The Demise of Tamarack March 8, 2011

I feel personally responsible for the demise of Tamarack Resort. I didn’t want it, didn’t want the traffic it would bring on West Mountain Rd. in front of our cabin, didn’t want the increase in population, didn’t want more boats on the lake, didn’t want what would inevitably be “box” stores coming to Valley County. Well, I got my wish. Tamarack closed in early 2009, locked up. Actually, the legal status of the resort has changed numerous times and it’s currently state bankruptcy court.

Although the local residents pulled off a miracle and had the ski runs open on December 20, 2010, with service from the Canoe Grill and Seven Devils Pub, that too will end in April. The Crane Creek Market is closed, the unfinished lodge is shrink-wrapped to protect it from the elements, and the small businesses that had sprung up to serve the newcomers are closed. Ironically, my family skied at the resort, attended concerts, zipped on the zip line, ate at the pub and the gourmet restaurant. We knew people who purchased the expensive condos and homes. We shopped at the only grocery in the county where you could purchase fresh fish, wild mushrooms, and good brie. And now it’s gone, all gone.

What does that mean? It means we’ll ski Brundage, which I much prefer; it means we’ll bring hard to find items from Boise; it means we’ll frequent the other restaurants in the valley; it means we’ll hang out with our friends at home like we used to; if there’s gourmet, we’ll cook it. We’ll go boating in peace and quiet; I’ll only have to dust once a day thanks to the decrease in cars on the gravel road. We’ll attend the summer concerts at Brundage, less expensive and no one cares if you bring your camera or wine. Oh, and maybe, our taxes will return from the stratosphere…or not.

This is not a good time for Valley County. It may even be worse than when the Boise Cascade mill closed in 2001. There’s high unemployment, declines in sales, foreclosures, like so many other places in the country. But the demise of Tamarack is not really tied to the economic downturn. It’s more because it wasn’t destined to be, not in this place, not at this time. There’s nothing I dislike more than having to acknowledge nay-sayers, but maybe those who said transportation to the area wasn’t adequate, who said the length of time it would take to become profitable would be too long to sustain with the investments available, who said in the long run it wouldn’t have the cache of competing resorts, were right.

Ok, so maybe I didn’t personally cause the failure of the resort. But, except for the impact on the local economy, I’m not be heartbroken either. Hmmm, I mused, I wonder what my reaction will be if Tamarack ever rises from the snow ashes?

>Channeling Julia January 5, 2011

>When my husband gave me a Le Creuset French Oven, he also requested I make beef bourguignon. We had recently watched “Julie and Juliet” and the dish at the end of the movie was bouef bourguignon.

I found Julia’s recipe online and read it over and over to get a picture of the process in my mind. Then I browsed other recipes on Epicurious and Food Network. Some seemed more like stew since they called for celery and potatoes. Others were made solely on the stove top. Several called for cognac or brandy to be added to the seared beef and burned off.

I decided to use Julia’s recipe incorporating some of Ina Gartin’s in the last few steps. Warning: this recipe does take hours and hours. Consider making it the day before, like on a Saturday to have on Sunday. Also, it makes 6 servings, and really no more than that. The result follows with my notes:

• One 6-ounce piece of chunk bacon – I used four strips of bacon

• 3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes

• 1 carrot, sliced

• 1 onion, sliced

• Salt and pepper

• 2 tablespoons flour

• 3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy) ended up with ½ bottle of cab

• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock – used two cups

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 2 cloves mashed garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon thyme

• A crumbled bay leaf

• 18 to 24 white onions, small – used a package of frozen pearl onions

• 3 1/2 tablespoons butter

• Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)

• 1 pound mushrooms, fresh and quartered

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Brown bacon in Dutch oven or oven proof casserole. Transfer to large bowl

Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat oil with bacon fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon. This is one of the time-consuming parts of the recipe and the oil will splatter all over. I use tongs to add and turn the beef. I also lowered the heat a bit.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the excess fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes.

Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust).

Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in wine and 2 to 3 cups stock, just enough so that the meat is barely covered. If I had used all the wine and broth called for, the beef would have had too much liquid, not just barely covered.

Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove.

Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. Check periodically to assure the liquid is just simmering. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Here’s where I went to Ina’s version.

Place frozen onions and 1 cup beef broth in a medium pot. Add the bouquet garni. Bring to a boil. After 2-3 minutes, reduce heat and simmer onions for 20 minutes. Remove bouquet garni.

In a skillet, heat remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms.

Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove from heat.

Remove casserole from oven and place on stove top. If the sauce isn’t thick enough, make a roux by melting 2 T butter in a small pan, adding 2 T flour and whisking until incorporated. Mine was thick already, probably because the oven was too hot and reduced the liquid. Stir the roux into the meat; add the onions and mushrooms. Bring to a simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring once or twice to meld the flavors. Some recipes I reviewed call for a pinch of sugar at the very end to counteract the brassiness of the wine. I didn’t but will try it next time.

Serve in casserole, or arrange stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley. I serve it in large individual soup bowls with a large spoonful of mashed potatoes in the middle and parsley sprinkled over.