Growing up we took Mom's cooking for granted. Three squares a day — hot breakfasts, bagged lunches, afternoon snacks. The whole family sat down to dinner six nights a week, always a complete salad-meat-starch-veg-dessert menu. Saturdays were special with casual fare like "make your own taco night" or homemade pizza, plus we could eat in the TV room. Unfortunately, the only thing on was sports, the news or Hee-Haw. I can still sing some of the Hee-Haw songs.
And get this — not only did St. Mom cook for her five ravenous sons (and Dad of course), SHE COOKED DINNER FOR THE DOGS. Soccer and Casey, two enormous Newfoundlands. A favorite of theirs was sautéed ground horse meat (I kid you not). Eggs, too. Just a little something hot and tasty to dress up the Purina Dog Chow. If that's not love…
So it's kind of astonishing that when I got my own place during college I had no sense of how to cook. But providence soon came to the rescue in the Washington U. book store's bargain bin. Instant Haute Cuisine by Esther Riva Solomon. Esther was to become my guide, my mentor, my Rosetta Stone into the world of "fancy" cooking.
Esther attended Le Cordon Blue in Paris though unlike other alums (Julia Child, Ina Garten), it didn't really take. Esther felt the painstaking results of classic culinary techniques were indistinguishable from American supermarket conveniences. Think canned gravy, "broiled in butter" mushrooms, pudding mix, Bovril, and things I've certainly never come across (frozen chopped onions? Canned stewed celery hearts? Really?). But at least it was a start.
Fast forward to J.C.'s Mastering the Art of French Cooking and all the fuss about Beef Bourguignon drummed up by the movie. Let's take a look at Esther vs. Julia, ingredients only:
Esther:
1 1/2 lbs. round steak cut into small cubes
s&p
1 T. vegetable oil
2 cups canned beef gravy
1 c. Burgundy
1 (3-ounce) can sliced mushrooms
1 (8-ounce) can small white onions
Parsley or chives, chopped
Julia:
A 6-ounce chunk of bacon
1 T. olive oil or cooking oil
3 lbs. lean stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes
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1 sliced onion
s&p
2 T. flour
3 cups of a full-bodied, young red wine such as one of those suggested for serving, or a Chianti
2-3 c. brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon (score one for Esther!)
1 T. tomato paste
1/2 t. thyme
A crumbled bay leaf
18-24 small white onions, brown-braised in stock (note: this is a separate one-hour operation involving more stock and a bouquet garni. Don't let anyone tell you frozen pearl onions are just as good. They are not!)
1 lb. quartered fresh mushrooms, sautéed in butter (another separate 15 minute prep)
Parsley sprigs
Instant Haute Cuisine's method is pretty simple: brown the meat, dump the rest in and cook for an hour and half. Anyone familiar with MTAOFC knows that Julia proscribes a more intricate, detailed approach.
So recently, in the mood for a delicious B.B. I couldn't quite shake the faint echo of Esther's advice to simplify, simplify. I undertook an experiment. I prepared J.C.'s version to the letter save one thing: rather than the long, slow 2 1/2 – 3 hour braise, I sped things up with my trusty pressure cooker. No shortcuts on the pearl onions or mushrooms or other steps (e.g. boil the bacon first…). I followed Julia faithfully, just cranking up the pressure cooker for 20 minutes instead of the long braise she indicates and violá! I don't want to risk heresy claiming it was every bit as good as the tried and true classic, but believe me, it was mighty fine.
I pull a full-on Esther for my side dish: Riz Vert. Make Rice. Make frozen chopped spinach. Mix.
One last thing: this pressure cooker is a combo cooker/canner. There are lots of less intimidating and stylish models available. I'm a major pressure cooker fan, so stay tuned for more recipes from this near-miraculous time-saver.
Anyone else a fan of the pressure cooker? Got any good recipes? Would love to hear them.