Monday, December 12, 2011

Man Your Battle Stations



Hello dear friends. How are we? Besides a little beat, not to mention this crispy weather making me want to roll over and take a big old honkin' two-hour nap, I'd say I'm dandy as candy...

This weekend was full of battles. I battled the cooking of Beef Burgundy for my book club guests Friday night--a long, tedious process that I wasn't expecting. I battled cleaning the house all day Saturday morning and afternoon. That evening I hosted book club where we discussed my pick, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (note the obvious play on words). And finally, yesterday, I battled the remainder of my laundry to be done, and I won. I conquered. Now, whose got the wine? All kidding aside though, it was a great weekend and I got a lot accomplished.

Book club was a smashing success, I'd say. I take it as a good sign when everybody does, in fact, finish the entire book and have a lot to say about it. For those of you that haven't heard of it, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is written by a Yale law professor named Amy Chua, a Chinese-American do-it-all type. It's the story of Amy Chua's life with her husband, a non-Chinese Jew, and their two daughters, Sophia and LuLu. What makes her personal story interesting is that Amy is a "Tiger Mom"--the new name for moms who impose ultra-strict study habits and a 'you do what I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it, and you don't question me' kind of authority with their kids. Basically, imagine the strictest parent you could possibly imagine--one who doesn't allow their child to go on play dates or spend the night at friends houses...ever, one who chooses an instrument for their child to learn to play (whether they wanted to play it or not) and forces them to practice three, even four hours a day without bathroom breaks...even while on family vacations, or one who tears up their daughters' homemade birthday cards to her and tells them to do them over because they can do a better job than what they gave her. Imagine a parent like that and, voila, you have Amy Chua.

This book came out in early 2011 and was extremely controversial, to say the least. Amy Chua made a lot of people...well, mad. Although she insists her book is a memoir and not a how-to book, her generalizations and stereotyping of how all "Western" parents are over-indulgent and completely willing to accept mediocre grades from their children got underneath a lot of peoples skin. She insists her way--the Chinese way--of parenting is what earns respectful, hard-working kids who know their full potential and go after it.

Chua's two daughters, Sophia and LuLu were very interesting to read about. Sophia, the elder of the two, was dutiful and studious from day one. She did what she was told, academically ran circles around her peers, and became a prodigy piano student, even making it all the way to Carnegie Hall. LuLu, on the other hand, was as defiant as they come. While also smart and musically gifted like her sister, LuLu was the one who gave her mother the most headaches. LuLu was the daughter who would rather stand outside in the freezing Connecticut cold with no jacket than back down to her mother. It is the stories of LuLu standing up to Amy Chua that really made this book worth reading, and thankfully Chua didn't sugarcoat those moments. In the end, Chua finds herself pretty humbled by her daughter, but of course, not too humbled...

This book raises so many crucial topics happening in families today in this country. Are we too soft? Do we not go after our full potential, cushioning our egos and our children's egos with the idea that as long as we did our best, that's all that counts? Are Western parents raising a bunch of coddled, entitled whiners? It's this very idea that seemed to bother people about Chua's book. I've watched some of her interviews online, and she doesn't ever seem to actually come out and say the words, "People are mad about my book because the truth hurts", but something tells me that's what she wants to say. But who knows...

Needless to say, this was an excellent choice for my book club. I consider myself privileged to be included in such a dynamic group of women who all have strong opinions. This book brought out a lot of different reactions, which was fun to dissect and discuss. One person identified with LuLu and thought she was the real hero, while another found her defiance to her mother unacceptable and wanted to knock her teeth out. Another woman read it and says she now feels like a failure as a parent to her two young children (no you're not, Michelle!!)--and even wants her husband to read it so that they can figure out a way to incorporate some of Chua's ideas into their own parenting style. We all agreed and disagreed with different aspects of Chua's philosophy. She certainly raises a lot of good points and makes a lot of sense, while at the same time some of her methods seemed overly extreme and flat-out evil at times. But the great thing about a book like this is that the author is a real person and her story is a real, living thing. Therefor, there is no right or wrong answer to her extreme-parenting style, just different reactions. Different, colorful reactions. I can't recommend this book enough to read with a group. A lengthy, healthy discussion is sure to follow! Now onto the grub...

I have been waiting for a good opportunity to make Beef Burgundy, also known as Beef Bourguignon. Some might say it's merely a fancy name for beef stew, which I suppose to some degree is true. It is beef stew, but it's also much more than that. It's the richest, meatiest, most flavorful beef stew you could possibly taste. Even Julia Child once described the dish as, "certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man." Seriously, are YOU going to argue with Julia? I know I'm not...

Seeing as how I own a bazillion cookbooks, I had to settle on which recipe I was going to use. Certain recipes use more burgundy wine than others, while some omit any kind of beef broth. It's one of those meals that essentially ends up being the same thing in the end, but it can be made with many slight variations. I actually settled on the Beef Burgundy recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Bride and Groom First and Forever Cookbook, by Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford. This was a cookbook that I received as a shower gift from some of David's fellow teachers. I hadn't heard of it at the time, but it turned out to be a delightful gift and is now one of my go-to books. Everything I have ever cooked from their recipes has turned out amazing and wasn't terribly difficult to prepare. Their recipe for Beef Burgundy seemed easy enough, so that was that.

The hardest part of making this--and it wasn't actually hard, but long and tedious instead--was the prepping of all the ingredients. It's always easier to get everything you need organized and measured and ready to go, and that goes for any recipe you're using, which usually only takes a few dedicated moments to make your life easier. In this case, it took me two entire episodes of Family Guy, plus part of a Simpsons episode (which I was listening to in the background) to get myself set up and ready. Measuring out some broth and wine, sure. Chopping onions? No problem! Cleaning and quartering 16 ounces of mushrooms? Uh...

Let me ask you this, do you have any idea how many mushrooms actually equal 16 entire ounces? That's a pound of mushrooms. Take my word for it, it's A LOT of mushrooms. The worst part about mushrooms in general is that in order to clean them, you can't simply throw them in a calender and rinse them under the sink. Well, you can, but you'll end up with some really rubbery 'shrooms. Instead, you need to wipe them down with a damp cloth. It isn't difficult, but when you're removing stems and wiping and quartering for an entire pound of mushrooms, you may find yourself questioning why you decided on Beef Burgundy when you could have just ordered some Chinese take-out in order to go along with the theme of the book and call it a day like I did.

The truth is, I decided months ago that I would make Beef Burgundy when my turn to host was up next. I knew my month was going to fall in a chilly time period, so the dish would be the perfect, cozy accompaniment. When I decided on my book choice, I did toy with some ideas of instead matching the menu to the book. I actually thought about making some homemade Chinese food (which I never do) and then even thought about expanding it and doing an East Vs. West theme--with homemade Chinese and real Americana fare like meatloaf and mashed potato sliders. Thinking about it now, I could have really had some fun with a menu like that, but I didn't want to get in over my head. Plus, my gut still wanted Beef Burgundy, both literally and figuratively, so that's what I did. And I have no regrets either.



I made the stew Friday night because of the fact that everywhere I read, it says that it's a dish best made at least a day ahead of time so that the flavors can really develop. I have no idea if they were any more developed by Saturday or not, but the result was indeed rich and satisfying, especially when I served it over mashed potatoes. Everybody seemed to enjoy it and indulged in seconds, and even some thirds. In the end, I had enough leftovers for dinner last night with David, which he loved, and even some for tonight...which I am already looking forward to...




Dessert consisted of a super-simple Dark Chocolate Bark with Cranberries and Pistachios (one of my favorite combos that I love to use in white chocolate fudge) that I adapted from a great cooking blog called skinnytaste.com. I love Skinnytaste because the woman who writes the recipes follows Weight Watchers and posts the points! This bark was beyond simple to make and would probably make a great gift to somebody. You just have to remember to tell them to keep it in the refrigerator.

Speaking of delicious gifts, would any of you like my recipe for White Chocolate Fudge with Cranberries and Pistachios? It's not only sinfully yummy but it's a beautiful and easy dessert to hand out to your family, friend, and neighbors around the holidays. I made it last year and it was a huge hit. I'm looking forward to making it again in the upcoming weeks. Perhaps tomorrow I will share it...

2 comments:

  1. That book sounds amazing! I cannot wait to share this book with my bookclub!

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  2. I was hoping you'd find this one worthy of adding to your club. It was a good one!

    ReplyDelete