Flambe

OMG! I just had a mini heart attack. So Ryan is making "Boeuf Bourguignon" for dinner tonight. No, not BEEF borguignon...BOEUF bourguignon. What is the difference you ask? Fancy French Spelling, of course!

Ina Garten (who I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE) states in her Barefoot in Paris cookbook:

"I never really liked beef bourguignon. After cooking for three hours, the meat was stringy and dry and the vegetables were overcooked. So, I tried to solve the problem and came up with a delicious stew that cooks in an hour and a half. The good news is that it's even better the second day, so it's great for entertaining."

Well, that sounds easy enough. But, when she says it cooks in an hour and a half she really means it has to cook for an hour and a half AFTER you complete steps 1 - 20 all of which say, "add this and cook for a minute, add this and cook for 10 minutes, add this and this and simmer for 5 minutes"...you get the idea. 1.5 hours would not be the total cooking time, more like 3.5 - 4 hours from start to finish.

Don't ask me why on a Tuesday night he wants to make a meal that takes a good 4 hours to prepare. Sometimes he just gets these wild ideas and after 4+ years of marriage, I just run with it because there is no stopping him. I think maybe this time he is celebrating the arrival of his new telephoto camera lens - early birthday/anniversary/'09 christmas present. And might I add that he is whistling as he cleans up the dishes now that the stew is in the oven. That is sick.

But, I'm sure you are wondering where the mini heart attack comes in. Enter step 15ish "Add the Cognac, stand back (yes, it was also in italics in the book), and ignite with a match. AKA - FLAMBE

Now, we have flambeed in our house several times. No big deal. It is fun and festive and makes a delicious bananas foster. However we have never flambeed with this intensity. I have no idea how someone would do this with a match because as soon as the flame ignited the alcohol a gigantic flame shot up to the microwave that was over the stove. I just knew for sure that it was going to ignite the kitchen cabinets. Usually, you get a big flame and then very rapidly the flame extinguishes. Well, not this flame - it must have been working out because I swear this thing kept going. Ryan then decides it will be a great idea to stir it with the wooden spoon. Um, okay. But, like I mentioned before, after 4+ years of marriage, I know that there are some arguments not worth having - besides a pot bursting into flames with Ryan holding the accompanying ignited spoon would have made a great shot with the new telephoto lens.

To ease your mind, the flames did eventually retreat, and no spoon ever caught fire. But Ryan did look back at me with that mischievious smile and say, "maybe next time we will do that outside."