Documentaries

[monet]

I've been watching a lot of Jean-Pierre in the last few days.
Great Chef and Entertainer.
Anyways, this morning I made Beef Bourguignon with him.
Sort of.
I watched him make it and I copied him as close as possible.

[monet]

The Beef Wine Stew is simmering on my stovetop as we speak.
Probably done around 7:30 AM.
Here are a few pictures.

[monet]

I didn't put in any potatoes because I made a bunch of mashed potatoes yesterday.
I plan to pour this over those leftovers.
I think I made about 7 pounds of Mashed Potatoes lol.
The color turned shiny brown after whisking in flour.
Jean-Pierre taught me an old technique that I never seen before.
I've been cooking for over 30 years and I can't believe I never seen that technique where you whisk in flour with a strainer directly into your stew/soup base.
Works really well for thickening.

[monet]

I didn't take a very good picture of this bowl but goodness the flavor is on point.
Came out really well and only in 2 hours.
3 hours if you count all the prep.
I prefer the taste of potatoes compared to mashed potatoes, for this stew but my hand was forced this time.
Not sure if the bacon is needed but it certainly adds another layer in your last few spoons.
The wine really makes the dish.
I used another method where I reduced the wine before adding it to the stew.
Supposedly, it helps in the flavor so you don't get too much tannins or acidity.
The cognac is fun but IMO gets lost.
Perhaps I didn't add enough.
Homemade Stock certainly makes all the difference along with a good wine.
I used a burgundy.
I'm a big fan of Louis Jadot for the taste at the 10 to 14 dollar price tag.
I also used Beef Clod instead of Chuck but IMO same difference.
I used a pound and a half of mushrooms as well lol... they shrink down to nothing once you get all the water out.
Remember... Water is the Enemy of Flavor!

[tableplay]

Thanks for posting the pics Monet - it looks like you did an excellent job.

[monet]

Thanks for posting the pics Monet - it looks like you did an excellent job.

Nice of you to say.
It's hard to describe the flavor.
It really tastes like the best Beef Stew I ever made.
Reducing the Wine separately was a major factor and making Homemade Stock certainly increases the taste.
Also that thickening method with whisking flour into a strainer is next level.
I've been in the mood to cook for the last few days and I believe in Old School Cooking.
Especially French Cooking.
I don't agree with the New Hipsters and their Avocados.
Give me Bacon, Lard, Butter, Salt and Heavy Cream.

Another YouTuber I have been watching is Townsends.
I haven't cooked anything from his show yet but I plan to do a Panada or some form of Bread Soup that he makes.
His Baked Beans look impressive but its 18th century period cooking so it would be difficult for me to replicate fully.
Supposedly, Panada is a good food to cure the common cold or flu.
You have heard people say Feed a Cold, Starve a Fever but from my understanding it should be Feed a Cold, Feed a Fever.
So I don't think its Panada or Chicken Soup per se that heals the individual but just getting food into the system is what helps.

Anyways, not implying that anyone should do all of these things.
Just sharing my latest experiences.
The other day I made a Beer Cheddar Cheese Soup.
I screwed it up royally.
I put far too much cheese into it and I didn't reduce the beer.
I used too much beer.
The soup had a very strong flavor and bitter.
The White Cheddar I used was too sharp.
I blended a bunch of the onions and broccoli which made the taste even stronger and not on the good end.
It was good with the Fresh French Bread I had though.
The problem was you needed to eat a lot of Bread with it to mellow the flavor.
My Uncle disagreed.
He said the soup tasted great.
What the F does he know?
He's been smoking for 60+ years.
He has no taste buds.

[tableplay]

I believe in Old School Cooking.

This is the way to go for better health. I'd imagine a lot of health issues are caused by processed foods. So cooking these meals up is not only a fun way to spend your leisure time, but will do you and your family a lot of good in the health department.

[monet]

This is the way to go for better health. I'd imagine a lot of health issues are caused by processed foods. So cooking these meals up is not only a fun way to spend your leisure time, but will do you and your family a lot of good in the health department.

By the way I listened to this podcast.
What a crazy story of how they caught this woman 20 some odd years later.
A vile of saliva over 20 years old was able to convict her.
Wild Story and other stories in that podcast as well.
lol Columbo!

[MaxPen]

I didn't take a very good picture of this bowl but goodness the flavor is on point.
Came out really well and only in 2 hours.
3 hours if you count all the prep.
I prefer the taste of potatoes compared to mashed potatoes, for this stew but my hand was forced this time.
Not sure if the bacon is needed but it certainly adds another layer in your last few spoons.
The wine really makes the dish.
I used another method where I reduced the wine before adding it to the stew.
Supposedly, it helps in the flavor so you don't get too much tannins or acidity.
The cognac is fun but IMO gets lost.
Perhaps I didn't add enough.
Homemade Stock certainly makes all the difference along with a good wine.
I used a burgundy.
I'm a big fan of Louis Jadot for the taste at the 10 to 14 dollar price tag.
I also used Beef Clod instead of Chuck but IMO same difference.
I used a pound and a half of mushrooms as well lol... they shrink down to nothing once you get all the water out.
Remember... Water is the Enemy of Flavor!

I don't know,,, it looks good to me. That soup/broth whatever it's called looks next level.

[monet]

I don't know,,, it looks good to me. That soup/broth whatever it's called looks next level.

Yeah... it finished really well.
Deep Walnut Colored Gravy.
The wine gives it that color.
The texture was restaurant quality.
If you cook the potatoes separately you won't have so much starch inside the stew.
As I said before, the main stars are the Homemade Stock and Reduced Wine.
Nearly a whole bottle of wine and the Stock takes 12 to 24 hours to make.
Like tableplay said, this is for recreation basically and when you have as much free time as I have, you can do this sort of thing if you want to.
I'm sure you can relate to having plenty of free time and making your own schedule.

[tableplay]

This is the way to go for better health. I'd imagine a lot of health issues are caused by processed foods. So cooking these meals up is not only a fun way to spend your leisure time, but will do you and your family a lot of good in the health department.

By the way I listened to this podcast.
What a crazy story of how they caught this woman 20 some odd years later.
A vile of saliva over 20 years old was able to convict her.
Wild Story and other stories in that podcast as well.
lol Columbo!

Yes - it was the 1st time an LA detective was brought up on murder charges. She didn't anticipate the advances in technology at the time of the crime. I'm looking forward to listening to more podcasts from these guys, thanks again.

edit:what a rabbithole. Eric Hunley has a fuckton of interesting podcasts. I'm not sure where to start. Anyhow here is his channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/erichunley/videos

[monet]

edit:what a rabbithole. Eric Hunley has a fuckton of interesting podcasts. I'm not sure where to start. Anyhow here is his channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/erichunley/videos

I'm not sure what happened but I think their original channel and content got struck down by youtube.
So they started up a new channel and somehow had their content saved on another site.
I don't know the whole story but it went something like that.
I was listening to the Moonie Podcast they just uploaded and it started out pretty good as Mark was going to school right next door.
I'm about halfway through it so will finish it a bit later on.

[tableplay]

edit:what a rabbithole. Eric Hunley has a fuckton of interesting podcasts. I'm not sure where to start. Anyhow here is his channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/erichunley/videos

I'm not sure what happened but I think their original channel and content got struck down by youtube.
So they started up a new channel and somehow had their content saved on another site.
I don't know the whole story but it went something like that.
I was listening to the Moonie Podcast they just uploaded and it started out pretty good as Mark was going to school right next door.
I'm about halfway through it so will finish it a bit later on.

Yes I intend to listen to that one as well. On the Hunley channel I listened to the guy they had on who was a former spy for MI-6. It was pretty good. I doubt we can wrong listening to most of these podcasts and it's great that there's a lot of them.

[tableplay]

Ok Monet, here is some Hunley gold (IMHO):

[monet]

Ok Monet, here is some Hunley gold (IMHO)

I guess I will listen to this John McAfee interview while I wait for Alec Baldwin Part 9.
Live in 3 hours from now!!

[monet]

LOL... not the best quality of a video interview but I respect his comment about his parents constantly lying to him through life.
I've said this before on this very forum.
Everything I was ever told when I was young turned out to be a lie.
Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, Democracy... etc. etc.

I like how McAfee tweeted that if he died by suicide that he didn't do it lol.
I feel this way about Anthony Bourdain.
Not sure why he was whacked but I think he was.

[tableplay]

LOL... not the best quality of a video interview but I respect his comment about his parents constantly lying to him through life.
I've said this before on this very forum.
Everything I was ever told when I was young turned out to be a lie.
Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, Democracy... etc. etc.

I like how McAfee tweeted that if he died by suicide that he didn't do it lol.
I feel this way about Anthony Bourdain.
Not sure why he was whacked but I think he was.

Thanks for the heads up on the Baldwin 9 drop Monet. I am going to listen to it shortly. The McAfee podcast was comedic gold - not that I thought that McAfee was off the mark in many of his opinions but I loved the over-the-top delivery he had throughout.

[monet]

Thanks for the heads up on the Baldwin 9 drop Monet. I am going to listen to it shortly. The McAfee podcast was comedic gold - not that I thought that McAfee was off the mark in many of his opinions but I loved the over-the-top delivery he had throughout.

I recently found another lie they told me when I was in 5th Grade.
Our history teacher told us that Patrick Henry was given death after he said "Give me Liberty or Give me Death."
Complete and Utter Lie.
He died about 24 years after that statement/speech.
Turns out that most of what they taught us in grade school and high school were lies.
They spin it like they were being romantic about the time period and teaching young minds.

[tableplay]

Thanks for the heads up on the Baldwin 9 drop Monet. I am going to listen to it shortly. The McAfee podcast was comedic gold - not that I thought that McAfee was off the mark in many of his opinions but I loved the over-the-top delivery he had throughout.

I recently found another lie they told me when I was in 5th Grade.
Our history teacher told us that Patrick Henry was given death after he said "Give me Liberty or Give me Death."
Complete and Utter Lie.
He died about 24 years after that statement/speech.
Turns out that most of what they taught us in grade school and high school were lies.
They spin it like they were being romantic about the time period and teaching young minds.

That's right. Another favorite is "That's [any misbehavior] going into your file !". I thought Baldwin 9 was excellent, thanks again for the drop heads-up.

[monet]

Are all these going to be Alec Baldwin Jokes??

15 Minute Jack is pretty funny.
You can fast forward the Sly Stallone part.
Top Ten Tic Tok Titties of the Week is always funny.