It’s friday night, the boys and I have just finished an evening of pizza and Adam Sandler movies (Hotel Transylvania & Bedtime stories) I also enjoyed a glass of an Italian Chianti I received from my Zagat Wine Club subscription (so worth it). I usher the boys to bed, head to the kitchen and pour another glass. I notice some beef tips in the fridge which I had left to defrost for dinner before deciding on pizza and I also see I have a large quantity of strawberries. My husband took the boys to pick strawberries earlier that day but I really didn’t expect so many strawberries.

So here I am: 9pm, beef tips, lots of strawberries & a bottle of Chianti. Hmmmm….. This could be the end of the evening or an opportunity to create something awesome. Yeah, I think it’s time for some cooking & drinking, Wine-ing & dining, boozing & sauce-ing… okay! You see where this is going.

After another glass of Chianti and some strong concentration, I decide on a menu:

Beef Burgundy with Oven Roasted Seasoned Potatoes and Strawberry Cream Pie

What! That’s sounds ridiculously yummy.

I start with the beef burgundy which is an incredibly easy/ one pot kinda of dish. It doesn’t require a lot of preciseness which is probably good if you’re hitting the vino while preparing it and it’s cooked in wine. I roughly chop everything including my potatoes, sauté it in my dutch oven, toss in the beef tips which I’ve floured, add herbs, a generous serving of wine and let cook for a few hours. I place my chopped potatoes on a baking sheet to cook later and now it’s time to move on to my pie. *Don’t worry the full beef recipe is linked above.

I know for some people (or most) strawberries are associated with warm weather. It’s more of a summer kinda fruit but anyone living in Miami knows the best pickings are in January. Their big, red & full of flavor!

I loved this pie. The custard, fresh berries, roasted almonds all come together for an amazing taste. I chose to use pre made pie dough . I know! But it’s so easy. Yes, but not late on a friday evening while drinking. I wanted to keep my use of major appliances to a minimum (i.e.. Kitchen Aid Stand mixer). I started on my filling and topping. I washed my berries, chopped them, mixed them with a bit of sugar & lemon then put then aside and started on the custard. Here’s the “cream” part of our pie which required a few steps but was still surprisingly easy. Once the pie was assembled I put it in the fridge to set. It was my first time making this so I was excited and anxious to taste it. I have to admit it was awesome.

Look! Looks good? It was delicious.

Now that dessert was taken care of it was time for another glass of Chianti and finishing my beef burgundy and potatoes. I placed my dutch oven and potatoes in the oven. The wine had made me hungry and I was planning on digging into this meal before dawn. I waited 45 minutes and the beef was tender, the potatoes toasty and I was ready to DUI – Dine Under the Influence.