Not Filipino, but … Boeuf Bourguignon

So my mom was a Julia Child fan and she liked a good beef stew, so I’m sure she made Julia’s Beef Bourg. Well, I assume she did, anyways. My mother, like many others, had Julia Child’s The French Chef cookbook, but I didn’t really learn more about Julia until Meryl Streep played her in a movie (Julie & Julia, 2009). My mother died in 1994, so I didn’t have a chance to talk to her about it. But when I watched the movie, I felt a connection to Julia Child mostly because she had good taste and a drive to succeed, like my own mother. After I watched the movie, I just had to make the Boeuf Bourguignon.

I can’t remember now if I bought the cookbook or just looked it up on the internet, but currently, I have a small collection of Julia Child’s cookbooks. I try to get first editions or at least early editions when I invest in a book, it’s a thing with me. 🙂

Nevertheless, I got the recipe and bought the ingredients. And just like in the movie, I said YUM! When I tasted it. My life was forever changed by that moment. My Julia moment.

One memory seared into my brain is when I was in Seattle and was house sitting for a friend. She had a beautiful kitchen and Le Creuset pans, so when her family was on a trip abroad, I decided to make the stew for them as a Thank You and a welcome-home treat. I happily slaved over the dish in her beautiful kitchen (enjoying every minute of cooking in her kitchen) and it came out perfectly. I left it in the pot for them with a note. She told me later they got back late and were hungry and exhausted, so they were pleasantly surprised I left this treat for them. “We fell on it like wolves,” she said. The best compliment I think I ever received. It’s always nice to be appreciated when you make an effort. 🙂

In 1994, when my mother was sick and I was taking care of her, she asked me to make Beef Stroganoff for her. I had never made it before and thought it was a strange request to make of me. But my mother was having a craving and I wasn’t going to disappoint. She didn’t tell me how to make it or if there was a good recipe somewhere. (There was, but I didn’t know this.) In 1994, it was before the internet was readily available. So, I tried to cobble together something and it was a disaster. Sadly, my mother was disappointed. (Sad for me. Yet, another memory seared into my brain.)

Once I learned how to make it properly, and with wine, I reflected how much she would enjoy this version. I’d like to think she would be proud. If I got the chance, I’d make her some and we’d talk for hours in the kitchen. Sigh …

Nowadays, I’ve made the Julia Child version (YUM) and several others. Since I do a lot of cooking in my Instant Pot these days, I tried this recipe the other night and it was good. A little too tomato-ey for me, but still good. Instant Pot Beef Bourginion