Making a Mess

I got the bright idea to make a beef bourguignon stew this weekend. I’d had it a long time ago and loved it. Since it sounded so good to me, I decided to make a pot of it. I got a recipe off the internet and armed with the list of ingredients, visited the grocery store.

The list was long and included things I don’t normally buy, like fresh thyme and Merlot wine. I found everything, including a hunk of brisket. My total came to just $51 for this pot of stew. Wow! That would pay for several meals at Whataburger, and I wouldn’t have to wash dishes afterward. But I felt adventurous.

While the bacon was frying, I was cutting the fat off the brisket and cutting it into 2-inch chunks, all while thinking I should have prepared the ingredients earlier and not while I was cooking. I’ll do that next time. I threw the beef in after the bacon was done and let it brown while I diced onions and carrots. Deja vu. Do the ingredients ahead of time.

Finally, the meat was done, and the onions and carrots were sautéing. After draining the liquid, I put everything together in the same pot. Next add the wine. Um, how do I open it? I looked everywhere for a corkscrew, but none was to be found. In my desperation, I tried to force a drill bit into the cork and pull it out with a pair of pliers, but that didn’t work.

What to do? I couldn’t get the wine open with what I had on hand so there was only one thing to do. Go to Walmart. I jumped in the truck and ran to the nearby neighborhood Walmart in the rain and the traffic. I went up and down a bunch of aisles without finding what I needed. Finally, I went to the liquor section (not a place I’m usually seen in since I don’t drink) and there, on a plastic strip with hooks on it, hung a wine bottle opening set. Just one. I grabbed it before anyone else did, paid $6.50 for it, and rushed home where I finally got the wine bottle opened.

The wine and the beef stock went into the pot and was left to simmer for two hours. Good thing because the kitchen was a mess. The rule at my house is you make a mess, you clean it up. And I did.

It was mid-afternoon, and I was starving. When the simmer time was up, I quickly made a pan of instant mashed potatoes and poured stew over the top…forgetting that I was supposed to add mushrooms and let it simmer a little longer. It tasted okay, but it was missing something, likely the mushrooms that remained in the refrigerator.

Now, the whole house smells of beef bourguignon stew and likely will for several days. I hope it warms up soon so I can air out the house. I may reheat the leftover stew with the forgotten mushrooms added. I have several more meals of my $57.50 pot of stew and a few mashed potatoes.

Will I make this recipe again? Only when my memory of this event fades. Until then, I think I’ll just eat soup out of a can. I know I have a can opener.

Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. I Corinthians 10:31