À la Sandy

Making Beef Daube Provençal has been a New Years Day tradition in our house as long as I can remember.  It’s usually a three-day process – a lot, I know, but totally worth it!  It can be made anytime of year, but we only have it once a year – on New Year’s Day, with buttered, parsley egg noodles and braised lentils or black-eyed peas – both thought to bring prosperity and good luck to the new year.

Starting 2-3 days prior to serving, it’s recommended that you marinate all the ingredients with the wine, in the fridge for a day – then cook.  However, this year, we were delivered a curve ball, when my son booked a show in Las Vegas, just a week before New Years.  He invited us to come out for it.

Normally, we like to stay home on New Year’s Eve with a nice meal and champagne. NEVER in my life, have I had a desire to spend New Year’s Eve in Vegas with 250,000 people, but those of you who have kids surely understand, when they ask, you comply, whenever possible!  We had a fabulous time – BTW!

The first thing I thought of when we decided to go was, “what about my Daube?“  My method had to change a little this year.  I didn’t have time to marinate the ingredients – instead, I cooked the Daube Tuesday night and popped it in the fridge Wednesday morning, where it “married” until we returned on Friday, New Year’s Day.  When we got home, I took the pot out of the fridge, added the potatoes (I didn’t cook them the first day, or they would have fallen apart) and returned it to the oven for 3-4 hours.  It tasted identical to my traditional method – maybe even better, so that’s the recipe I’m sharing here today.

We had dear friends for dinner last night and rang in the New Year with the Daube, the braised lentils and a little Champagne.  My favorite way to start each new year.

I hope 2010 is a prosperous and happy year for all of you and I can’t express enough, how happy I am to have met so many of you through my little blog here – I look forward to great things happening this coming year – for ALL of us!  Peace!

Beef Daube Provençal

2 lbs stewing beef
1 pound short ribs
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive oil
6 slices Pancetta
3 stalks celery, sliced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 turnips, peeled and quartered
1 onion, quartered
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 orange — including peel
1 8 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 bottle dry red wine
12 pitted prunes
2 sprigs rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme
3 cups water
Salt and Pepper, to taste
4 Yukon gold potatoes, cleaned and quartered

Hot, buttered, parsley noodles for serving

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Add the Olive oil to a large Dutch-oven or oven-proof stockpot. Over medium heat, brown the short ribs, stewing beef and pancetta,  This can be done in batches, so you don’t overcrowd the pan.  Add the garlic and continue to cook the beef for 5 minutes.

Peel the outer rind of the orange, then slice the orange.  Add the rind, and orange, along with the celery, onion, carrots, turnips and prunes.  Pour in the bottle of wine, the diced tomatoes and water.  Add the thyme, rosemary and salt and pepper to taste.

Cover the pot with a lid, or aluminum foil and place in the oven on the bottom rack and allow the Daube to cook for 7-8 hours.  Remove and allow the pot to cool completely.  Refrigerate for 1-2 days.

The day you’re ready to serve, remove the Daube from the refrigerator.  Heat the oven again to 350 degrees.  Add the quartered potatoes and a little more water, if necessary, and return to the oven for 3-4 hours.  Serve with hot buttered noodles and a crusty baguette.  Cheers!