Boeuf Bourguignon. Happy 100th Julia!

Thank you Julia for all your wonderful work! We continue to cook in your honor, and we do save the livers :-)) !! Happy 100th anniversary.

Here is one of her signature dishes - Boeuf Bourguignon. Don't be intimidated - this is actually just a bit easier from Julia's - but the basics are the same. You can make this!This is taken from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child et al, p. 315. You can follow that recipe and get the same result. Or...Here I modify just a bit based on the easier way I made this. What a wonderful, classic dish - best made the day before if you have time!

¼ lb bacon, diced (the thicker the cut the better)
2-½ to 3 lb chuck roast, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 Tbsp flour
3 medium carrots cut into quarters diagonally
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 12-16-oz package button mushrooms, washed and halved
2-3 dozen pearl onions, peeled - see cooks' note
3 cups dry red wine
about 2 cups beef stock (or you can use chicken stock)
2 Tbsp tomato paste

Preheat oven to 375F. In an oven-going Dutch oven, brown the bacon until just crispy. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon. Make sure your beef is dry (pat with a paper towel if necessary) so that it browns well, as Julia insists (and she is correct)! Heat bacon fat in Dutch oven until just smoking and add half the beef. Make sure beef cubes are well separated. Brown all sides well and remove to a bowl. Repeat with other half of beef. Remove beef to bowl, leaving oil in pot.

Add the flour, carrots, onions and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring often, for about 8-10 minutes, until vegetable begin to caramelize. Turn heat to high and add the wine, carefully. Stir in the tomato paste, to combine completely. Bring to a boil and stir down all the brown bits in the pot. Return the bacon and beef to the pot and nestle in the wine. Add just enough stock to cover the beef, with tips sticking out. Cover Dutch oven and place in oven. Cook about 2-2½ hours, stirring once or twice, gently. Check meat for tenderness, and cook more if necessary.

Meanwhile, sauté mushrooms in a bit of olive oil, until browned through. Set aside. In same pan, sauté the pearl onions over medium-low heat in a bit of olive oil and butter (2 Tbsp each) until just browned on the edges and beginning to soften, about 20-30 minutes. Stir into beef mixture and adjust sauce consistency with water or broth. Make sure everything is cooked through - sertve over mashed potatoes or pasta.
Cook's Note: This is a quick way to peel pearl onions! Bring a smal pot of water to a boil and drop the pearl onions in the water. Blanch for about a minute and turn our into a strainer. Cut a slice into one end of the onion, and slip the onion through the cut - make the cut big enough.