La Deuxième de Bœuf Bourguignon

With a dish as classic as beef bourguignon, you didn't think we were gonna skimp on the salad and dessert, now did you? Heaven forbid! Miss Muffy joined me at Schmidt's Market where the best produce in town can be found. (They have a very practiced butcher too, by the way.) Anyway, Muff spied some tantalizing, fresh California strawberries and her feverish mind began to whir. As stated in earlier posts, Miss Muffy possesses an almost scarily intuitive sense of food pairings. Sweet and heat, crunch and give, she's always just one step ahead of me. And I love that. Imagine how complacent I might become were I always the smartest guy in the room.

Flying Point Salad - A Miss Muffy original

1 head red-leaf Romaine lettuce 1 lb fresh strawberries 8 oz goat cheese 4 oz walnuts, roughly chopped 3 tsp orange zest Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette

Separate and rinse lettuce in lots of cold running water. Dry in a salad spinner. Tear into large pieces and pile onto individual salad plates. De-stem and slice strawberries. Arrange to one side of the lettuce on each plate. Crumble goat cheese and place beside strawberries on plates. Arrange onion rings on top of lettuce, sprinkle walnuts, then orange zest over this. Drizzle vinaigrette sparingly atop salad just before serving.

Palates cleansed, dinner plates cleared and wine glasses topped off, we took a short pause in our dégustation to marvel over our labors and talk earnestly on the merits of George Clooney's acting. (We'd all recently seen "Up in the Air.") But sweet tooths (not teeth) needed tending and once again, Miss Muffy provided this bog with its money shot.

Easy Blueberry Lattice Tart - as told by Miss Muffy

1 package of refrigerated pie dough - I like Pillsbury the best 2/3 cup sugar ¼ cup cornstarch 3 tsp grated lemon rind Dash of nutmeg 5 cups blueberries (frozen are fine) 1 egg whisked with 1 tsp water

Preheat oven to 425°. On a floured surface, roll out one piece of the pie crust into a 12" circle and fit into a 9" fluted tart pan. Combine the sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg and lemon rind in a large bowl. Add blueberries; mix gently and spoon into tart pan. Roll remaining pie dough into 10" circle. Cut into strips and arrange in lattice pattern over the fruit. Press edges of dough together and fold under. Brush dough with the egg mixture. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375° and bake for 30 minutes or until pastry is glazed and fruit is bubbling. Cool on a wire rack.

The Money Shot

Goodness, how spoiled we are!

But worth it, don't you think?

Thanks for taking the time - Blog O. Food