I was reading through Julia Child’s French cookbook and ran across a recipe for boeuf bourguignon. Most things sound really fancy in French, but that’s beef stewed in red wine. It usually stews for hours, but I didn’t have that much time.

After marinating the meat ahead of time, my method takes about an hour, the meat was very tender, and it was scrumptious served over buttery egg noodles.

Beef Stewed in Red Wine
1 lb. beef club steaks, cubed
2 c. dry red wine, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. oregano
flour for dredging
2 Tbsp. butter
2 c. mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1-1/2 c. onions, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 c. frozen, peas
1 c. beef broth
1 heaping Tbsp. corn starch
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste

Allow a few hours to marinate the meat in 1 c. wine, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano. When ready to cook, drain the meat and reserve the marinade. Dry the meat on a paper towel and lighlty dredge in flour.

Melt the butter in an iron skillet and sear each side of the mushrooms until golden brown. The trick is to avoid the urge to stir. Flip over each slice after a rich golden brown is achieved. Remove the mushrooms from the pan.

Heat olive oil in the skillet and cook the meat, searing each side until brown. Remove from the pan.

Cook onions with the bay leaves and a pinch of salt and pepper until tender. Add the reserved marinade and the remaining cup of wine to deglaze the skillet. Add the meat and the mushrooms back into the skillet. Cook for about 10 minutes more.

Then add peas. Add corn starch dissolved in beef broth and stir until the sauce thickens. Add Worcestershire sauce and taste. Add salt and pepper if needed.

Serve over buttered noodles or rice. Garnishing with chopped fresh parsley or thinly sliced green onions is always good.