Beef Bourguignon Pies & Balsamic Strawberries

Main: Beef Bourguignon Pies with chips
Women’s Weekly Complete Book of Modern Classics page 339

Dessert: Balsamic Strawberries with mascarpone
Women’s Weekly The Complete Cook page 636

Well, fellow cook nuts, what have I said before??

You can rely on the good old Women’s Weekly for a no fail recipe. What is it they say “we test it three times in our kitchen before we give it out to you” or something like that, not really sure – does anyone remember it? If so let me know. Anyway….. the pies were delicious and the tribe gave them a 10. (AND, of course, the MAV was again a happy chappy – next week might be a different story as I am looking for a good fishy type recipe). This Bourguignon would be great made up and frozen as the flavours would settle into the meat even more and it is just a wonderful meal to have on hand. So very easy with the ready-made pastry and frozen chips as recommended in the recipe.

So, the only down side is this – the recipe says it feeds 6 but a kilo of meat does not feed 6, particularly if the people you are feeding are 6’ 6” men! So, I doubled it and that worked fine. It is rich and tasty and a wonderful winter meal. It would probably work great in the crock pot too if you reduced the liquid and maybe thickened it at the end with some cornflour, I might try that next time and let you know how it transferred to the slow cooker.

Dessert was simple and looked very elegant. The taste was tangy and sweet together. I have wanted to try balsamic with strawberries but the idea of it has turned me off a bit so I am glad I gave it a go because I will definitely do it again. Especially at the moment while strawberries are so cheap. This was also given a 10! So, all in all a very successful night.

As you can see I love the simple hearty type meals. I guess the family just wouldn’t fly with a lot of the fancy pants cuisine nouveau stuff I see in some magazines either. Also, I look for things that don’t absolutely break the bank to make. Give this one a go, you will enjoy it!

From my table to yours with love…..

Beef Bourguignon Pies with Chips

Remember that Julia Child says if you don’t think the wine is good enough to drink then don’t use it in the cooking.

12 Pickling onions
6 rashers Bacon (rind removed sliced thinly)
2 tbsp Olive oil
400 g Mushrooms
1 kg Gravy beef (trimmed cut into 2cm pieces)
1/4 c (35g) plain flour
1 tbsp Tomato paste
2 tsp Fresh thyme leaves
1 c (250ml) Dry red wine
2 c (500ml) Beef stock
750 g packet frozen potato chips
2 sheets Ready rolled butter puff pastry
Cooking-oil spray
1/2 c Flat-leaf parsley (finely chopped)

Peel onions, leaving roots intact; halve lengthways. Cook bacon in heated large heavy-based saucepan, stirring, until crisp; drain on absorbent paper. Cook onion in same pan, stirring, until browned all over; remove from pan. Heat 2 tsp oil in same pan; cook mushrooms, stirring, until just browned. Remove from pan. Coat beef in flour; shake off excess. Heat remaining oil in same pan; cook beef, in batches, until browned all over. Return bacon and onion to pan with tomato paste and thyme; cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add wine and stock; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 1 hour. Add mushrooms; simmer, uncovered, about 40 minutes or until beef is tender, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, preheat oven to hot (220 degrees C/200 fan-forced). Cook chips according to directions on packet. Place pastry sheets on board; using 1 1/4 cup (310ml) ovenproof dish, cut lid for one pie by tracing around upper-rim of dish with tip of sharp knife. Repeat process until you have six lids. Place lids on oiled oven tray, spray with cooking-oil spray; bake, uncovered, during last 4 minutes of chip cooking-time or until lids are browned lightly. Meanwhile, stir parsley into beef bourguignon then divide among six 1 1/2 cup (310ml) ovenproof dishes; top each with pastry lid. Serve pies with hot chips. For the chips just follow the instructions on the packet.

Balsamic Strawberries with Mascarpone

This recipe is just so easy and delicious. Prep time does not include refrigeration.

500 g Strawberries (halved)
1/4 c (55g) Caster sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 c (250g) Mascarpone cheese
1 tbsp Icing sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/4 c Mint leaves (coarsely chopped)

Combine strawberries, sugar and vinegar in medium bowl, cover; refrigerate 20 mins. Combine mascarpone, icing sugar and extract in small bowl. To serve – stir mint into strawberry mixture; divide among serving dishes. Dollop with mascarpone.

Beef Bourguignon Pies & Balsamic Strawberries