Wrangler Dani

I love Julia Child. I also love to cook, but more in the fashion of Chef Louis – with much humming and jigging and dabs of flour and throwing ingredients about – rather than Julia – with several pages of detailed instructions on poaching eggs.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcyhVHrmlMU&w=480&h=390]

My style, while entertaining for my guests (I try to sing to my dishes as often as possible) can get in the way of new culinary experiences, and my lack of attention to recipes, my tendency to make things up as I go along and my blithe ignorance of how to cook anything that would feed any less than ten hungry men has gotten me in trouble more than once.

But finally, my friends, I have made up a recipe so divine that I absolutely HAD to write it down and share it with you, in hopes that I’ll remember what I did right and learn to cook like a real person instead of a backwoods mamma.

Which, really, is unlikely, because all I did was mash together Julia’s absolutely awesome Boeuf Bourguignon with my backwoods mamma style and my insatiable love of my darling Crock-Pot.

So little dearies, without further ado, here is my attempt at a recipe, for your chomping enjoyment:

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Boeuf Bourguignon, Cowboy-style

Ingredients:

One bottle of red wine – I used Pinot Noir (really only half the bottle – the rest is to reward yourself with as you slave over a hot Crock-Pot).

One lb (or so) sirlion steak, cut into chunks.

One medium onion, chopped.

Half-lb frozen veggies, whatever you like best – I used a pea and carrot mix.

12-oz whole Cremini mushrooms. They blend better with the red wine than button mushrooms and they look pretty when they’re whole, so I make life easy on myself and don’t chop them up.

One can diced tomatoes (no need to drain, pour the juice in too).

A tablespoon salt

A teaspoon black pepper.

Two teaspoons red cayenne pepper (less if you’re don’t like spice).

Quarter-cup of Balsalmic Vinegar

One lb of bacon (added later).

Directions: Throw it all in a Crock-Pot on low for at least six hours. Drink the rest of your wine.

About an hour before you plan to serve this luscious dinner, fry up your bacon and break into bitesize pieces. Put the bacon in your broth and add wine, salt and pepper if needed, but remember that the bacon will add a lot of salty flavor to your broth. You don’t want it to be soupy, just add enough wine that you have a healthy broth to savor. Let the bacon play with his friends in there for about an hour (less is okay if you’re in a hurry), then serve.

Serve with a smile on your face, more red wine, and mashed potatoes. (Preferably Yukon Gold – they’re the creamiest.)

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It’s so GOOD. Seriously. It tastes like you just had dinner out of a chuck wagon on the prairie, but instead of Hop Sing, your cook’s name is Pierre and he is a romantic French cowboy with a penchant for open skies and Crock-Pots.

You will love it. At least I hope so. Try it and tell me what you think! I mean, if you want. But you do. Because who doesn’t beef and wine and bacon and Julia Child and cowboys?