…and so does winter which is a good reason to have some last festive meals these days, with good friends around the table and some dark red wine in the glass. Tonight, I’ve served a beef stew enriched by the ingredients mentioned above, a ragout de joues de boeuf, that’s beef cheeks, and with them I’ve braised half a butternut squash which adds colour, flavour and structure.

Such a stew is quite the opposite of fast food. To get the less noble parts of beef juicy and tender you’ll need to braise them during 4 hours or so in the oven. Will add the recipe soon or maybe I’ll wait until next winter. Saw the first strawberries (from southern France) on display at my greengrocer’s. That means, obviously, that time for winter meals is running out fast.