There are exactly 726 pages in
Julia Child’s How to Master French
Cooking, Volume One. I have read
them all, page by page, much like I read a gripping, riveting novel. I have
studied, highlighted and jotted notes in the margins.
One night I unexpectedly landed
upon the boeuf bourguignon recipe. In brackets, it says “[Beef Stew in Red Wine
with Bacon, Mushrooms and Onions]. Julia Child goes on to introduce the dish: “…Carefully
done and perfectly flavored, it is certainly one of the most delicious beef
dishes concocted by man, and can well be the main course for a buffet dinner.”
The recipe for Julia Child's bouef borguignon appeared on pages
315-317. There
are 21 ingredients and 25 steps to follow, meticulously, to recreate this dish.
Preparing the boeuf bourguignon recipe is an arduous and all encompassing
process: it involves cutting, simmering, sautéing, slicing, sprinkling,
tossing, cooking, pouring, skimming, mixing, and serving (not necessarily in
this order).
As with the
most enjoyable things in life, the anticipation of that object or experience
takes an excruciatingly long time. When the actual experience appears, it is
fleeting and passes in the blink of an eye.
Such was the
case with Julia
Child’s bouef borguignon.
It took 4 ½ hours to prepare—4 ½ minutes
for my family to devour.
