Well, they weren't kidding when they said today would be a cold one.

Thankfully I did not have to venture out for too long and now my Beef Bourguignon is simmering away.. It smells amazing.






Toronto Escort
Arianne St. Claire

Boeuf Bourguignon

Tomorrow is supposed to be a cold one here in Toronto, so I thought what better than to spend the day in..cooking.

I love trying new recipes, and although this one is hardly new, it is the first time I am making this delectable dish.


The ultimate comfort food:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups dry red wine
• 2 cups strong beef stock
• 1/4 cup Cognac (or good quality brandy)
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped into large pieces
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch-long pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 10 black peppercorns
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 allspice berries

• 1 allspice berries
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 3 pounds beef chuck, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1/2 pound bacon, cut into thick slices, and then coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon softened butter
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound pearl onions, peeled
• 1 pound white mushrooms, wiped clean and bottoms trimmed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preparation:

In a large non-reactive container, gently toss together the red wine, beef stock, Cognac, onion, carrots, garlic, parsley, thyme, rosemary, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, bay leaf, and beef. Refrigerate and allow the mixture to marinate overnight, or for at least 8 hours.

Preheat an oven to 300F. Remove the beef from the marinade and drain it on a clean kitchen towel. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to a bowl and reserve the marinade liquid.

In a large Dutch oven set over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Fry the bacon in the butter until it is crisp. Keeping the fat in the Dutch oven, transfer the cooked bacon to a plate. Add the drained beef to the bacon fat and cook over high heat, turning often, until the beef is browned. Transfer the beef to a plate. Add the marinade vegetables to the fat and sauté them over medium-high heat, stirring often, for about 5-7 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and allow it to cook for about 30 seconds. Gradually add the all of the reserved marinade liquid, stirring constantly to form a smooth sauce.

Drain the fat and return the beef and bacon to the Dutch oven, and stir a few times to combine the ingredients. Cover with a lid and cook in the preheated oven for 3 hours, until the beef is very tender.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a clean bowl. Strain and skim the fat from the sauce and pour it back into the Dutch oven, along with the beef.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the pearl onions for about 10 minutes, until they turn tender. Continue cooking them until most of the cooking liquid evaporates. Add the mushrooms, salt, and pepper to the pan and sauté them, along with the onions for 5 minutes.

Knead together the reserved tablespoon of softened butter and 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour to make a beurre manie. Stir the beurre manie into the simmering onion and mushroom mixture and cook it for 1 minute, until it thickens slightly. Add the thickened vegetable garnish to the Dutch oven and bring the stew to a simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve hot.

This recipe makes 6 to 8 servings.

So, the beef and vegetables are marinating.. and tomorrow.. a day of cooking and then..a comforting feast.

I will let you know how it turns out :-).

Next on list - Coq au Vin..

Speaking of cooking, I think that this escort has a very interesting concept.

Tabitha incorporates her cooking skills with that of her engagements.

Her website, Tabitha Cooks.

Tabitha Cooks - New York Ebony Escort

Tabitha offers a unique experience, "the kitchen courtesan experience", a companion who cooks for her gentlemen friends.

Exploring the senses in the true "sense" I would say.



Toronto Escort
Arianne St. Claire

The Gentlemen's Navigator

An interesting concept.



The Gentlemen's Navigator allows you to search for providers, nightclubs, Gentlemen's clubs and so on, worldwide, through your smart-phone or android device. It works entirely within your mobile browser.

Each search returns contact details, prices for services, reviews, images and the distance from your current location.

Quite handy, one would think...

The Gentlemen's Navigator


Toronto Escort
Arianne St. Claire

Such Strength, Courage and Bravery.

"I Am Nujood.
Age 10 and Divorced."




"I’m a simple village girl who has always obeyed the orders of my father and brothers. Since forever, I have learned to say yes to everything. Today I have decided to say no.”

Forced by her father to marry a man three times her age, young Nujood Ali was sent away from her parents and beloved sisters and made to live with her husband and his family in an isolated village in rural Yemen. There she suffered daily from physical and emotional abuse by her mother-in-law and nightly at the rough hands of her spouse. Flouting his oath to wait to have sexual relations with Nujood until she was no longer a child, he took her virginity on their wedding night. She was only ten years old.

Unable to endure the pain and distress any longer, Nujood fled—not for home, but to the courthouse of the capital, paying for a taxi ride with a few precious coins of bread money. When a renowned Yemeni lawyer heard about the young victim, she took on Nujood’s case and fought the archaic system in a country where almost half the girls are married while still under the legal age. Since their unprecedented victory in April 2008, Nujood’s courageous defiance of both Yemeni customs and her own family has attracted a storm of international attention. Her story even incited change in Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries, where underage marriage laws are being increasingly enforced and other child brides have been granted divorces.

Recently honored alongside Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice as one of Glamour magazine’s women of the year, Nujood now tells her full story for the first time. As she guides us from the magical, fragrant streets of the Old City of Sana’a to the cement-block slums and rural villages of this ancient land, her unflinching look at an injustice suffered by all too many girls around the world is at once shocking, inspiring, and utterly unforgettable

Toronto Escort

Arianne St. Claire

A New Year...

Happy New Year!

I hope your holidays were good and relaxing.

2010 went by so quickly.

Some great trips and new acquaintances were made, as well as the pleasure of spending time with some longtime friends. An enjoyable year it was.

I look forward to 2011 and all the fun experiences it will offer.

If you are traveling to Toronto it would be my pleasure to meet you here.

I will also be doing some travel this year. Please let me know where you are, so that I can let you know if I will be in your area.



Best wishes for 2011.

Toronto Escort

Arianne St. Claire