Crock Pot Beef Bourguignon with updated review of Chateau Maine D’Arman 2010 wine

Crock Pot Beef Bourginoun

One very energetic winter day I looked up Julia Child’s recipe for beef bourguignon. It was a very labor intensive meal taking a long period of time to complete. It was also out of this world delicious! I couldn’t see doing it often though, a shame since it is so tasty. I decided to attempt to modify the recipe. I’ve done so twice, both worked very well. The first was simply taking out some of the prep steps, using only a single pan; the second was using my previous modified version and doing the cooking in the crock pot.

Crock Pot Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients:

  • 1 beef roast of desired size and cut (I prefer tri-tip)
  • 4 slices bacon- cut into 1” pieces
  • 1 medium onion- sliced, or 1 lb broiler onions
  • 2 cloves garlic- minced
  • 8 oz bella crimini mushrooms- sliced
  • 2 large carrots- cut into large pieces
  • 6 potatoes- halved
  • 1 cup red wine (I like to use Chateau Maine D’Arman 2010)
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 2 sticks butter
  • 3 bay leaves
  • Flour for dusting

Seasoning mix:

  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp white pepper
  • ¼ tsp ground coriander
  • ¼ tsp caraway
  • 1 tsp rosemary
  • 1 tsp thyme

Directions:

  1. In a medium skillet heat 1 stick of butter over low heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is caramelized, about 40 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until golden brown.
  1. While the onion is cooking add the potatoes to the bottom of your crock pot, then add the carrots.
  1. Add the caramelized onion and mushroom mixture to the crock pot. Do not mix up. You want the potatoes to remain on the bottom.
  1. Slice the beef roast into large chunks, pat each chunk dry with a towel. Coat the beef in a mixture of flour and the seasoning mix, set aside.
  1. In the same skillet you caramelized the onions in, brown the bacon. Remove the bacon pieces to the crock pot but leave the fat in the bottom of the pan. Add the beef and brown on each side. If needed add more butter to the pan.
  1. When the beef is browned move it to the crock pot and de-glaze the skillet with ½ a cup of wine and add to the crock pot with the rest of the wine and the broth. At this time also add the bay leaves and any remaining butter.
  1. Cook on low 8 hours.
  1. To serve remove the potatoes and mash them with some garlic, onion powder and sour cream. If you prefer you do not have to mash the potatoes. You can also take some of the liquid from the crock pot and make a thicker gravy with it at this time. I do this by adding butter and flour to a saucepan and then adding the liquid, whisking until the proper thickness.

If you do not want to do the cooking in a crock pot I would advise getting a pan like This. Then you can do all the steps in the same pan and cook it in the oven for 5 hours at 325 degrees.

caracmelized onions and mushrooms

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I get a lot of hits for This wine review. It seems a lot of people want to know if this is a good wine and I do not know if my previous review covered it all. So I am going to give a few more thoughts after having tried this wine a few more times.

The wine does have good flavor. We had a glass while eating this dinner and it went very well, quite enjoyable. What I did not like, and I’m not sure it was like this last time, was that it was grainy. You could see little bits of red stuff floating around in the wine and they had an awful texture in our mouths. It was really bad at the bottom of the bottle and I actually just threw that out. I don’t want to have to try to chew my wine. If our previous bottle had been like that I am not sure we would have purchased a second. I am unsure if we will give this wine another try after this experience or not. It’s still amazing in this recipe but, that graininess…..yuck!

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Best ever pizza crust recipe and Wine Review: Colimoro Montepulciano D’abruzzo

Best Ever Pizza Crust

Years ago, 11 to be exact, I married my amazing husband and began my experimentation in the kitchen. I have developed a large variety of go-to recipes over the years but none surpass my amazing pizza crust recipe. I experimented with SO MANY recipes before settling on this particular one. It’s so versatile and so forgiving. Plus it didn’t need to rise in the fridge, which is great since I once forgot I had a crust rising in the fridge and it kind of became it’s own entity that took forever to clean out. I don’t remember where I discovered this recipe. I haven’t used an actual recipe in years and years. I go by look now. I have a basic recipe that I change depending on our mood. We’ve added honey and different seasonings and it’s still been an amazingly well put together crust. So, without further ado, here is the recipe:

Easy Pizza Crust

  • 2 ¼ tsps yeast
  • 1 tb sugar
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3-5 cups flour
  • Your choice of seasonings to taste (I use Italian seasoning, paprika, garlic and onion)

            Pre-heat the oven to 420 degrees. In a medium sized bowl mix the yeast, sugar and water. Add seasonings to taste. Then add the salt and olive oil. Next add the flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Set aside to rise while the oven is pre-heating.

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            When the dough has risen spray your hands with cooking oil and shape the dough as desired, add toppings and cook for 20 minutes.

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Note: I live in high altitude. A longer cooking time may be necessary in lower altitudes. Just keep an eye on it.

Our usual toppings are pepperoni (deli pepperoni and the regular old bagged kind you find in the store), olives, onion, bell pepper, meunster cheese and mozerella cheese. The taste is sublime. Love it!

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A pizza baking experience would not be complete without at least one child demanding ingredients. Daughter demanded cheese, cheese and more cheese. Then, when all the cheese was gone she moved on to demanding pepperoni. I also have a few very loyal “please drop something tasty” dogs waiting in the wings.

Please ma'am, can I have some more?

Now, I usually just use a plain pizza sauce, no seasonings, on top. I figure the crust is seasoned well enough it doesn’t need added flavor. However, we had an amazing tomato harvest this year which has led to a LOT of canning. So, we made our own pizza sauce while the dough was rising. It was pretty amazing. I am going to share that recipe next week.

We usually sample a wine on Friday nights. It’s an enjoyable, relaxing time for us as a couple. But…I really wanted to fine a great wine to go with our pizza. So off to the liqour store where I asked the amazing wine guy what wine would go best with pizza.

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That is how we ended up with this wine:

                   Colimoro Montepulciano D’abruzzo

Description: [from the wine makers website] Colimoro Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is bursting with aromas of dried cherries accented by a hint of spice. Medium in body, this is a fruit-forward wine balanced by moderate acidity and soft tannins. Aged in large Slavonian oak casks for 6 months, this is an easy-drinking wine best enjoyed young with everyday meals.

The back of the bottle explicitly says it pairs well with pizza.

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Wine Review:

This wine has a really strong flavor in my opinion. It has a nice scent, very “winey” for lack of a better term. It is rather dry, and thus, bitter, but not bad. I enjoyed my first few sips. However, even though it is specifically to be paired with pizza and pasta I thought it over powered every flavor. We tried this first with the pizza and again, later, with some home made spaghetti. Still, too strong.

I did start out thinking this wine was pretty great. I had a few sips before I started eating and thought it had a pleasant flavor and that it was going to be a “whole bottle” kind of wine tasting. It wasn’t. I just had the one glass. I like to taste my pizza and this just didn’t afford me that luxury. Also, I felt it grew more bitter when paired with the food. So I had my 1 glass and was done, both times we tried this wine.

I think I’m going to find a nice chianti and try that with the pizza.

Review: Dark Horse Sauvignon Blanc 2014 and Lobster

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Wine:

Dark Horse 2014 Sauvignon Blanc    $

[Description from the Wine Makers Website] The most refreshing wine from Dark Horse, our Sauvignon Blanc offers bright aromas of grapefruit and gooseberry lined with fresh green notes. Layers of citrus and melon flavors create a crisp taste with medium viscosity and a long, refreshing finish.

Cheese:

None. We ate Lobster. The kids ate crab. The Red Lobster website suggested that Lobster paired well with sauvignon and we happened to already have the Dark Horse wine so…..yay!

Lobster was cooked according to the recipe on the Red Lobster website.

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Wine Review-

The wine was very enjoyable. Certainly something I’d have a glass of alone. However, it paired so well with the lobster that I was simply in heaven. Obviously lobster is an expensive but enjoyable meal no matter what. Pairing it with this wine simply brought out the best flavors in this exquisite crustacean and made the meal a real pleasure to have.

Of course, I was cracking crab open non-stop for our children. I swear our Daughter can eat a pound of crab without blinking an eye. Son is not quite as voracious and prefers to crack the claws and then talk non-stop about it. Daughter did not like the lobster. Son claimed he did but refused seconds. That is his usual way of pretending he enjoyed something. He usually reserves that for eggs and cheese.

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Review: 2012 Oveja Negra Carbenet Franc Carmenere and Gruyere Cheese

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Wine:

2012  Oveja Negra Carbenet Franc Carmenere                    $8.99

[From Winemakers Web Page] Wine Makers Notes: Deep fruit characters dominate, with red cherries and soft touches of raspberries against a black fruit background complemented with some tabacco and cassis notes. Firm yet smooth on the palate, this wine displays a juicy, refreshing mouthfeel that reveal elegant hints of cedar and bitter chocolate that lead to more fruity characters that appear on the finish. Cellaring potential: drink now through 2+ years

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Cheese:

Gruyere Quarter Wheel           $12.47

[From Wikipedia] Gruyère is sweet but slightly salty, with a flavor that varies widely with age. It is often described as creamy and nutty when young, becoming with age more assertive, earthy and complex. When fully aged (five months to a year) it tends to have small cracks which impart a slightly grainy texture.

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Wine Review-

Well this was not a good wine. In fact I had less than half a glass. I couldn’t stomach it at all. The flavor was not at all to my liking. I thought it was too bitter (and this from a girl who likes dry wine) and it caused my gag reflex to act up. Of course that is with the addition of the cheese which was grainy and nasty. More on that in the cheese review.

So that’s me. My husband, however, liked it. He thought it paired splendidly with the cheese and he found the flavor pleasing and not bitter at all. He couldn’t understand my issue with the wine. Husband gives it thumbs up. I give it thumbs down. I suppose it is up to you to decide.

We will both agree that this wine didn’t have any of the tasting notes the wine maker says it does. We didn’t get that at all.

Cheese Review-

What is there to say, it’s Gruyere. I find I’m not overly found of gruyere anything. I don’t usually eat much of the cheese but I do try them. So I tried it and it’s just as disgusting as I remember from our last red wine and gruyere experience.

Husband, of course, disagrees. He ate the cheese up. He does tend to like cheese. He said the flavor improved as he got closer to the center of the cheese hunk. I declined to test his theory

Bonterra Merlot 2012 and Merlot Bellavitano cheese

Bonterra Merlot

Wine:

Bonterra Merlot 2012- Organic                      $14.99

[from back of bottle] Our merlot is barrel aged to accentuate the distinctive cherry-berry flavors and subtle aromas of cranberry and chocolate.

Cheese:

Merlot Bellavitano                                              $5.25

[from their website] By wedding this rich, creamy cheese to the berry and plum notes of Merlot, we’ve created a marriage of flavors destined to make your taste buds say, “I do.”

Wine Review-

This wine is fantastic. It matches its description pretty well. We think you can taste the cherry accents in the wine. The wine obviously pairs well with the cheese. We think this wine would go really well with bold flavored dinner. I want to try it with beef borginoun this winter. I think that would pair fantastically. All around great wine. Drink it casually while watching the sun set or with a good meal, just drink it!

Cheese Review

The cheese is grainy, salty and has a strong taste. I didn’t like it alone but it does go well with the wine. My husband’s exact words were, “good, yummy, very good cheese but I wouldn’t eat it alone.” So grab this cheese with some bread or crackers and the suggested wine for the best experience.

Ambiance Pinot Grigio 2013 and Courenne Double Cream

Ambiance

Wine:

Ambiance Pinot Grigio 2013                                     $9.99

[Sourced from Wine Express] Fruit for the Belle Ambiance Pinot Grigio was harvested in the cool hours of the night, delivered to the winery and then immediately pressed into fermenters. A slow, low-temperature fermentation on very low grape solids and aging that took place entirely in stainless steel allowed us to capture all of the delicate fruit and floral aromas that a Pinot Grigio can deliver. Delicate aromas of lemon blossoms, honeysuckle, tropical fruits, white peaches and jasmine flowers. It shows luscious flavors of white nectarines, tart lemons and sweet honeydew melon. This medium-bodied wine is crisp and bright, with a tangy and lingering finish. It scored 92 points in the Critics Challenge Wine Competition.

Cheese:

Courenne Double Cream                                            $6.99/lb

Ah now this is a tough one. I Googled this cheese to see how it is described and found quite a few descriptions of Brie Courenne. We bought this cheese at a local cheese shop in Ft Collins, CO.

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Wine Review-

This wine was nice. Crisp. Enjoyable. Not my favorite white wine but certainly lovely all the same. I thought the cheese went well with it (but the cheese was awesome). I think this would be a great bottle of wine to bring to a dinner of fish or chicken. All around good wine.

Cheese Review-

This cheese was amazing. Seriously delicious. It was like a flavorful butter. We ate it with a hot baguette and we ate ALL of it. I don’t usually eat the cheeses, I leave that to Husband. However, even I loved this cheese. We are most certainly going to get this cheese again.