Confessions of an ex-foodie
I have a confession to make. I don’t cook.
It’s not that I don’t know how or don’t like to cook, I just don’t… It’s a time/energy issue. When I leave the office, the last thing I want to do is spend an hour or more making dinner. I love cooking and have more cookbooks and foodie magazines than I do knitting and spinning books. Impossible, I know! But nearly every day, my husband and I have dinner at various cafés or restaurants nearby. It’s $5 bowls of pho (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup), $3 bowls of congee (rice porridge with stuff in it), $5 Malaysian curry from Hawkers’ Delight on Main Street, or a huge piece (we split) of Sicilian lasagna from the Brioche Bakery across from my office. It’s easy.
On the rare occasion that we do cook, we (read “he”) make Ma-Po Tofu and corn soup. Ah yes. Super healthy, eh! But this weekend, I decided to crack open my new cookbook from La Regalade and make their Beef Bourguinon (Jen G, if you are reading this, you are not allowed to buy this cookbook for yourself). You will recall last year when the DH made us Anthony Bourdain’s version of this dish. This is mine:
Whereas the Bourdain version was made in the dutch oven on the stove, Alain Rayé’s version is made by braising in the oven for about 2 1/2 hours. The potatoes are baked in heavy cream alongside in the oven for the last one hour of cooking. So simple. So easy. I just might do it again.
For those of you who want to taste the real deal, make yourselves a reservation at La Regalade in West Vancouver. Oh, and make a day out of it and visit the Knit & Stitch Shoppe too!
My mouth is actually watering. Not fair, it’s only 11am
Hope it tasted as good as the pictures! I never used to cook either for lack of time, etc. but now that I’m at home for awhile…I’ve been cooking like crazy… Being newly married helps with the motivation to cook too…since it’s fun to hear that “mmmm” when hubby gets home…LOL
I love this dish and make it on a regular basis. I do cook in the over for a few hours as well, but I know it can be made in a stockpot. We have experimented with different ingredients, best is fresh thyme and rosemary, but we have also added dijon mustard, and different types of bacon.
Yum. I just ate and those pictures make me hungry. I’ll have to check out that cookbook.
That potato gratin look so yummy.
I’m undecided, should I gawk with admiration at your yummy cooking or your pretty fiber?
I’m jealous! I wish I had $5 bowls of pho and $3 bowls of congee near my house too. Especially in the winter…
Whoa, you really make me drool…I miss lots of yummy food from home sweet home Singapore but we found this nice restaurant uptown Houston not long ago and it’s a Malaysian Restaurant with authentic dishes, very good excellent food, beats all the knock off Asian American bistros like PF Changs but then again Chinatown in San Francisco, New York or Amsterdam would be better…maybe I should dream of relocating! Oh well, back to my law books, have a final exam tomorrow…
Try the beef bourguinon at Henry’s Kitchen on McDonald and W24th. It’s magically delicious!