How Ina Garten Updated Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon Recipe

If you have ever tucked your fork into a classic cassoulet, coq au vin, or beef bourguignon, you know what it is to taste time. A traditional cassoulet can take three days to put on the table. MasterClass tells us to set aside over two hours to make coq au vin if you're using a young roaster, not the traditionally more time-consuming old rooster. In comparison, Julia Child's recipe for beef bourguignon takes a mere four hours, as Ina Garten noted on Instagram. Still, the time commitment may keep us from making it. Or, at the least, consigning it to the special occasions-only menu.

Child is known for making french cuisine accessible to the American home cook. Even one of her recipes for a "peasant dish," as she refers to beef bourguignon in her classic series "The French Chef" (via YouTube), might contain instructions like cutting the bacon into lardons. Yes, she explains that lardons are sticks with a length of 1 ½ inch and a thickness of ¼ inch, but such precision in the kitchen can be daunting. In her seminal book, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," she encourages us by saying, "Carefully done and perfectly flavored, beef bourguignon is one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man." No pressure. We love Julia Child, of course, though perhaps her recipe is a weekend version of the classic dish.

Ina Garten also loves Julia Child. However, Garten's reason for loving her is not only because of Child's skills in the kitchen. She was inspired by Child's belief in herself and her own vision, which at the time she tried to bring French cuisine to an American audience, was met with much skepticism. By her own account, Garten learned to cook from Child's cookbooks, per PBS. She, too, created a culinary empire making simple, elegant food accessible for the home cook. In that vein, she has honed a recipe from Child's classic beef bourguignon that's a little more user-friendly. Namely, by bringing the dish to the table in under two hours.

Insider contributor Erin McDowell made the recipes back to back, noting Garten's cut a few steps for time, such as not boiling the bacon before browning but adding flambéing cognac for flavor. Though McDowell preferred Child's version, noting that they had the time and energy to make a meal that took them six hours. Garten, on the other hand, tells us on Instagram that she made her version in honor of Child, enjoyed it with friends, and was able to make it to the International Film Festival showing of the documentary "Julia" on time. It seems one of Garten's special ingredients for great food is life balance.