Le Crueset and Boeuf Bourguignon

This past weekend I was lucky enough to make the best investment of my life - I purchased a Le Crueset 7 1/4 qt. cast iron pot.  It's so freakin' awesome!!! It was well worth the money.  Mine is different then the picture - it's black and has the stainless steel knob on the top.  Brian started my Crueset collection Xmas 2010 with white kitchen canisters that sit on my kitchen counter with flour and sugar in them.

Anyway, so being super stoked about my new pot I decided my first dish I'd made would be Beouf Bourguignon.  Brian got so excited that he helped me look up recipes, took me grocery shopping for the ingredients (without children!!), and told everyone that I was making it.  It was actually really fun to make.  Especially since Brian cut up all the onions and carrots for me.  It turned out sooooo yummy!  I highly recommend it.  Brian was so proud of me it was funny.  I don't think he knew until Sunday that I actually know what I'm talking about sometimes when I cook or bake.  I used Ina Garten's recipe but adapted it a little.  Here is the recipe with my adaptions. 

Ingredients:


1 tablespoon good olive oil
8 ounces dry cured center cut applewood smoked bacon, diced
4 pounds chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes
salt
black pepper
1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
1/3rd a bottle good dry red wine such as Cote du Rhone or Pinot Noir (I used Clois du Bois Cabernet)
4 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound fresh mushrooms stems discarded, caps thickly sliced (I hate mushrooms so I used not even 1/2 lb)


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.

Dry the beef cubes with paper towels. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside.

Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. the meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add the wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork.

Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small pan, whisk in the flour and whisk for a minute or so until it gets a golden color. Add about a 1/4 cup of the broth from the bourguignon into the flour mixture, whisk, and then add another 1/4 cup, whisk.  Then add the roue (the flour mixture) to the bourguignon.  Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste (I personally let everyone do this to their own bowls).

Toast baguettes or a loaf of french bread in the oven and serve with the meal.