French Entree

 Beef Fondue
Fondue Bourguignonne
(Serves 6-8)

Like bell-bottoms, Fondue is back. The fun of serving fondue is communal eating and the variety of dipping sauces. We've got 5 here, but you can create your own. Let your imagination loose.

4 lb. beef tenderloin (3/4" to 1" cubes)
1 qt. vegetable oil (or more)
dipping sauces (see below)

Beef: cube the meat shortly before ready to serve; otherwise, it will dry-out and toughen at the edges. Heat oil in a large pot on the stove till it begins to bubble. Carefully pour into a fondue pot, placed over an alcohol burner. The oil should fill the fondue half-way.

Serve: give each guest a long fondue fork to spear the meat cubes. Dip beef into the cooking oil: 30 seconds for rare; 60 seconds for well-done. Serve with salad, sauces (below), cornichons (see sidebar), and a loaf of crusty French bread to mop up sauces.

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1. Bearnaise Sauce
1/4 C white wine
1/4 C white wine vinegar
1 T shallots or onion (minced)
1 tsp. dried tarragon
1 tsp. cherval
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 egg yolks (beaten)
1 C butter (melted)
1 T fresh parsley or tarragon (chopped)

In a small saucepan, heat first 6 ingredients. Continue cooking till reduced by half. Strain and cool. In a double boiler, beat eggs till frothy, add wine-vinegar mix, beating constantly. Make sure the upper bowl is not touching the water, and make sure the water is hot but not boiling. Begin adding butter, slowly, teaspoon by teaspoon, stirring vigorously to incorporate butter into a thick, creamy sauce. Pour into a warmed up bowl, sprinkle with fresh parsley or tarragon and serve hot or cold.
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2. Horseradish Sauce
1/4 C prepared horseradish
2 C sour cream
2 T lemon juice
Dash Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine and chill till ready to serve.
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3. Mustard Sauce
1 1/2 C Dijon mustard
1/2 C white wine
2 T sugar
2 T flour
1/4 C water
2 T capers

In a small saucepan, heat first 3 ingredients. Stir constantly until it reaches a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Shake flour and water together in a jar and add to mustard mix, stirring to incorporate. Simmer 10 more minutes. Stir in capers. Serve hot or cold.
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4. Parsley & Chives Sauce
1 C mayonnaise
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 C fresh chives (finely chopped)
1/2 C fresh parsley (finely chopped)
1 T onion (minced)

Mix ingredients and served chilled.
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5. Tomato Provencal Sauce
2 6-oz. cans tomato paste
1 C beef broth
1 tsp. caper juice
1 T Worcestershire Sauce
pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne—optional
2 T capers

Bring to a boil all ingredients, except capers, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add capers and serve hot or cold.

| See more French recipes |

Tips & Glossary

Bouquet Garni: (boo-kay gar-nee) bundle of herbs tied together with string or wrapped in cheese cloth square; usually parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Flavor is released during long cooking.Remove before serving.

Chervil: (sher-vil) related to parsley but has a delicate anise flavor. Long cooking kills flavor, so add at the last minute.

Cornichon (kor-nee-shon) teeny-tiny pickle, served with pates & smoked meats; found in specialty food stores.

Fines Herbes: (feen-airb) mix of finely chopped herbs: parsley, chives, tarragon, & chervil. Not as strong as a bouqet garni. Buy it at most grocery stores.

Fromage: (fra-mahj) Cheese! The French eat more than any nationality, 45 pounds per capita per year; and the country makes more cheeses than any other country, about 400.

The three great pedigreed French cheeses are:
• Brie (East of Paris)
• Camembert (Normandy)
• Roquefort (Southwest France, from sheep’s milk)

There are also wonderful lesser-known cheeses:
• Beaufort (Rhone Alps, hard, yellow Gruyere-type)
• Chevre (Loire Valley, soft, goat’s milk)
• Comte (Alps region, hard, yellow Gruyere-type)
• Emmental (Alps region, “Swiss” cheese with holes)
• Gruyere (hard, yellow cheese—originally French, now most is Swiss)
• Tomme (means “cheese”; soft, many varieties, all from skim milk)

Herbes de Provence (airb-duh-pro-vonce): mix of dried herbs, usually thyme, rosemary, marjoram, basil, & bay leaf Can be found at most grocery stores.

Mutarde: (moo-tard), mustard. Most famous:
• Dijon ( from the town in Burgundy)
• Meaux (from Meaux, east of Paris; whole-grained; made by Pommery).

Nicoise Olive: (nee-swaz- oh-leev) small, purplish-black olive with a mellow, nutty flavor; used primarily in Salade Nicoise. The Picholine variety is a green, medium-sized olive with a light, nutty flavor.

Roux: (roo) paste-like mix of melted butter and flour, into which liquid is gradually added. The basis of every classic French sauce.
Basic Roux: 1 part butter to 1 part flour. Melt butter and add flour, stirring vigorously, till it becomes a paste-like consistency. At this point, add slowly whatever liquid your recipe calls for