Butter slowly heated with sliced mushies. Then shallots. Then a clove of garlic. After that settled, a cup or so of stock reduced without flour to a thickish delight and a burger on top. I really enjoyed it.

And it tastes great! Go us!

I fried my patty in lard and topped with salsa, creme fraiche and avocado.

Browned in duck fat ( it’s duck fat central over here ). Here’s hoping the rest turns out alright.

I will serve with sprouts as it is sprout season. Have you cooked a sprout today?

There was a time in my life when I used to flip through cookbooks searching for yummy stuff to make. I would go with a feeling or an urge. Then I’d construct the shopping list and off I’d go. But this is not the way it works when you’re living, breathing and running a farm. Ingredients fall upon you ( big zucchini, odd beef cuts, foie gras trades … ) and you are left with a task. “What do I do with a few kilos if very ripe tomatoes?” Or “Wow fifteen kilos of beef to grind and process. Where do I go from here?”

When it comes to short ribs and you are in France, you make Pot-au-Feu. Or as we affectionately call it “Faux Pho.” These short ribs are called “Plat de Cotes” ( there’s a little hat on the ‘o’ … still working out iPhone symbols ).

Now I could totally Faux Pho the lot, but I thought I’d Gangnam Syle some of them ribs because that’s how we roll. I found this Korean Short Rib recipe that looked too good to refuse. Progress is smelling divine, we’ll see how it tastes.

As a side note, part of Gangnam Style Ribs is a browning phase. If you are not living in France you will not appreciate the next photo, but trust me, I browned meat – our meat – and I think I shed a little, happy tear of success. Our beef, you can brown it! So let me present to you, browned beef:

Two big bags of stew meaty Gordito have been thawed and ground ( yes and thank you lovely hubby for getting all the meat grinder bits sorted out ). I love stew meat and all its stew meaty yumminess, but sometimes you need to grind that meat for some warm winter meals to feed an army.

We found homes for some kilos, but with the remaining mince ( it’s so fun to use the word mince ), I plan to do this:

Chili
Shepherd’s Pie ( base )
Kheema
Cooky Beefy Bits with Potential ( and not the kind of potential that sits in the corner like a little kitten mewing ).

The chili is on and just about done. The Shepherd’s Pie is rolling. If my giant, American mug of coffee I had at four o’clock holds out, the Kheema should get a chance to live in our freezer for future meals. Should the Madiran take hold, I believe we’ll have browned beef with no name.

I can’t believe it’s not fried chicken chicken … er … steak chicken steak. Chicken fried steak is one option for steaks without fancy names. Pound it out with some ancient wheat, salt and pepper then do a quick fry job in duck fat ( or your animal fat of choice. Don’t under estimate the power of lard ).

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 compliments and sets the tempo of your steak preparation before it gets fried like chicken.

It’s best served with a milky onion gravy and some mash. “Milky onion gravy” sounds like something you’d find on a fifties recipe card, but in truth, it’s lovely. We did ratatouille. Not the best match, but fine for a quick Tuesday lunch.

One bite of chicken fried steak sends your taste buds dreaming of other taste-buddie horizons for pounded meat. Suddenly, you want to play around with katsudon ( “Japanese Schnitzel” on rice ).