If you’ve been following GC for a bit, you may remember Morrigan (she sent us a recipe for the most amazing hurricane you’ve ever tasted.) and she’s at it again. This time it’s not booze, it’s beef, well, it’s actually booze and beef, what could be better? Boeuf Bourguignon, in Morrigan's own words.

"Ok, so let me preface this email with a caveat: I've made Beef Burgundy before. I've also cooked professionally. But I decided to give the classic Julia Childs' recipe a whirl, just for kicks. I haven't made beef burgundy in ages and this rainy/windy weather seemed perfect. Plus, I had...I say HAD....a plethora of good red wine in stock. Let me say this...DO NOT TRY TO MAKE THIS IN A HURRY. You WILL fail. Miserably. Unless you drink most of the wine, but you'll just feel less bad about your chewy food.

I suggest you start this on a Friday night (if you aren't headed out for the evening), or Saturday morning, post-hangover. Just follow the directions, but make sure you have plenty plenty of wine. It goes great in a lovely glass when you are doing the prep on this dish. Of course, avoid using a knife or cooking over high heat after you've been drinking! You DO want to be around to enjoy this when it's ready. The prep work takes about two hours, and then the casserole pan goes in the oven.

Some friends and I are going to have a "movie weekend". We're going to make this dish, get some snacks, watch movies and drink a lot of delicious red wine. This recipe is great, and once it's in the oven, just leave it alone until dinner time. Keep watching movies and drinking wine until then!

The recipe says to use 3 cups of red wine but since I made a larger batch, I think I used about 5-6 cups of wine. If you are lucky enough to have a Trader Joe's in your area, be happy and stock up there. Plus, any wine you buy that doesn't drink well, goes very well in aheavy beef dish. So pour it on and enjoy. Make enough to share!"

Here’s a link to the original Julia Child recipe Morrigan used: (http://cooking.knopfdoubleday.com/2009/07/13/julia-childs-boeuf-bourguignon-recipe)

I’m grateful for Boeuf Bourguignon and Morrigan, because she has all the qualities in a woman I admire. The girl can cook and drink, what more could you ask for? Except maybe to be invited over to house for movie night.

That’s why I’m grateful for Boeuf Bourguignon.