Boeuf Bourguignon

I made this about 3 weeks ago, it is another on of those recipes that I've been meaing to post.There isn't really much to say about this recipe,except that it looks intiminating at first but once you start breaking it down into sections it is pretty straight forward. Now I'm not a fan of beef at all, but Adam loves it. I made this more so for him and for the fact that I just wanted to try the recipe. If you are like me and your don't like beef, use pork or lamb. The use of red wine is pretty much unavoidable, I think this is the first recipe that I've posted where you really have to use red wine or it won't come out. I know some people are uncomfortable with using alchol when cooking, which is fine but in this case I would don't recommend making this without wine. However if you do I would subsitute the wine with more beef stock and maybe a tablespoon more of the tomato paste. Now it must be said that I am using Julia Child's recipe....yes I know I've been using a lot of her lately. But she is sooo good. Like all good Julia Child recipes this one had wine, mushrooms, onions and bacon, the only thing it is missing is lots of butter and cream. But trust me you won't miss it. Julia also says that you can serve this with buttered noodles, roasted potatos or green vegetables. I used noodles.

You will need:

For the base of the stew
6-ounce chunk of bacon, with the rind removed and the meat sliced into match sticks
1 tablespoon oil
3 pounds stewing beef or meat of your choice, cut into 1 1/2 - 2 inch peices
1 sliced and diced carrot
1 slice and diced onion
2 tablespoon flour
3 cups red wine
2-3 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves of mashed garlic
1/2 teaspoon tyme
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1/4 cup minced parsley
salt and pepper to taste

For the brown braised onions
about 24 peeled pearl onions
1/4 cup stock
salt and pepper to taste

For the sauteed mushrooms
1 pound quartered mushrooms
2 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste

For the stew
1) Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Place the pork rind and the bacon in 1 1/2 quarts boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain
2) Using a oven proof casserole dish, saute the bacon in the oil until browned. Remove from the pan. Dry the beef and place in the pan. Brown the beef on all sides. Make sure you don't over crowed the pan, if you do the meat won't brown. You may have to brown the meat in several batches. Remove the beef from the pan and add it to the bacon

3) Saute the onions and carrots in the saute pan. Pour out any remaining fat.
4) Put the beef and bacon sticks into the casserole, add the flour and mix to coat.
5) Place the casserole in oven and let cook for 4 minutes, remove from oven and toss place back in the oven for 4 minutes. Remove the casserole and lower the heat to 325 degrees. Add the wine and stock, then stir. Add the tomato paste, garlic, parsley, and bacon rind stir, cover and place in the oven for 2-2 1/2 hours.

For the Braised Onions
1) In a saute pan heat the stock.
2) Add the onions and cook over low heat for 30 minutes. Stiring every couple of minutes.
3) Season with salt and pepper
Set aside until beef is done

For the sauted mushrooms
1) In a saute pan heat the butter.
2) Add the mushroom and saute until wilted and golden brown.
3) Season with salt and pepper
Set aside until beef is done

Stew Cont'd

7) After 2 hours check the beef, if it is tender remove it from the oven. If not let cook another 20-30 minutes. Remove the meat and vegetables from the casserole. Strain the sauce and reserve the liquid. Discard the bacon rind
8) Wash out the casserole, put the meat and vegetable back in side it. Sprinkle the mushrooms and onion ontop.

9) In a saute pan simmer the sauce until there is about 2- 2 1/2 cups let and it coats the back of a spoon.
10) Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables, bring to the simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle some more parsley ontop if you want.
11) Serve

Enjoy!