, and Potatoes -a variation of the above recipe called Poulet en Cocotte Bonne Femme.
https://www.amazon.com/French-Chef-Julia-Child/dp/B0062246R8
Simple Pot Roast
I served the pot roast with mashed potatoes and leftover spinach.
Ingredients
One (2-3-pound) prime boneless beef chuck roast, tied
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Flour
Olive oil
4 carrots, each cut in 3 or 4 pieces
1 cup chopped yellow onions
1 cup chopped celery
2 large garlic cloves, grated
1/2 cup red wine
2 cups beef broth
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Pat the beef dry with a paper towel. Season the roast all over with salt & pepper. Dredge the whole roast in flour, including the ends.
In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the roast and sear on all sides of the meat until browned. Remove the roast to a large plate.
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and garlic and cook over medium heat until tender but not browned. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the stock and seasonings. Put the roast back into the pot and bring the liquid to a boil. Cover the pot and. place it in the oven for 60 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 250 degrees F, add the carrots to the pot and cook for an additional 2 hours.
Remove the roast to a cutting board and carrots to a serving plate. Use an immersion blender to puree the broth until smooth. Slice the meat. Serve warm with the sauce spooned over it.
