The Single Most Important

Hi! I'm Kim and this is my Kitch. 

I'm on the third floor of a lovely circa 1880 home with slanted walls and high ceilings. On my table, mason jars can usually be found. Some usually contain biscotti and some, blooms. The Kitch has reds, whites, greens, and woods all around. Quirky Danish accents, turquoise cookery, and plants can also be found.

I've been cooking for a long time. Not Julia Child-long, but long enough to know that making beef bourguignon in less than two hours is a tremendous feat.

I've also been in the Kitch long enough to know that a well-packaged treat can be even more tremendous than quick meat. That's why I've started a little shop for my baked goodies. Check out the link to my etsy shop in the right column of this page. Anyway, back to that beef.

It was tender, moist, the sauce was not too thin, not too thick and flavorful, sweet *and* savory. Just delicious.

So how was this particular beef stew created in way less than half the time required for the traditional Julia Child Beef Bourguinon recipe? Would you like to guess?

I'll give you a hint, the tagline on the box said:



"The Single Most Important Piece of Cookware You'll Ever Own"



Upon receiving this gift, I did not believe the grand claims the piece of equipment touted. I never thought one piece of cookware could actually change one's life.

But now... I'm all --- shouting through my fingertips about how grand pressure cookers really are.

Well, really, they are.
Risotto in 7 minutes, steamed veggies in 3. A pressure cooker not only cooks more quickly and efficiently, it also uses less energy than other cooking methods.

Now. If only I could bake biscotti in one...

 or, how about a pear tart?

pear tart about to be baked in a traditional oven

or even eggplant parmigianno?

birthday dinner parma-SEAN with baked eggplant and ricotta

Anyway, I do know one can put The Single Most Important Piece of Cookware to good use with this recipe:

Beef Bourguignon (French Beef Stew)
adapted from Julia Child and Fagor recipes... by the KimKitch

2 TBS olive oil or 4 strips bacon
4 lbs beef stew meat, cubed and dried with a paper towel so it will brown properly
1-2 sliced carrots
1 TBS flour
1 TBS sugar
1 TBS red wine vinegar
1.25 cups beef broth
1.50 tsp salt
pepper to taste

2 large onions, diced
12 small pearl onions, peeled (I replaced these with roasted carrots and potatoes with thyme)
1/4 cup butter
2 lbs mushrooms, quartered

1-In a medium skillet, sauté onions until translucent.

2-In pressure cooker, heat oil (and/or bacon fat) and brown beef. Remove beef with a slotted spoon to a side dish. Add carrots to the fat and sauté until brown, remove carrots to a separate side dish.

3-Return the beef to the cooker. Sprinkle on the flour and toss to coat the beef lightly. Cook over medium heat until flour browns and a light crust forms.

4-Move the meat to one side of the cooker, then add sugar until it caramelizes. Once it does, add vinegar and stir.

5-Add wine, beef broth, salt and pepper.

6-Add onions to beef mixture, close lid on pressure cooker and bring to pressure. Cook for 40 minutes on position 2.

7-In a separate saucepan, place peeled pearl onions (or roast potatoes in the oven instead) in water until tender. In skillet where onions were sauteed, heat butter and sauté mushrooms. Add pearl onions to mushrooms and sauté until glazed.

8-When meat is done cooking, release pressure carefully (and be sure to release all of it!) and remove lid.

9-Add mushroom/onion mixture and carrots and potatoes, if using. Close lid again and bring to pressure for 5 minutes.

10-Release pressure, remove lid, and serve with egg noodles or biscuits, and parsley sprigs... and red wine... oh, and if you were able to save that bacon, it's great crumbled over the dish before serving.

This is a lovely, warming autumn / winter meal