Last Night's Dinner

Originally Posted on 09/06/06

So last night I decided to make dinner for Justyn since he drove to and from camping. I was waaay to hungover to drive that distance.

I ended up making Beef Burgundy, Potato & Portabello Mushroom Gratin with a Blue Cheese Vinagrette Salad. The Beef Burgundy turned out pretty good. I used carrots to boost the flavor even though I absolutely hate them. It was slightly watery, though I used a roux to thicken it after deglazing. There's definitely room for improvement there, but Justyn enjoyed it. I used Alton Brown's recipe for the gratin which turned out somewhat bland. The potatoes on the top didn't brown as much as I wanted, though I should've put the oven to broil. I also should've used real parmesan cheese instead of the pizza-topping-in-the-bottle kind. Oh well, there's always next time. On the other hand, the salad was splendid. Bagged salad is really underrated. I put candied pecans on the top for garnish and flavor which matched perfectly.

Here's a picture of it: