Love of fine food filled the Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen on St. Valentine’s day. Miss Blondie and Ol’ Fuzz Face returned to Julia Child’s Sauté de Boeuf à la Parisienne to honor this day. Meanwhile, Mr. Monte prepared Valentine Pie for his highly favored humans.
The Test Kitchen staff had two goals in mind – first, to simplify their cooking methods and second, to refine their execution of basic culinary techniques.
If you want to know if they achieved their goals, continue reading on. Should you desire to see the recipe first, just click Jump to Recipe below.
Test Results & Commentary
Our Test Kitchen Staff
The Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen (SFH-TK) employs a diverse array of talented chefs. The staff ranges from the accidentally successful Ol’ Fuzz Face to the gifted and resourceful Miss Blondie.
Two members of the staff are truly unique. Of course, that would include Mr. Monte, the world’s only Maine Coon cat to have supervised in both a farmhouse and a Class C motorhome kitchen. Finally, there is moi, Pierre LeChat, the quintessential French gourmand. I must humbly admit that I am unequaled in knowledge of all things food.
And there it is, dear friends. This group of master chefs assembled in the SFH-TK on St. Valentine’s Day. We met and cheerfully worked together throughout the day with the greatest degree of esprit and culinary camaraderie.
Our Test Objective
The objective of our test was to explore the mysteries of Julia Child’s recipe for Sauté de Boeuf à la Parisienne as it is presented in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I. In the past, Miss Blondie and Fuzzy have made this dish to compliment a romantic evening together. On this occasion, even though romance would not be absent, the real intent was to determine the components of this recipe and how they go together.
There was on happy addition to complete to the romance and camaraderie enjoyed by our staff. Just prior to plating Julia’s dish, we all shared in a toast, and for those so inclined, we partook in a glass of Julia’s favorite cocktail, an Upside Down Martini. – One could say we were Upside Down with Julia Child.
1. Level of the challenge: Sauté de Boeuf à la Parisienne
Learn the way to cook by starting simple. – Julia Child, The Way to Cook
This dish is certainly not Julia Child’s most difficult recipe. But it is not simple. It has several moving parts that have to be coordinated and synchronized. The attending chef only needs one pan. As you can see, however, other bowls and utensils must be used during preparation.
2. Selection of good-quality ingredients:
SFH-TK Lesson Learned: Most chefs will agree, tenderloin is far more tender than sirloin. Julia’s recipe notes “the tenderloin butt and the tail of the filet are usually used.” Our test showed why. The use of sirloin detracted from enjoyment of this dish. Although, the flavor was excellent, you could not fail to notice the beef was a bit chewy.
3. Use of cooking techniques:
The technique is what’s important here, and when you realize that a stew is a stew is a stew, and a roast is a roast whether it be beef, lamb, pork, or chicken, cooking begins to make sense. – Julia Child, The Way to Cook
Building Blocks of French Cuisine
One approach to take with French cuisine, is to view a recipe as a series of building block techniques – “… a roast is a roast …” In the case of this dish, we isolate several techniques. Each of these can be applied and combined in other recipes. You only need to master the techniques, not every single dish.
Julia’s Techniques in The Way to Cook
In her DVD set The Way to Cook, Julia teaches the most important techniques. So, here is a list of some of the techniques and variations used in this recipe:
- Item Number 103 – Technique – To prepare and sauté mushrooms
- Item Number 104 – Technique – To slice and dice onions
- Item Number 204 – Variation – Sauté of Tenderloin with Mushrooms and Potatoes
- Item Number 210 – Technique – Thickening a sauce (cornstarch method)
4. Development of superior taste and flavor:
Taste and flavor are two distinct aspects of the experience of food. The elements of this recipe emphasize both. The tangy accent of chives, for example, meets the tongue and beckons one to seek out what lies beyond. Meanwhile, the faint, lingering aroma of Madeira wine, subtly draws one into a closer enjoyment of the beef. No, this recipe is not short on spices. Rather, it is richly endowed with natural taste and flavor.
5. Presentation
Presentation is perhaps the one criterion where the SFH-TK staff fell short. It had been a long day even before we began our work. Miss Blondie and Fuzzy were somewhat distracted by the romance aspect of St. Valentine’s day. Mr. Monte was deeply involved in making his Valentine pie and didn’t contribute much to the preparation of Julia’s dish. Don’t worry though. By the time we got to the Upside Down Martini, presentation wasn’t really a major concern. We were hungry and just put our day’s work on a plate and enjoyed the product of our day’s successful work.
Resources for Julia Child’s Sauté de Boeuf à la Parisienne
Special Note: Uncharacteristically, Fuzzy actually contributed to our quest. He found information akin to a Rosetta Stone to help us unravel the mysteries strewn before us. Below you will find a list of resources he found to support us during this Test Kitchen endeavor.
- Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I: 50th Anniversary Edition: A Cookbook
- The Way to Cook: A Cookbook
- The Way To Cook DVD
- Upside Down Martini
Sauté de Boeuf à la Parisienne
Notes
Note #1 - Olive oil was our choice for cooking
Note #2 - We used minced shallots
Note #3 - Filet of beef was not available, so we used sirloin. Although quite flavorful, this particular cut of sirloin was somewhat tough.
Note #4 - Madeira worked out very well, and was better than other wines we've used for this dish
Equipment
-
A heavy, 9- to 10-inch skillet
Ingredients
- ½ pound sliced fresh mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon good cooking oil Note #1
- 3 tablespoons minced shallots or green onions Note #2
- ¼ teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper
- 2 ½ pounds filet of beef; the tenderloin butt and the tail of the filet are usually used Note #3
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil, more if needed
- ¼ cup Madeira best choice, or dry white vermouth Note #4
- ¾ cup good brown stock or canned beef bouillon
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch blended with
- 1 tablespoon of the cream
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- Parsley sprigs
Instructions
- Sauté the mushrooms in a heavy skillet in hot butter and oil for 4 to 5 minutes to brown them lightly. Stir in the shallots or green onions, and cook for a minute longer. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper, and scrape them into a side dish.
- Remove all surrounding fat and filament from the filet and cut it into 2-ounce pieces, about 2 inches across and ½ inch thick. Dry thoroughly on paper towels.
- Place 2 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon cooking oil in the skillet and set over moderately high heat. When the butter foam begins to subside, sauté the beef, a few pieces at a time, for 2 to 3 minutes on each side to brown the exterior but keep the interior rosy red.
- Set the beef on a side dish, and discard the sautéing fat.
- Pour the wine and stock or bouillon into the skillet and boil it down rapidly, scraping up coagulated cooking juices, until liquid is reduced to about ⅓ cup. Beat in the cream, then the cornstarch mixture. Simmer a minute.
- Add the sautéed mushrooms and simmer a minute more. The sauce should have a slight liaison (be lightly thickened). Taste carefully for seasoning.
- Season the beef lightly with salt and pepper and return it to the skillet along with any juices which may have escaped.
- Baste the beef with the sauce and mushrooms; or transfer everything to a serving casserole.
- When you are ready to serve, cover the skillet or casserole and heat to below the simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, being very careful not to overdo it or the pieces of filet will be done rather than rare. Off heat and just before serving, tilt the casserole, add butter to sauce a bit at a time while basting the meat until the butter has absorbed.
- Decorate with parsley, and serve at once.