1000 Foods (pgs. 60 – 62), recipe found in text

            For centuries, from the 17^th to the mid-20^th and even beyond, French cuisine has had a stuffy, high-class reputation outside of France. The fanciest restaurants were almost all French, and they served elaborate, haute-cuisine creations that most home cooks would never attempt. Julia Child did more than any other English-language author to popularize French middle-class and provincial dishes. Even high-class French restaurants jumped on the bandwagon, often with a bit of fancying up.

            Perhaps the most famous Julia Child dish of all is boeuf bourguignon, a beef stew starring the Burgundy region’s famous red wine. Low, slow cooking tenderizes economical beef cuts like chuck while creating a rich gravy. Even more flavor comes from onions, shallots, garlic, mushrooms, parsley, thyme, and dried orange peel. The recipe does take a bit more prep work and finessing than the typical American or British beef stew, separately cooking the onions, mushrooms, and bacon before adding them to the pot, but none of it is very difficult. Just set aside enough time, particularly for marinating the meat.

            Along with Bordeaux in the southwest, the area of Burgundy in the east has been one of France’s most prestigious wine regions since the Middle Ages. Vineyards there produce some of the most expensive pinot noir in the world, along with more affordable wine. The recipe calls for a good but not extravagant red burgundy. Since the local grocery store didn’t have French burgundy, I got a bottle of California pinot noir. Supposedly the vines were started with cuttings from Burgundy, and it was under $20 but not the absolute cheapest option. In other words, mid-priced by flyover country standards, and there was some leftover to serve with the stew.

            The French region of Burgundy has a long and complicated political history. Sandwiched between France and the Holy Roman Empire, wealthy and powerful Burgundy was often either fully or partially independent. Throughout the Middle Ages, the dukes there had a love-hate relationship with the kings of France and caused them all sorts of headaches. During the Hundred Years’ War, King Jean II granted the duchy to his youngest son Philippe the Bold. Through his own and his son’s marriages, the duke of Burgundy gained control of the Flanders, Holland, Brabant, and Hainaut in the Low Countries.

            For much of the 15^th Century, the dukes of Burgundy were almost as powerful as the French kings themselves. Due to a conflict over who got to act as regent whenever Charles VI experienced an episode of psychosis, which happened almost annually, for months at a time, over a 30-year period, Burgundy ended up siding with the English for part of the Hundred Years’ War. Without their help, Henry V of England would probably not have had such spectacular success, and Burgundy’s later return to French allegiance helped turn the tide back toward France once and for all. Meanwhile, the dukes of Burgundy had one of the most dazzling courts in Europe.

            Burgundy’s rise was stopped abruptly when Duke Charles the Bold was killed in battle without a male heir in 1477. Louis XI of France seized his French territories, but his attempt to take Flanders and force Charles’ daughter Marie to marry his own son, the future Charles VIII, backfired. Burgundy and the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III had previously worked together to counter Louis XI, to the point of negotiating a marriage between his Marie and Frederick’s son Maximilian. For political reasons, and since the future Charles VIII was only 8 years old while Maximilian was 18, the 20-year-old Marie chose the latter. Their son later married the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, bringing the Habsburgs to Spain and leading to three more centuries of conflict with France.

            This dish is a good project for a day off work, when you can take your time and enjoy the process. Boeuf bourguignon, or beef burgundy, is also a great dish for entertaining, and not just because it can be made ahead. It makes you seem classy without breaking the bank. And the taste is a revelation. Beef burgundy is probably one of the best dishes I’ve made so far. The flavors of beef, wine, onions, and mushrooms all blend together in perfect harmony.

            Mimi Sheraton recommends serving it with little potatoes, tossed with butter and parsley after cooking. Since this was already a special meal, I added two more items. A simple green salad is a nice fresh contrast, and with the amount of flavorful gravy, you definitely want bread to soak it up. Naturally, since this is a French dish, a crusty baguette is the way to go.

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