Boeuf Bourguignon and Beef Stew and  are both homey, hearty, comforting and delicious dishes. They are similar, but Beef stew is more simple and American. Boeuf Bourguignon has a French name and it is a little more elegant with the addition of cognac, red wine and bacon and is famous because of Julia Child and the movie Julie & Julia. Boeuf Bourguignon has pearl onions and beef stew has an yellow onion.  Of course you could add those fabulous ingredients to beef stew if you want to but I don’t or else it would be Boeuf Bourguignon. My mom likes simple food so I made her the beef stew this Sunday. However, last Sunday I made the Boeuf Bourguignon for Sara & Dan proud parents of Charlie. Sara is part of the book club that I mentioned a few posts ago. As a way to help the new parents out each of us brought a dish for them and my contribution was Boeuf Bourguignon.

I am including the beef stew recipe but you can easily find your favorite Boeuf Bourguignon recipe, hint Julia Child.  Make both and decide which one your prefer. Beef Stew is fast and simple. Boeuf Bourguignon is a little more involved and it will have a deeper flavor but I’d eat either anytime.

Beef  Stew

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 lb of beef stew meat, dredged in flour
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• 2 quarts of chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
• 2 teaspoons of thyme

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a Dutch Oven, I use Le Creuset, heat the olive oil and saute the onions, carrots and celery, when they are tender add the garlic. Take the vegetables out and set aside add another tablespoon of olive oil and dd the beef and saute until brown. Add the chicken broth and tomatoe paste and the vegetables and cover tightly and place in the oven for 2 hours.

Boeuf Bourguignon

This recipe is everywhere so choose the one that you like. I like Ina Garten’s, the Barefoot Contessa, www.barefootcontessa.com, from her book “Barefood In Paris” or you could use Julia Child’s. Regardless it is basically beef stew with the addition of bacon, pearl onions, cognac and red wine. Ahhh….