Getting Ready for the Big Dinner

Filet of Beef Bourguignon prep started today. It is a good thing too--as it took 4 hours and I was plum tired when I had the dish finished. Definitely do this one a day before you want to serve it--which is recommended anyway. I did finish it right at lunch time today though, so we had tiny portions of it for lunch to test it out--and it was wonderful!

It was a little nerve wracking to make though, just because it was such an expensive cut of meat--$16.95 a pound!!--and I needed 3 pounds for my party, which according to Ina will serve 8, and I am having 10 people--but I figured I will add another side that I had not planned, as I just didn't want to buy more than 3 pounds of the beef filet! (When we went to buy the meat yesterday, I thought David might pass out right there in front of the meat counter...I kept reminding him it was his birthday and he was worth it!) Of course, then we had to go buy the wine (which is not easy in Tyler as this is a dry county!) and that got him hyperventilating also. We didn't get the really good stuff though, like Ina said--we got the next to cheapest we could find! All in all though, this is not a budget meal. Here is the funny thing though--I looked up Julia Child's original recipe for this dish, and she uses stew meat! I might try that next time--though the cooking method would have to change as the stew meat is cooked several hours, and this filet of beef is barely cooked and still a bit rare.

I did pat the meat dry like Julia C says to do--Ina skipped that part, but it just made me feel good to do it! I didn't want anything to get in the way of success on my investment of wonderful meat!

I made an important change I will pass on...as so far it looks to be a very good decision. Since I was short on meat, I decided to double everything else in the recipe to make up for that a bit. The finished product had just the right amount of sauce/broth/gravy...and I think any less would not have been enough. So to double the recipe, I had to cook a half pound of bacon, (called for in the recipe) which made the house smell very bacon greasy--then I simmered 4 cups of the wine in the sauce for an hour, which made the house then smell like a greasy brewery! --another good reason to make this a day in advance! I think I will add white rice as a side to soak up some of the rich sauce though, as it is so tasty. I licked my plate after my taste test!

I also, at the same time, made the roasted tomato basil soup to serve as a first course tomorrow. I am glad I did that a day ahead too, as it got a bit messy. I used a can of crushed tomatoes for the canned tomatoes called for, as I was a bit worried about too many seeds from whole ones. The roasted plum tomatoes were so lovely I took a pic of them. Something about roasting tomatoes and grinding fresh black pepper on something, just makes you feel like a fancy cook! I used my immersion blender on the soup, and got it rather smooth...I didn't mind chunks, but the tomato skins of the roasted tomatoes worried me a bit. The soup tastes great. I like that it is a light soup without cream and lots of butter...and it is good for my party group as several are careful with their diets...

Oh, and I made a beautiful Boston Cream Pie, my hubby's favorite, after I cleaned up from the morning cooking. Now I am really tired.

I will show you the end results of everything on Friday after the birthday dinner Thursday night.