day 21 beef burgandy night

i wanted to make something cozy yesterday.  hello fall.

i pretty much followed this beef burgandy recipe to a T.

and holy smack my holies was it good.  

my notes:  

i used 2 buck chuck shiraz to keep the $ down

3 lb chuck roast from fresh market (on sale)

the almond flour worked awesome to coat the meat

i used coconut oil instead of butter

totally forgot the tomato paste (just realized this as i am looking at the recipe again...oops)

i used chicken stock instead of beef (had it on hand)

i used herbes de provence as my spice mix

i went way overboard on my peeling of sweet potatoes.   i must have been hungry.  this amount (6 potatoes) made 3 tray fulls of fries and we devoured 2.  

here is a great link for guaranteed crispy sweet potato fries.  i like her sense of humor too:)

the only thing i did was substitute the corn starch with brown rice flour.  another bullzzzzeye baby.

don't forget to soak them for at least an hour whether you do sweet or regular.

...it's the secret magic trick.  

I used a big 'ol towel to dry them and it worked really well for the crazy amount i had.  

lay down 1/3 towel, place single layer of fries, fold over another 1/3, layer it up...you get the picture.

fill a gallon zip lock bag with some rice flour and shake and bake.  

i didn't heed her warning of "do not overstuff the tray with fries".  haha, i had three trays of overstuffed fries!!!! they did not get crispy.  so, i just broiled each tray, one by one, at the end, for about 4 minutes.  crispy perfection.  then, i added more salt when they came out of the oven.  i love salty fries.

(tonight, the fries cooked up even better as leftovers.  instead of a cookie tray, i put them on my double broiler pan - will use that next time and hold some of the potatoes.)

i totally flaked and forgot to take pictures of my BEETS!!!  so here's a generic picture.  

i have never bought fresh beets from the garden, always in a can or some kind of packaging.  so i had NO idea how to prepare these bitches.  i roasted them right along with the beef burgandy, for the entire 2.5 hours of slow roasting.  they turned out magical!!!  ...and were even better cold tonight.

thank you catherine for passing the recipe along!  it's a keeper and now i know how to prepare beets:) 

i also chopped up the beet greens for the salad.  who knew!? 

how did the kids do?  well, they loved the fries...and the homemade applesauce my mom brought (THAT will be another post soon...holy shitballs).  

as for the beef burgandy, we adults devoured it with a "stay classy san diego" on top. 

 the kids can stick it.

Name:	Beets with Garlic-Walnut Sauce
Ingredients:	2 pounds red beets, about 4 large, trimmed of greens 1/4 cup olive oil 6 cloves garlic, peeled 1/2 cup walnuts 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice Salt and black pepper to taste 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves, for garnish.
Directions:	Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash beets well. While still wet, wrap them individually in foil and place on a cookie sheet or roasting pan. Bake beets, undisturbed, for 60 to 90 minutes, until a thin-bladed knife pierces each with little resistance. (They may cook at different rates; remove each one when it is done.) Meanwhile, put oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. When it is warm, add garlic and cook until fragrant and beginning to soften, about 6 minutes. Add walnuts and continue to cook until they begin to color, about another 4 minutes. Let mixture cool slightly and then put it in a small food processor; process until you have a relatively smooth paste. Add orange juice to taste and sprinkle with salt and lots of pepper. After beets have cooled, peel off skins. Slice beets into wedges or cubes and toss with dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning, garnish with parsley and serve.
Source:	NY Times, February 27, 2009