UrbnSpice

"A Taste Of Heart & Home"

Beef Dishes

Budget Friendly Beef Bourguignon (Burgundy Beef)

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Beef Bourguignon is a classic French dish and is essentially a beef and mushroom stew served on noodles. It is typically made with a tender cut of beef like beef tenderloin.   I have utilized more economical cuts of beef – such as stewing beef or chuck roast which I cut into strips for a more elegant appearance. The deliciously rich sauce with tender braised meat is served on top of tagliatelle or thick egg noodles. Beef Bourguignon is a very versatile dish that can be presented family style on a platter or plated individually with any number of garnishes.  I usually save some of each of the pearl onions, caramelized mushrooms and crispy bacon lardons to garnish the finished dish – add a sprinkle of parsley and you are ready to feast on a delicious meal.  Enjoy with a glass of Burgundy wine or any full-bodied red wine.

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Beef Bourguignon | urbnspice.com

Beef Bourguignon is presented family style

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The Ultimate Blended Burger – A Blenditarian Recipe

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BLENDITARIAN CHALLENGE SERIES

Prelude: Blenditarian.Com has initiated a monthly challenge that incorporates their Blenditarian approach into interesting and fun dishes.  To clarify for my readers, a Blenditarian is “one who believes the mighty, meaty mushroom makes meals more delicious, nutritious and sustainable.”  This approach stretches ground meat by adding finely chopped mushrooms to create a flavourful and more nutritious dish. The theme for the May is “National Burger Month” Blenditarian Challenge.” The challenge is to create a blended burger by incorporating The Blend (mushrooms + ground meat).” For this reason, I have developed a recipe called The Ultimate Blended Burger.Blenditarian Logo | urbnspice.com

This burger is unique in that it not only incorporates minced mushrooms into a beef/pork mixture; it also contains rehydrated dried vegetable flakes, contributing even more flavour to the burger. Barbeque season is just around the corner – give these burgers a try. They are delicious!

The Ultimate Blended Burger | urbnspice.com

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How To Make a Classic Braised Beef Stew

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UrbnSpice Tips and Techniques Series

I sooooo enjoy a Classic Beef Stew, and my absolute favourite recipe is adapted from the first Canadian Living Cookbook (circa 1977).  It is called Old Fashioned Beef Stew with Vegetables. I like to use root vegetables, which are a perfect accompaniment, and a number of herbs. In this post, I will discuss the braising method of cooking a more inexpensive tougher cut of meat and share a recipe for Classic Braised Beef Stew.

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Ask any chef what their favourite cooking method is and a large majority, myself included, will say braising because it produces a rich and flavourful product that is hard to beat. It is a cooking method that I use often in the Urb’n’Spice kitchen. Braising is commonly utilized in preparing meat, but there are numerous other food items that can be braised as well. You can learn all about braising in this post.

“Braising is one of the most amazingly delicious and yet simple methods of cooking
an otherwise tough cut of meat.”
The UrbnSpice Chef

What is braising?  It uses a combination of cooking techniques; for example, cubes of beef are first seared to brown and then slowly cooked in a liquid at a low temperature.  Beef stew, Osso Buco,  pot roasts, chicken thighs, pork belly, beef ribs, lamb shanks and pulled pork are a few examples of braised meats, whereas Vichy Carrots and Honey Glazed Rutabaga are some examples of braised vegetable dishes.

Try cooking a tough piece of meat (such as cubed stewing beef) using the braising method and I can guarantee that you will become a fan as well.  I will guide you through a step-by-step process on how to braise cubes of beef, how to deglaze a pan properly and then create and reduce a braising liquid to perfection.

Plated Classic Braised Beef Stew | urbnspice.com

The prepared vegetables are arranged on top of the Beef Stew for presentation

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