cajun boeuf bourguignon + gruyère grits

 

gruyère grits

ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups of water
  • 1/2 cup of whipping cream
  • 1/4 flat tsp. beef Better than Bouillon (BtB)
  • 1/2 cup of white grits (recommended: Palmetto Farms Grits)
  • 3/4 tsp. coarse kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp. fresh cayenne, fresno, or jalapeño pepper, finely diced ( note these peppers provide different amounts of heat -- select a pepper and corresponding amount of heat that you like -- i recommend the fresno pepper)
  • 1/8 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
  •  ½ tsp. coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp. fresh minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup gruyère cheese, shredded (recommended: an aged gruyère for sharp flavor)
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

preparation:

  1. bring water and cream to a boil. 
  2. stir in BtB until dissolved. stir in grits, salt, fresh pepper, ground peppers, and garlic return to a boil. cover and reduce heat to very low. simmer until cooked -- approximately 20 minutes (consult the directions on the package of the grits to determine approximate cooking time).
  3. once grits are cooked, add butter and cheeses. stir well.
  4. keep warm until beef is ready.

cajun braised burgundy beef

ingredients: 

  • 1 slice of bacon, cut into 1/2 in. pieces
  • 8 oz. cubed beef
  • 2 tsp. olive oil (or chili-infused olive oil)
  • 1 large shallot, finely diced
  • 8 large cloves of garlic, minced; reserve 1 tsp. for grits
  • 1 fresh cayenne, jalapeño, or fresno peppers, finely diced (choose the heat you like!), reserve 1 tsp. for grits
  • 1 tsp. coarse kosher salt
  • 1 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. dry ground cayenne (only if not using fresh cayenne peppers--if using fresh cayenne, reduce to 1/8 tsp.) 
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 1/4 cups cotes du rhone, red
  • 1 heaping tsp. beef Better than Bouillon (BtB)
  • 3 healthy sprigs of fresh thyme (rinsed, whole sprigs)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp. olive oil (or chili-infused olive oil)
  • 1 8 oz. pearl red onions, papers peeled off and ends trimmed
  • 2 cups baby carrots

preparation: 

  1. preheat oven to 350F.
  2. in a dutch oven, fry the bacon until evenly brown. transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.
  3. immediately place beef cubes in dutch oven to brown. brown evenly on multiple sides until beef has dark brown marks and bottom of dutch oven is covered in gradoux.
  4. add diced shallot, garlic, fresh pepper, salt, and dry peppers to beef. stir vegetables and scrape gradoux off of the bottom of dutch oven.  
  5. once shallots begin to become translucent, add water. scrape any remaining gradoux from the bottom of the dutch oven. add wine and BtB. stir to ensure BtB dissolves. add bay leaves and thyme. bring to a low boil. once a low boil is reached, cover and place in oven for approximately 2 hours.*
  6. at 1 hour*, begin to sauté pearl onions and carrots in 2 tsp. oil in separate pan over medium heat. brown onions and carrots. once onions and carrots have been browned on at least one or two sides, add to the dutch oven.
  7. when beef is desired tenderness, remove bay leaves and stalks from thyme.
  8. serve beef, with sauce, over grits. 

 

* depending on the size of your cubes of beef and how tender you'd like the beef, you may want to cook beef for a longer or shorter amount of time. at 2 hours, most beef will fall apart. If you'd like your beef to retain its shape a bit better, you should start checking on the beef at an hour and 20 minutes. you may need to adjust your cooking time for the onions and carrots, as well. place onions and carrots in dutch oven approximately a half hour before the dish is complete.