To that end, I have been trying to catch up on my all of the Dorie recipes. This doesn't just mean Tuesdays with Dorie. I am also now a member of the group French Fridays with Dorie. I have the suspicion that I am going to be a fairly silent partner in this group as I can not get its website to cooperate with me in the least.
Apparently I am a word press moron. I get logged in and get taken to my profile. That's it folks. If I want to see the website contents I have to look from an unlogged in perspective. Rather daunting since we get to vote on these recipes and I love to spread my opinion as far as I can.
I have made two of the French Friday dishes so far. I made the Beef Daube and the Potato Leek Soup. I am accustomed to be stunned by how tasty Dorie's recipes are and the Beef Daube is no exception. It took me a bit longer to pull it all together, than I expected, but the taste was worth it.
After browning the beef cubes, I slowly cooked the onions and shallots. I added the beef, carrots, and parsnips to the pan and prepared to add the red wine. I used a delightful Yellow Tail Shiraz - not because of the taste - I have no wine taste buds. I bought it solely based on price. I know, I know, cook only with something you would drink by the glass - but honestly - they all taste the same to me - that being the case, I figured saving seven or eight bucks was the wise choice.
I then learned that I had no clue how to work my Pampered Chef corkscrew. I am positive I did it wrong because (a) a little metal thing and some plastic shards came off of it and (b) it barely budged the cork. However, with the help of a paring knife and infinite patience I was able to work the blasted cork out of the bottle. Oh, for a saber and the skill to simply lop off the top of the damned bottle! After a quick visit to Sur La Table, I am prepared to open bottles without a sword, once again.Regardless. The stew simmered for the requisite 2.5 hours and when pulled from the oven, it both smelled and tasted divine. Don't judge it by this mediocre photo. I have been eating the stew for the last few days and it is getting a little forlorn looking.
I am still slightly undecided about the potato leek soup. It has a lovely pale, pale green color to it and a nice flavor. However, it is decidedly leek and not so decidedly potato in nature. I think it may be a soup that is tastier on the second day, so I shall make my ultimate decision after it chills for a time. I pureed my soup with my immersion blender - a tool I rarely find the opportunity to use but am liking more and more every time that opportunity does arise. I chose to do that because I got a bit sidetracked when making the stew and it boiled longer than necessary. I actually thought it was a lost cause. I swear that blasted milk had separated into water and whey! Tres gros! However, a few quick swirls with the blender and I had creamy loveliness.
If I am still on the fence after my next tasting, I shall boil up a potato or two and toss them into the pot. I am sure their addition will bring this soup from pretty good to fine and dandy.
Finally for Tuesdays with Dorie, where have I been all these weeks? Well, sometimes baking and not posting and sometimes not getting my act together to bake. I have certainly made more of the last few months selections than one can tell from my blogs and I will get those postings online as soon as is feasible. I made the cranberry shortcake several weeks ago. I absolutely loved this cake. I must have spread my jam more thinly than was anticipated because I had quite a bit of the jam remaining. I wanted to make more of the jam for Christmas presents, but I never saw cranberries in the grocery store this year. Most have been another blight of some kind!
Everyone who had a taste of this cake pronounced it excellent. It was easy and quick to bake and will definitely become part of my go-to repertoire.
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