Here I am again....I’ve been a bit busy recently and I had no much time to update the blog and to cook something interesting. Since I moved back to Italy from the UK I really miss a proper scotch beef steak,a nice t-bone steak or even just a simple rump steak. I do believe the scotch beef is one of the best in the world. In Italy I can only find good beef meat from my butcher, even tough it is still quite rare to find dry aged meat, actually is something that Italians will never eat or buy. Oh they don’t really know what they are missing....

So every time I’m in London, before boarding for my flight back home I have to stop to M&S and buy some scotch beef sirloin stakes (that unfortunately are always very small) and burgers.... You maybe surprised...but yeah I even buy burgers because in Italy they are so thin and full of fat!

I tried for the first time this burger a few years ago in a pub in England, the original version was with stilton and bacon, but I’ve been on a diet for ages so I decided not to push too far with the calories so I had to say no to the bacon....and I think it’s pretty good with gorgonzola picante cheese.

Of course the rolls are home made with my little hands,but they were a bit of a disaster, they were supposed to be like small ciabatta bread but the result was not quite right but perfect for the burger.

Here is the bread recipe, I definitely have to try this again...I’m still looking for the perfect ciabatta recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

For the starter (biga) 16-18 hours fermentation at 18ºC:

250 gr. durum flour (semolina)

250 gr. of strong flour W320 (I used manitoba flour)

250 gr. of water

5 gr. fresh yeast

Dough:

50 gr. of durum flour

1 gr. fresh yeast

11 gr. of salt

1 tsp of barley malt

135 gr. of water

For the biga mix well the two types of flour with the yeast and water until all the ingredients are blended well. Put the biga or starter in a bowl,cover it with cling film and let it rest for about 16/18 hours at room temperature( it should be around 18ºC).

Mix the starter with the rest of the ingredients, but leaving till the end a 20% of the water and the salt. After kneading for about 10 minutes, not an easy task as the dough it’s quite sticky,put the dough in an oiled bowl and let it rest for 40 mins.

Cut the dough in 4 pieces(or as many as you want) let it rest again 40 minutes and then move each piece into a baking tray and bake in a hot oven at 230º for about 20 minutes.

The sandwich then it’s really easy to make, I just cooked the sliced mushrooms with some olive oil and salt. Cooked the hamburger in the oven and when it was almost ready I just melted the gorgonzola cheese on top of the burger.

A few days ago my partner asked me to try different recipes...its true recently I've been baking lots of bread, even though we don't really eat much bread at home. So searching on the web I came across some Julia Child recipes and I really wanted to try this very famous Bourguignon....Wow...that's a very delicious meal...and I will definitely do it again. This time I made a few mistakes, I cut the bacon too thin, so after the 3 hours cooking in the oven there was no much left. The second mistake was that I used dry thyme instead of the fresh one, but I cold not find fresh Tyme and for sure is not the same taste! But thats a great dish, I serve them not with boiled potatoes as french tradition suggests but with another french classic... Pomme duchesse!!!

INGREDIENTS:

170 gr. bacon

1,4 kg lean stewing beef

olive oil

1 sliced carrot

1 sliced onion

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 Tb flour

3 cups of a full-bodied, young red wine

2 to 3 cups beef stock

1 Tb tomato paste

2 cloves mashed garlic

1/2 tsp thyme

a crumbled bay leaf

The blanched bacon rind

18 to 24 small white onions, brown braised in stock

450 gr. quartered fresh mushrooms sauteed in butter.

Remove bacon rind and cut into lardons (sticks 1/4-inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and lardons for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 230º.

Sauté lardons in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a flameproof casserole over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.

Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the lardons.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the excess fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes.

Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and coves the meat with a light crust).

Remove casserole and turn oven down to 160º.

Stir in wine and 2 to 3 cups stock, just enough so that the meat is barely covered.

Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove.

Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with one and one-half tablespoons of the oil until bubbling in a skillet.

Add onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling them so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect them to brown uniformly.

Add 1/2 cup of the stock, salt and pepper to taste and the herb bouquet.

Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet and set onions aside.

Wipe out skillet and heat remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms.

Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove from heat.

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan.

Wash out the casserole and return the beef and lardons to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms on top.

Skim fat off sauce in saucepan. Simmer sauce for a minute or 2, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.

If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons stock. Taste carefully for seasoning.Pour sauce over meat and vegetables.

For immediate serving: Cover the casserole and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times.

Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley.

For later serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate.

About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover and simmer very slowly for 10 mins, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.