Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon (gone paleo)

Have you seen the most delightful auto-tunes ever? It is of Julia Child, and I watch it regularly because it makes me feel very happy.

I recently happened across a Julia Child cookbook at the library that listed all of the recipes from her PBS series. Rather than be organized by meal or category, the whole cookbook is organized by show. Boeuf Bourguignon was show # 96, and I made it last week. It is actually my first Julia Child recipe ever, and I found it easy, although lengthy, and absolutely delicious. This is a recipe you need to be around for - so make it on a day when you want to feel toasty with the oven on and putzy around the house. (Incidentally,  I thought about making Coq Au Vin, and after reading that recipe, realized it is basically the SAME as Boeuf Bourguignon, but with chicken.) I actually didn't totally know what either of these recipes were, even though I spent three years working at a French restaurant where we served both (my past vegetarianism kept me from actually eating them). But essentially, Boeuf Bourguignon combines slow cooked beef (or venison in my case), lots of red wine, onions, broth and mushrooms. It sounds so simple and not too exquisite, but how these simple things come together = totally delicious.

Part 1: Beef
6 oz bacon (not smoked)
olive oil
3 lbs. lean stewing beef cut into 2-3" chunks
3 c. "full bodied, young red wine such as Macon, Burgandy, or Mountain Red" (I used what I had, which was not any of those and it still was good!)
2 c. beef broth
1 T tomato paste
2-3 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 t thyme
1 bay leaf
salt

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Cut the bacon into sticks 1 x 1/4". Brown the sticks in a large skillet with a little oil and render out the fat. When browned, remove the bacon.
3. Set heat moderately high under skillet with oil/fat. When almost smoking, brown the beef a few pieces at a time - turning frequently to brown all sides. Place the beef, as it is browned, in a casserole or baking dish.
4. Pour browning fat out of skillet (I had used up all mine), pour in the red wine, and scrape up all the flavorful brown bits, then pour wine into casserole. Add the bacon and enough beef broth to almost cover the meat; stir in the rest of the ingredients and bring casserole to a simmer on top of the stove. Cover the casserole and set it in the lower third of the oven. Regulate heat (I had to turn mine down to 275) so the liquid simmers slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or longer, until beef is tender when pierced with a fork.

Part 2: Onion and Mushrooms
1 lb. fresh mushrooms
1/2 T olive oil
1 1/2 T butter
1/4 t salt
18-24 small white onions 1" in diameter (I just used two large onions, chopped)
1 T butter
1/2 t salt
water

1. Trim mushroom stems. Cut the caps into quarters and the stems on the bias. Heat oil and butter in a skillet until butter foam begins to subside, add the mushrooms and toss over high heat for 3-4 minutes to brown the mushrooms very lightly. Remove to a side dish until needed, then toss with the salt.
2. Because I used chopped onions instead of whole ones I skipped some steps. She has you boil and peel the onions. For chopped onions: place chopped onions in a heavy saucepan; add the butter and salt and enough water to come halfway up the onions. Cover and simmer very slowly for 20-30 minutes, or until onions are tender. Set aside, saving cooking liquid.

Part 3: Sauce
3 T Butter
1 Onion, diced and boiled in water/butter*

*This onion is functioning as the thickener here instead of flour.
1. Boil a diced onion in a little bit of water and the butter so that the onion becomes translucent and the water boils off. It will take about 15 minutes. Blend it in the food processor until smooth.
2. When the beef is done, set the cover "askew" and drain the cooking liquid in a saucepan. You should have about 2 1/2 cups (I did not- way less for me!); if liquid has boiled down, add more beef broth. Skim off any fat and bring liquid to a simmer. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as necessary. Add pureed onion and butter to broth, as well as onion water from earlier. This is the sauce!
3. Add onions and mushrooms to the beef, pour on the sauce, cover and simmer slowly for 5 minutes to blend flavors. The dish is now done! (If you are not serving immediately, let cool and refrigerate to reheat later.)
4. Serve the boeuf bourguignon in its casserole, or, if you wish, arrange on a hot platter surrounded by roasted cauliflower, on top of mashed cauliflower, or decorated with parsely.