Beef is a castrated male bovine, but in butchery generally includes the meat of all large cattle, heifer, cow, steer, bullock, steer. Among the best origins, one will find beef from Limousin, Normandy, Charolais or Parthenay, but also Chalosse (Aquitaine) and Salers (Auvergne), which are rarer. A good quality beef will be bright red and shiny, its consistency firm and elastic, its smell sweet. The fat is rather white or slightly yellow, forming a more or less tight network, the meat can be marbled or marbled. Beef provides "noble" pieces, for quick cooking, the most expensive, and second and third category pieces, rather used for slow cooking as carbonades. Among the best are steaks, chateaubriands and tournedos, entrecote, prime rib and roasts. Lesser quality dishes include braised meat, stews, bourguignons and pot-au-feu, for which you can choose pieces such as chuck, scoter, shank and collar. Discover original food and wine pairings with beef.
In the last board meeting of 2021 for the regulatory council of DO Terra Alta, in Catalunya, Spain, a long list of changes was approved. The most prominent was the making of a very strict certification system for wines that are 100% Garnatxa Blanca given that it’s their flagship grape variety. But perhaps the most interesting item is a bit further down the list that allows certification for a type of wines that in Catalan are called “vins brisats”. The name refers to white wine ...
While some people prefer to avoid restaurants altogether on Valentine’s Day, for others it’s the perfect excuse to enjoy a romantic evening out. For wine lovers, finding venues with a great selection of bottles is an added bonus. Whether you’re after prestige Bordeaux and classic vintages or interesting and quirky bottles from less well-known producers, the selection below gives you plenty of options. We also tell you what to expect from the wine list in each venue. From Michel ...
According to lifestyle and happiness guru Gretchen Rubin, you ‘bring your own weather to a picnic’. Ms Rubin, I’d suggest, has never shivered under a tree watching raindrops turn her fish-paste sandwich to mush because the weather forecast was wrong. There are, it’s safe to say, picnics and Picnics. It’s a term that takes in everything from a rubber baguette in a French ‘Aire’ off the Autoroute du Soleil to a four-course spread while listening to opera at Glyndebourne. What’s definitely true is ...
