Brisket: 

 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

salt
ground pepper
1 5-lb brisket of beef, shoulder roast of beef, chuck roast, or end of steak
3 to 5 garlic clove peeled
3 onions, peeled and diced
1-10 ounce can tomatoes (better cut in cubes)
A whole bottle red wine
3 stalks celery with leaves, chopped 
4 bay leaves and 4 clous de girofle
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
6 carrots cut in batons de 4 a 5 cm
try a schlouk of cognac.

Preparation:
Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the brisket.
Sear the brisket in a non stick pan and then place, fat side up, on top of the
onions in a large casserole. Cover with the tomatoes, red wine, celery,
bay leaf, thyme, and rosemary.

Cover and bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for about 3 hours, basting
often with pan juices.

Add the parsley and carrots and bake, uncovered, for about 40 minutes
(until carrots are cooked). To test for doneness, stick a fork in
the flat (thinner or leaner end of the brisket). When there is a light
pull on the fork as it is removed from the meat, it is "fork tender."

This dish is best prepared in advanced and refrigerated so that the fat
can be easily skimmed from the surface of the gravy. Trim off all the
visible fat from the cold brisket. Then place the brisket, on what was
the fat side down, on a cutting board. 

When ready to serve, reheat the gravy.

Put the sliced brisket in a roasting pan. Pour the hot gravy on the
meat, cover, and reheat in a preheated 350-degree oven for 45 minutes.