I have been putting off this previously completed French Fridays with Dorie recipe for a while now. First off, hearty Beef Daube is something which belongs to a very cold winter night and it just hasn’t been that cold around here. Second, I’ve not historically been a big fan of beef stews. Weird I know. Doesn’t everyone love stew?
But then I made Dorie’s Hachis Parmentier a while back, which is basically a casserole of beef stew and mashed potatoes, and LOVED it. So I figured maybe I needed to give this beef stew a try. I mean, that’s kind of one of the points of this whole cooking the book exercise isn’t it? To venture outside of my comfort zone and try new things. So having talked myself into it, I charged ahead…. ok, I cut the recipe in half so maybe “charged” is the wrong word. But moving on.
Dorie’s Beef Daube (recipe published here on Serious Eats) is a fairly classic preparation with lots of beef, lots of red wine, and some root veggies. I decided to serve it alongside mashed celery root, a vegetable which I have come to appreciate since moving to Germany. If you have never prepared celery root before, let me just warn you now that it is not a veggie which is winning any beauty pageants. Not sure if I just overlooked it when I lived in the US or if it much more popular in europe, but I find myself cooking with it quite regularly now. In the summers I use it in Celery Root Remoulade and in the winter I tend to use it as one would any other root veggie. This past Christmas I received The Food52 Cookbook and have been wanting to try the Autumn Celery Root Puree. This recipe (which can be found here on the food52 website), made with celery root, a potato and an apple, is very tasty and a great alternative to mashed potatoes.
As for Dorie’s daube, my husband enjoyed it and I learned that I am still not a fan of beef stew. Certainly not Dorie’s fault.
But I am a fan of this Food52 book and have already had good results with a few of the recipes, all of which were submitted by home cooks and then tested by other home cooks before being added to the book. I have quite a few of the pages marked and am looking forward to trying more of the recipes.
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We loved this, Rose! I need to remember to make it again. I’ve never tried celery root but I’ve seen it at the Farmers’ Market, So I’ll have to try it.
It’s so true what you said about how visual cues inspire us to cook – especially when it’s a recipe we’ve never tried before. Are you joining Tuesdays with Dorie? I’m really excited about it but I hope I can keep up with 3 baking groups!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a celery root. It looks like it’s from another planet. I like it! haha. I need to suck it up and try the beef daube sometime soon. It’s not going to get any colder here, so unless I want to wait until next winter, I should probably get on it.
Yes, it looks like an alien vegetable. I was really skeptical the first time I cooked with it but now I find that I actually liked it.
Dories go to Beef Daube was one of my favorite Dorie dinner recipes. We loved it in our house. In fact, maybe it’s time to make it again. I have never tried celery root but have seen it in the stores often. Next time I see one I’m going to buy it and cook it up with the recipe I just printed from Food 52. Thanks for sharing!
I know, EVERYONE liked beef stew, I sometimes feel like the one person in the room who doesn’t understand the joke. But so it is, I think I was probably also the only one who didn’t like the short ribs. Again, not Dorie’s fault at all, just my personal tastes.
I think I bought celery root for one of Dorie’s recipes….but it was spongy inside so I tossed it! I will look for a better specimen and give it a try. Sorry this stew didn’t convert you…you were a good Dorista for giving it a shot!
Nope, definitely shouldn’t be spongy inside, sounds like you got a bad one. I have no idea if there is something specific one should look for when picking out celery root, maybe I’ve just been lucky so far.
I have not had mashed celery root, but I bet it is really good. You can’t judge some foods by their looks that’s for sure. Your beef daube looks perfect. Sorry you didn’t like it, but I’m glad your husband enjoyed it. What a great winter meal! I am going to check out that celery root recipe. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about Food 52”s book and sharing the link.
I’m excited to see more of your results from the Food52 book. Glad to hear your husband enjoyed the stew. Sometimes, stew isn’t for everyone.
I like soup, but stew doesn’t usually do it for me. I get it.
I have picked up celery root at the grocer several times, but somehow it goes past its shelf life before I use it 🙂
I actually wasn’t blown away by this one either. It was edible and tasty enough but I have had better I feel…. too bad, usually I’m quite taken with Dorie’s recipes! 🙂