Boeuf Bourguignon

I don't own this book (yet), but was curious to try what has become one of the signature dishes from this famous cookbook, and found the recipe on the Random House Website.

It's not a technically complicated recipe, but it does require a good chunk of time to complete, as not only are you making the main beef stew, but also two sub-recipes, for Sauteed Mushrooms and Brown-Braised Onions. If you plan carefully, however, you can make those while the beef cooks in the oven.

All said, it took me about 4 hours from start to finish. I used pre-cut stewing beef from a local organic farm, and bought some good beef stock from a local butcher/deli, but otherwise followed the directions to the letter.

The result was a delicious, rich, beef stew. I didn't give it 5 stars because it didn't taste dramatically better than other variations on the recipe I'd had before. But definitely good to have this one under my belt (in more ways than one!).