Quick. Vegetarian. French. How often do those words describe one recipe? Another adjective that we could add to this list is "amazing." Cause that's exactly what it was. All I have to say is--wow.
I had no idea I could produce something so scrumptious in my humble kitchen! If you couldn't tell, we went to see
Julie & Julia this weekend, which of course prompted me to run, not walk, to the library to check out Julia Child's
Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I've been flipping through it and came across one that I just had to make for dinner tonight...eggs in red wine sauce. Doesn't sound all that amazing, I know, but my tastebuds were delighted!
And it was quick and easy to boot! The original recipe was for 8 servings, and since we are but 2 people, I cut that in half.
For the sauce:1 cup beef broth
1 cup red wine
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp thyme (I think I forgot to put this in...oh well!)
1 garlic clove, minced
pinch of cayenne
pinch of pepper
Heat this mixture to a boil and reduce by half. Make a roux with 1 1/2 tb butter and 2 tb flour. Beat into broth mixture off the heat. Boil for 30 seconds. Just before serving, stir in 1 to 2 tb of butter.
For the canapes:Half a stick or so of butter, clarified
Heat bread in butter until lightly browned on both sides.
For the eggs:I cheated and didn't do poached eggs. Instead, I used 6-minute boiled eggs (which Julia assured me would substitute perfectly well). We each had 2 eggs, but I wished for more!
It may not look like the prettiest dish from my not-so-great picture, but let declare emphatically that it was DELISH. I think I may try it again with white wine and see how it does! Especially now that I now that you can bake eggs in muffin tins in the oven instead of poaching them! Could it get any easier?? I doubt it. And for that matter, it was a downright frugal dinner!
