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Beef Bourguignon + Apple à la Mode
TGIF! Friday nights are the best! M time is usually spent on recreating a more complex or time-consuimg dish. Today I also had some good company joining for dinner, therefore I decided to break out the EXPENSIVE stuff. I'm joking. The last month was filled with gatherings and receptions, which resulted in a collection of left-over wine. A little left of this bottle here and there. Which got me craving for one of my favorite hearty dishes: beef bourguingnon.
大家應該都非常喜歡禮拜五! 通常禮拜五的晚上我會嘗試一些步驟較多需要較長時間料理的菜色。而今天晚上剛剛好有朋從遠方來，故我決定推出高級料理。哈，其實是因為上個月參加了好幾場聚會或晚宴，撿到了瓶瓶罐罐，今天就決定兩種紅酒來煮我最喜歡的料理之一：紅酒燉牛肉。
This is the second time I cooked Gordon Ramsay's beef bourguignon recipe. However, I used two different beef cuts, two different brand of red wine (didn't have enough leftover or either) and decided that I want to serve it with white rice (I got two small packages at a colleague's wedding) and a side of green beans with quick mint sauce. The rest of the menu included a spicy shrimp salad with mango salsa and finally an Apple pie a la mode for dessert. I was craving to do an apple pie after watching of Masterchef USA Season 6 elimination challenge: humble apple pie. The icecream on top makes it all the more sinful.
這是我第二次煮Gordon Ramsay的紅酒燉牛肉。這次我用了兩種牛肉部位、兩種紅酒 (因為兩瓶都剩太少)，配上上次參加同是婚禮拿到的白米及淋上薄荷醬的四季豆。快速弄了一盤辣味鮮蝦沙拉佐芒果莎莎醬，甜點則是冰淇淋蘋果派。至從我看了Masterchef USA Season 6 中以美國最傳統的蘋果派為考題後，手癢的不行決定一定要找機會再做一次蘋果派，上方的冰淇淋讓整個蘋果派更有層次了。
Ramsay's shortcrust pastry never fails! However, I now realize why pies are usually made in the winter... Taiwan is extremely hot and my shortcrust pastry begins to melt away and becomes extremely hard to work with. So if you're planning to get your hands in a pie, perhaps you want to try cooling down your work space first. Also, try to put all your utensils and cooking gadgets into the fridge/freezer prior to working the pastry.
Ramsay的基本派皮非常簡單又酥脆 (不過我常常會減奶油或用全麥/雜糧麵粉代替白麵粉)。這次我體會到為何派皮需要低溫的環境。最近臺北的天氣常常超過30度，害我在桿派皮的時候奶油不停的融化，搞得我全身都是。所以，如果你打算在炎熱的夏天挑戰派皮的話，建議先降溫! 另外，可以把所有會用到的工具都先放進冰箱，這樣奶油才不會溶化，派皮也會更酥脆喔!
All in all it was a very hearty night filled with my selection of comfort food. Taking the time to cook the beef in the oven for over 2 hours helps to lock in the flavors and the beef literally melts in your mouth. One of the biggest lessons I learned from cooking through Ramsay's recipes is: don't cheat, spend the extra time to prepare your food and take it to the next level.
總結一下：今天的菜色都算成功，朋友們聚在一起有說有笑，配上一桌美味的佳餚，這是最棒的禮拜五夜晚。我的牛肉在烤箱裡整整頓了2個多小時，洋蔥、洋菇、培根、紅酒及香料的味道變得很濃郁，牛肉入口即化。至從我開始實驗Ramsay的食譜後，我發現真的不能偷懶，要有耐心，多花一點時間準備食材是非常值得的。