Beef Bourguignon

Yes, it's Julia Child time. I hadn't had this since my mother and everybody else's mother made it in the 60's, and forgot how AWESOME it is. What is it? Just beef stew made with wine.

Here's Julia for the OG:

Here's what I did:

• 4 lb. chuck roast
• Dale's Liquid Seasoning
• 1 bottle Burgundy or Pinot Noir
• 1 lb. bacon
• 2 onions
• 1/2 lb. pearl onions
• 1 head garlic
• bay leaves
• thyme or bouquet garni
• 5-6 carrots
• 1 lb. mushrooms
• 3 lb. Russet or Yukon potatos
• salt
• pepper
• beef bullion paste
• tomato paste

I cubed up a 4 pound chuck roast, marinated in 50/50 Dale's Seasoning and a decent Burgundy or Pinot Noir ($12-15) all day. You have to at least get decent wine for this, because it's the star of the show. The better the wine, the better the stew.

Chopped up a pound of bacon into lardons and crisped and rendered, put the bacon in the crock pot over a couple halved onions and 5 smashed garlic with 3 bay leaves.

Fry up the beef cubes in the bacon fat and put into the crockpot. Add 3 cups or so of wine, leaving a glass or two for you to channel your inner Julia, and a cup or two of water with a tablespoon of bullion paste, salt and pepper. Cook on low 8-9 hours until fall apart tender. I put in a package of peeled chunked carrots the last hour and a half. Edit: I left the lid cracked on a wooden spoon for the wine to reduce overnight. You can reduce in the skillet beforehand as well. You want the liquid down by 1/3 to 1/2 to a demi-glace. Nice and glisteney.

Cook a pound of sliced mushrooms in butter with wine and bullion, salt and pepper and that goes in. This is a good time to brown a tablespoon of tomato paste in. Season with a quarter teaspoon thyme, or even better, fresh or a bouquet garni and all into the pot.

Boil up 3 pounds of quartered skin-on or off Russet potatoes for 20 minutes until tender, in seasoned water. I added some of the soup broth and it soaked in. Let cool and mashed with lots of butter, salt, pepper, more salt and pepper and butter, green onion, and my secret weapon: About 1 cup of the top-liquor from the soup, which is mostly beef fat, butter and broth but it's flavorful. PERFECT TATERS.

Man, forgot this was so easy, but more importantly WOW is it fantastic and rich with flavor. Also good with chunk taters or over noodles.

You can thicken the gravy with roux and/or cornstarch, but I liked it as is this time.