Boeuf Bourguignon - Recipes to Rival September Challenge

It's hard to believe that September's come and gone and it's time for another Recipes to Rival challenge. This month's recipe, a tribute to Julia Child, is Boeuf Bourguignon. It was chosen by Heather whose gorgeous blog, Randomosity and the Girl, will inspire all who pop in for a visit. I have a sentimental attachment to this recipe. It was the first Bourguignon I ever made. Not my favorite, but my first. I'm fickle. I quickly moved on to one created by Dionne Lucas and tested a few others before ending my search with Thomas Keller's version of the stew. I don't do a lot of experimentation with challenge recipes. To me, the point of a challenge is to test a recipe as it was written, not to play with it until it no longer resembles the one written by its creator. I make as few changes as possible. I did make a couple of changes here, not to ingredients but to technique. I marinated the meat in wine and herbs for 8 hours and I cooked the stew at 250 degrees F. for 4-1/2 hours for better flavor and more tender meat. The rest was pure Julia. If she said to rub your head and stomach while standing on one foot, that's what I did. There is, however, a nagging question that arises every time I make one of these wonderful old recipes. Did that French bon femme really go to the lengths demanded by these modern recipes? Was everything browned, or was it thrown into the pot and simply simmered until tender? Did she really score and peel pearl onions? How could she afford to make this relatively expensive dish? I think you get my drift. Julia's recipe is a lot of work. In fairness, this is a wonderful dish, but there are spots where the instructions get downright precious. I do hope you'll try this because it is a classic, but I also hope you'll look for other easier versions. Here, in all its glory, is Julia's Boeuf Bourguignon. Bon Appetit.

Boeuf Bourguignon

Yield: For 6 people

Ingredients

A 6-ounce chunk of bacon

1 Tb olive oil or cooking oil

3 lbs. lean stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes (see Notes)

1 sliced carrot

1 sliced onion

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

2 Tb flour

3 cups of a full-bodied, young red wine such as one of those suggested for serving, or a Chianti

2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon

1 Tb tomato paste

2 cloves mashed garlic

½ tsp thyme

A crumbled bay leaf

The blanched bacon rind

18 to 24 small white onions, brown-braised in stock

1 lb. quartered fresh mushrooms saut