(Serves 4)

2 beef cheeks (I'm going to get some Wagyu cheeks)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup clarified butter (Ghee)
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 carrot finally chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
420gm tin of chopped tomatos
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup dry red wine
5 cups beef stock
A couple of fresh bay leaves (if possible)
salt and pepper to taste
Fresh thyme to taste


Heat the butter in a braising dish. Dust the cheeks with flour and cook in
the dish til brown.
Remove from the dish and add the onion, carrot, garlic, and tomato paste.
Cook gently till the vegetables have softened.

Add the beef cheeks back to the pan, add the tomatos, both wines and beef
stock. Add the bay leaves and then place on a tight fitting lid.

Place into a preheated over at 180C for 1 hour.

Remove from oven and check the liquid level. Turn the oven down to 160C
and cook for a further 2 hours. Check again during the cooking time to
make sure you aren't losing too much liquid. If it's getting too dry, add
a little more stock ----- not wine.

Remove from the oven after 3 hours and allow to rest for 30mins before
serving.


If you are serving as a family meal then leave the sauce as is. If you
wish to serve as a dinner party dish, once you have removed the dish from
the oven remove the meat and allow to rest somewhere warm and covered.
Strain the sauce into a clean saucepan and reduce the sauce consitency.
Carve the meat when rested and pour over the sauce. Sprinkle with fresh
thyme.


(Courtesy Gillian Hirst)

--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia

"As viscous as motor oil swirled in a swamp, redolent of burnt bell
peppers nested in by incontinent mice and a finish reminiscent of the
dregs of a stale can of Coca-Cola that someone has been using as an
ashtray. Not a bad drink, though."
Excerpt from "The Moose Turd Wine Tasting" by T. A. Nonymous