Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Beef Bourguignon

     Winter is a season for indulging warm comforts.  This hearty French stew, hailing from the Burgundy region, is great for cuddling by the fire.  It combines fork-tender chunks of beef with the deep flavors of red wine, mushrooms, and herbs ... Takes a full afternoon of prep, so plan accordingly.  I like to accompany with warm bread and a bottle of Pinot or Cabernet ... Bon Appétit


INGREDIENTS 

  • 3 lbs boneless chuck roast, trim the fat and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 8 oz / 6 slices thick bacon, chopped
  • 16 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 3/4-inch pieces
  • 1 lb baby potatoes, halved
  • 2 yellow onions, roughly chopped
  • 10 oz frozen pearl onions
  • 15 oz reduced-sodium beef broth
  • 4 cloves minced garlic
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 bottle dry red wine (Pinot or Cab)
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • Salt and pepper
  • 6 sprigs fresh thyme (tied in a bundle)
  • 2 whole bay leaves


INSTRUCTIONS:

     1).  Pat the beef dry and season with 2 tsp salt and 2 tsp black pepper.

     2).  Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is browned and beinning to turn crisp and the fat has rendered (about 15 minutes).  Remove the bacon to a plate and set aside.

     3).  Add the mushrooms and 2 tbsp butter to the pot.  Stir to combine.  Sauté over medium heat until the mushrooms are nicely browned and have given up their liquid (about 12 minutes).  Add a pinch of salt and stir to coat.  Remove the mushrooms to a bowl and set aside.

     4).  Increase the Dutch over to medium-high heat.  Add a layer of beef cubes (you'll need to work in batches) and sear until the beef is nicely browned on all side (about 5 minutes).  You do not need to cook all the way through.  Remove the beef to a plate and set aside.  Repeat with remaining beef.

     5).  Carefully pour in about 1/5 of the bottle of wine.  Stir to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot (keep it in; that's flavor!).

     6).  Reduce the heat to medium.  Add the carrots, potatoes, onion, with 2 pinches of salt and 2 of pepper.  Sauté until the onions are lightly browned (about 15 minutes).

     7).  Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for another minutes or two until fragrant.

     8).  Return the beef and bacon to the pot, along with any juices that have collected on the plate.

     9).  Add the remaining wine and broth.  Add the thyme and bay leaves.  Increase the heat to bring the liquid to a simmer.

     10).  Cover, then carefully transfer the pot to the oven.  Bake the beef bourguignon for 1.5 hours at 370 degrees until the meat and vegetables are fork tender.

     11).  In a small bowl, mash 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp flour together, then stir into the stew.

     12).  Stir in the pearl onions and mushrooms.  Bring the stew to a boil, then lower the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove the thyme bundle and bay leaves before serving.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Accompany with warm bread and a bottle of Pinot or Cab.

SERVES 8 

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Two Step

The man on the streetcorner huffs and puffs
and blows an angry wind at the passersby.

The passersby recoil from his bloodshot eyes,
his blistered neck and forearms,
his indignant, wire-brush hair.

He argues aloud with himself.

Only the crimson-faced woman who swears
that Elvis speaks to her through the commode
will challenge him.

They shout conspiracies in each other's direction
while anxious pedestrians hurry past,
eager to avoid eye contact.

The pedestrians also carry on a conversation
with themselves,
one which, if audible, would showcase
all of the terror and rage and neuroticism
that mixes into our human predicament.

Vehicle traffic passes by with indifference.
Drivers hurl terrible indignities
at their fellow motorists.

A couple stumbles into the road and is nearly
taken out by a tour bus.
The bus collides with an SUV,
underscoring the razor-thin margin
that separates the fortunate from the forsaken.

Each of us is one medical catastrophe,
one financial devastation,
two tragic steps from tripping into the abyss.

So, hold grace for the man on the streetcorner,
grace for the crimson-faced sister,
grace for the pedestrians and motorists
and all whose fate balances on the knife's edge.

For you and me, 
hold grace.

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Iyla Grace 12.0

   Iyla Grace 12.0 is a Tween!  Just look at this young lady:  she wears makeup; she has attitude; she converses endlessly with her friends; is obessessed with Taylor ("Tay Tay") Swift and similiar artists.

   This was the first Halloween I did not take Iyla Trick-or-Treating.  It hurt my Papa heart to hear her say, "I'm sorry, Papa, but I want to go with my friends."  She is growing up, and I must let her.

   For Iyla's birthday, she will receive an iWatch so that we may communicate with her and know her location at all times ... She wanted a phone, but, we are not ready for that.

   Art and Theater remain passions.  Iyla is enrolled in Choir and Musical Theater at Middle School and participates in a private theater conservatory on weekends.

   I love her so much ... Happy Birthday, my Darling Iyla Grace!






Saturday, August 17, 2024

Tongues

Brothers and Sisters,
raise your hands to the Lord.
Invite his Holy Spirit to fill your vessel
with his wonderous love.
 
Hallelujah!  Can I get an 'Amen'?
 
Ah-shah-la-la Me-kah-show-nah-teh,
Oh-nah-tah-shah Me-kah-tah-neh
Key-lo-mah-tah-tah-weh.

Speaking in Tounges, they called it.

Most merely stood in the pew
uttering concatenations,
our Old Man among them.
I studied his cadence and learned
to mimic the routine
so as not to be singled out for unbelief.

The grander the display the brighter
the accolades from church elders.

Some danced in the aisles.
Others launched into convulsive fits.
The best of them was Sister Mary Hoagarten,
a lowly widow from East Kansas City
with a silver bird's nest of hair
and bellowing, staccato delivery.

Mary committed to her performance.

She was method,

drawing from a boundless well
of resentment and betrayal
to deliver her weekly self-exorcism.

Mary writhed and howled,
trembled and flailed about,
always ending her number with a flurry
of guttural yawps that climaxed
in an abrupt silence which
centered the congratation
in solemn reflection.

Mary enjoyed a long and storied run
as the High Priestess of Spectacle,

until Lester Hollinger joined the congregation.

Brother Lester was a towering, erudite man,
always in the same charcoal undertaker's suit.
He never missed an opportunity
to promote his biblical memorization.

One Sunday morning,
Lester descended from the foyer
and assisted Mary off the carpet.
He ushered her to her seat,
shuffled to the microphone,
cleared his throat,
and delivered an 
Interpretation of Tongues:

Brothers, Sisters, our Lord and Savior
has revealed to me, his humble servant,
the message within Sister Mary's utterance.
 
Indeed, it is a passage from the Holy Book: 
I Corinthians 14:27-28.
 
'Let her keep silent in the church, 
and let her speak only to herself and to God.'

A thundering chorus of Amens went up
to the heavens.

Monday, July 22, 2024

Eloise Jane 8.0


     Eloise Jane version 8.0 drops today.  This release is packed with curiosity and affection for animals and insects.  Eloise consumes endless video content about the animal world.  She desires an army of pets.  She scolds me for killing hornets and scorpions in the house, pleading with their executioner to show mercy.

     For her birthday, Eloise is receiving the gift of (and responsibility for) chickens.  Let's hope that, come v9.0 release, those chickens are still clucking.

     Happy Birthday, Miss Eloise Jane Lambert.  You make my heart oh so very happy!


Wednesday, December 27, 2023

W.S.B.

He occupied a ramshackle place
on the east side of town
with an entourage of cats, an arsenal of guns,
revolving celebrity guests.

Rumor circulated 'round the English Department
that he frequented The Bottleneck bar.

One November afternoon, I spotted him there,
crouched alone in a corner, pressed herringbone suit,
hickory-sword cane tap-tap-tapping to the music.

Our bartender whispered that he took tequila,
so I purchased two shots and approached.

"Pardon me, Mr. Burroughs.
I am just a B-I-G admirer
of your writing ...
May I offer you a tequila, Sir?"

"Why, certainly, young man."

We tossed back our shots.
I retrieved the glasses, and he eyeballed me
with his steely, cobalt eyes.

I fell into a trance waiting for him to blink:

These are the eyes that starred down
the barrel of a revolver
pointed at his wife's cranium (pow!),
eyes that peered unflinchingly
into a drug-crazed abyss,
eyes that crawled like an insect over
countless young male bodies.

The band lurched into a new song
and a curiosity sparked in my groin,
rocketed up my spine and burst into a dull haze
that rendered me speechless:

Is this old queen expecting a come-on?!

I'd have liked to impress the Godfather of the Beats
with tales of imagined literary exploits,
or regale him with a deliciously irreverent anecdote,
at least praise his influence on a moral code
skeptical of monotonous conformity.

Instead, I stood before the man an imbecile,
barely mustering an oafish smile,
which he metbless himwith a kindly grin
that pierced my anxious fever.

I retreated to the bar.

"How did it go?" the bartender asked.

"Oh, brilliant ... Yeah ...
One for the memoires."

And some say it was William Burroughs,
not Thomas Lambert,
who brought the literary bona fides
to Lawrence, Kansas.

Sunday, November 12, 2023

Iyla Grace 11.0

     Iyla Grace 11.0 arrives with some delightful upgrades, including a command of language and reading beyond her years.  This release is more independent and engaged with peers.  She talks on the phone with her "besties" every day who collaborate on short-film projects written and directed by You-Know-Who.

     Like her Papa, Iyla is most comfortable alone with her thoughts.  Daily, she walks the property carrying on conversations with herself, often experimenting with narrative and characters that will comprise her next film script.  To an outsider, this behavior may seem peculiar -- girl alone, talking aloud; to me, it is a showcase for immense, creative imagination.

    Happy Birthday, my Darling Iyla Grace!