Visiting Michigan: Paris, The Grateful Dead, and Nine Hats

When asked how I would celebrate a landmark birthday, my answer was "In Michigan." So what in the Sam Hill is in Michigan? 

My long-time friend, Julie aka Jules, and her husband, Ed, bought a second home in the charming town of Saugatuck, Michigan. Both Jules and Ed were raised in Chicago, and currently reside and work in Chicago. However, this beautiful home with woodland, and ponds in their backyard, along with a variety of forest creatures and birds, has become their weekend and soon to be their dream retirement home. 

While Jules and I were in Paris last October, her new dream house had just gone into escrow. Jules, the positive thinker, stayed focused at the Paris flea markets stuffing suitcases with vintage oil paintings, gold-framed mirrors, and copper pieces to decorate her new home. In short, we had a wonderful time in Paris and made two new friends, Jeannie and Jennifer, who we would meet up with once again, but this time in Saugatuck.  

Before I left for Saugatuck, I thought how much fun it would be to recreate our Sunday dinner we had one evening at Les Baux in Paris, a neighborhood bistro located on the rue Mouffetard. We dined on Boeuf Bourguignon. Even my vegetarian friend, Jules joined us with our choice of this famous French stew. She couldn't get past the heady perfume smell of wine and beef. 

Enjoying Boeuf Bourguinon and glasses of Burgundy at Les Baux

While in Michigan, and after a morning of treasure shopping, we stopped at one of their large supermarket chains, Meijer.  We bought snacks and fruit, and I found all of the fixin's I needed to recreate my Julia Child recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon. While looking through the wine aisle, I was hoping to find an authentic Burgundy as my number one choice for braising, and the second choice would be a Pinot Noir from Oregon. I struck out on both choices. While looking through the California Pinots, a bottle of Old Vine Zinfandel jumped out at me. Sure, a Zinfandel would work just fine in this rich and unctuous beef stew, and if it is a true old vine, the jammy aromas of dark fruit and spices would be perfect. What made this bottle of wine an even more appealing choice was the label, "Gnarly Head Grateful Dead Old Vine Zin." Our hostess Jules just happened to be a long-time follower of the Grateful Dead and as far back as the days of the GD taper culture. This would be a perfect choice of wine.

Cooking in Michigan

One of the beauties about making Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon is I feel like I am always evolving and always learning about this wonderful dish - and I did once again. For years I always purchased frozen pearl onions, but there was not a pearl onion in the freezer section of Meijers, but I did find pearl onions in the produce section. Oh well. How long can it take me to trim and peel a dozen pearl onions? Well, it took longer to pare the little onions than I wanted but I will never purchase another bag of frozen pearl onions again. I carmelized the petite onions in olive oil and the fat from the "lardons" (bacon). They became sweet as can be. I had another discovery. The original recipe added thyme and bay leaf which was absent from Julie's spice cabinet. After all, this is a new home for her and she is building her collection of spices as needed. In the long run, we scored. I found a new jar of Herbs de Provence in her cupboard. It was perfect and how much more authentic can we get? 

Browning the Boeuf

Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't, but the chunks of stew meat I marinated them in a generous cup of the Zinfandel while I was cooking up the layers of vegetables. Of course, the marinade went back into the pot so not an ounce of wine was wasted. If you take this step it is important to pat down the meat with a paper towel before cooking. You don't want the meat to steam. After most of the liquid has been removed, generously sprinkle each piece of meat with salt and pepper, and then cover with flour. The flour gives the meat an added coating, and the residual from the flour helps thicken the sauce. 

Finished. The following day it goes into the oven for a slow simmer. 

The finished product? Well, look for yourself?  I gave my traveling companions the option to choose their starch: mashed potatoes, noodles, rice, or polenta. They chose mashed potatoes.  Jennifer mashed the potatoes and Jeannie added to the meal by baking a batch of rich, and eggy popovers (stay tuned in the future for her recipe). 

It was a wonderful evening around the dining room table. Jules lit the candles in the brass candlestick holders she brought back from Paris. Our chosen dinner wine was a Washington State Red Blend from Nine Hats Winery based in Walla Walla. We laughed, shared tidbits about our lives and most of all chatted about the memories we made while in Paris. A bientôt.