Dinner and a Movie: Pride and Prejudice- The GAIA Health Blog

Some Healthy Food Fun: Dinner and a Movie
[200 Years of] Pride and Prejudice

On the Menu: British Style [Grass Fed] Beef and Guinness Pie
Video: Scenes from the 1995 and 2005 versions of Pride and Prejudice

"Your good opinion is rarely bestowed, and therefore more worth the earning"
--Mr. Darcy (to Lizzie) 1995 version

"You have bewitched me...body and soul"
--Mr. Darcy (to Lizzie) 2005 version

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Jane Austen's novel is now 200 years old, and me being the quintessential historian, and fan of British TV, I thought I'd put this one together........

But, before we get down to business, let me nip something in the bud............I know some women are gonna make some "questionable" comments on my page, I'm sure thinking, "For some inner city "Brotha", who posted movie reviews of [arguably] overly-violent "Guy-Flicks" like American Gangster, The Last Samurai,
and The 300, who the hell are you to review one of our cherished 'Chick Flick' classics? You must be bored because football season is over"

CALM DOWN LADIES, DONT TRIP!!! .....I got this covered" :)

....All I can say, is growing up, I was obsessed with sports like every other red-blooded All American boy, but after Sunday Football, I got all up into Masterpiece Theater on PBS, I kinda found myself watching everything, going into this "time warp" to this strange place, that being Victorian England.

I hate to admit, as I remember, my fascination with Victorian Era British TV and Theater was nothing more than being mesmerized with those "push up" dresses the ladies were wearing......I was like, hmmmmm, that interesting

This movie is about.........wait a minute, if you are on this page, you already know what its about!!

Boy is "digging" girl, girl hates boy because he "dissed" her sister, girl eventually finds out that boy is a "Cool Dude" (with the added bonus the dude has a lot of "Bling"), girl has 18th Century Style segment of "Yo' MTV Cribs" at boys house, girl starts digging boy........game over!!!

Since I always make the meal I put in my "Dinner and a Movie" segment, just for personal fun, this would be a great excuse to eat my two or three times a year Grass Fed Beef, and thus I put together a Beef and Guinness Pot Pie from a great recipe I found........

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British Style Beef and Guinness Pie

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Beef and Guinness Pie

1 1/2 pounds GRASS FED stewing beef, such as chuck, cut into bite-size chunks (I TOTALLY AVOID COMMERCIAL BEEF!!!!)
2 heaping teaspoons organic all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons organic virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
1 medium organic onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
4 cloves organic garlic, crushed
1 medium organic carrot, diced

2 stalks organic celery, diced 1 1/2 cups homemade Grass Fed beef stock or store-bought beef broth
3 cups (24 ounces) Guinness (try not to substitute)
1 14-ounce can organic diced tomatoes, drained
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (have to look hard to find one with decent ingredients)
3 tablespoons Steak Sauce from original recipe but I prefer to make my own healthy sauce
Small handful each fresh organic (preferably herb garden freshrosemary, thyme, and flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Pink Himalayan Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 sheet good-quality puff pastry (preferably Dufour brand)
1 large pasture raised egg yolk mixed with a little Grass Fed milk

...as a quick note I take papaya enzyme capsules after dinner to digest meat and gluten

Directions

1. Toss the meat in the flour to lightly coat.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Working in batches, lightly brown the meat on all sides, adding more oil to the pan as needed. Drain on paper towels.

3. Add the remaining tablespoon oil to the pan, along with the onion and garlic, and cook over medium heat until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the carrot and celery, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes.

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4. Return the meat to the pan, then add the stock or broth, Guinness, canned tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, and chopped herbs and stir, using a wooden spoon to scrape any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and gently simmer, uncovered, until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally and skimming any fat from the surface, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. [Editor's Note: lf the braising liquid happens to be runnier than what you'd expect in a pot pie, cornstarch was suggested by someone to be added]

5. Spoon the stew into a 7-inch-diameter ovenproof pot. Let cool completely. (If you’d like a nice dome to your pot pie, and, hey, who doesn’t, consider adding the filling to a slightly smaller dish.)

6. Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C).

7. Brush the outside edge of the pot or dish with water, then gently place the sheet of pastry over the stew, pinching the pastry against the edge of the pot or pie dish to seal. (lf you like, you can crimp the pastry to form a decorative edge.) Brush the pastry generously with the egg wash and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the pastry is risen and golden brown. Serve piping hot.

recipe and pie photo credit to the Leite's Culinaria site and (originally I think), from What Katie Ate)

steak photo credit to the 'Pepper' Blogspot

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I'm a bigger fan of the Colin Firth, 1995 version of P & P (I kinda fell in "TV Love" with Jennifer Ehle), but the Mr. Darcy played by Matthew Macfadyen in the 2005 version was so youthful, smooth, and cool, I love seeing that actor play that part......

BTW, that scene in the 1995 mini series, at the dinner/ball, when the "boring" Bennet daughter is at the piano and is singing off key, while Mr. Bennet is rolling his eyes in embarrassment, is still to this day the most hilarious thing I have ever seen on TV. I will sit through the whole mini series every year or two just to see that scene.

Anyhooz, one thing I didn't realize growing up, is that every boy perhaps picks some male image to aspire to, be it Tupac Shakur, George Clooney, Justin Timberlake, Denzel Washington, Michael Jordan, his Father, or whomever. I don't think even I will ever know why my subconscious chose Mr. Darcy.

Hopefully, my subconscious was prepping me to be the perfect "rich guy", the right mix of style, easy-going humor, social consciousness, never flaunting wealth in people's faces (my mind has a mind of its own).....If so, then no problem, I intend to play that part [with my own "Hip-Hop" flava'] exceptionally well, life is gonna definitely imitate art............

~stay healthy~