Sunday, April 1, 2012

ONE POT, MANY MEALS


Pot-au-feu, soup/meat/vegetables, all simmered for hours in one pot, is meant to serve an army. Chuck read a mention of it in Michel Huellebecq's new novel and decided he had to make it--for the two of us. Miraculously, our stock pot held a lovely hunk of bottom round, a Cornish game hen, an osso bucco veal shank, half a pork butt, and a kielbasa. That's not all! Cups and cups of broth, carrots, leeks, onions, celery, turnips, parsnips...wait! There's a bouquet garni in there, too. It is delicious--the broth is rich with all the fats of the meats and the bay leaf, thyme, and garlic of the garni. The vegetables stay intact and make a side dish. The meats, served with a horseradish/sour cream sauce, are as tender as you can imagine. We'll get 3-4 meals out of it. Merci, Julia Child, whose recipe for Potee Normande Pot-au-Feu, made this so easy.