Beef Bourguignon

  

    
In sailing, no single action puts a boat far into the lead of a race.  Instead, a series of continuous, small actions of excellence allow the boat to achieve a slightly higher speed and gradually buildup a lead.  Constantly trimming the sails, adjusting the steering into the wind as the wind shifts, a clean mark rounding, even the time it took to clean the boat's keel before putting it to bed after the last sail, all add up to a winning effort. 
Similarly, the differences between beef stew and beef bourguignon are subtle, but make all the difference in elevating this dish from hearty to sublime.  Both dishes cook chunks of meat and vegetables with a thickened broth.  However, a series of small steps will make stew something special.  The first is marinating the meat.  Instead of just throwing those chuck chunks and chopped vegetables into the pot, marinate them overnight in red wine and the aromatic herbs.  Instead of just browning the meat in oil, first cook bacon that will be part of the stew, but also allow for browning the meat in bacon fat.  Also, cooking the stew in a combination of wine and stock, instead of just stock or water is a key ingredient.  Some also deglaze the browned bits with cognac.  It's these little things that will make your stew bourguignon and your tummy happy.  Serves 4.
    
Ingredients:
2 pounds of beef chuck or round, cut into 2-inch cubes
2 cups red wine, such as burgundy
1 bouquet garni
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 potato, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
3 slices of bacon, chopped
salt/pepper
1/4 cup cognac
1 tsp tomato paste
2 tbsp flour (or 2 tsp of corn starch mixed in 2 tbsp of cold water if needed to substitute)
2 cups beef stock
1/2 lb white mushrooms, sliced
1 cup peeled pearl onions
pinch sugar
    
Directions:
In a ziploc bag, add the beef, wine, bouquet garni, garlic, potato and carrots.  Seal and refrigerate several hours or overnight.  Empty the marinated mixture into a bowl and remove the beef to a separate plate.  Dry the meat with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.  In a Dutch oven over medium-low, render the bacon.  Remove the bacon when crisp, leaving the bacon fat.  Add the beef to the pot and brown on all sides, approximately 10 minutes.  If using flour, sprinkle now over the beef and mix.  Deglaze the pot with the cognac, scraping up the browned bits and allowing the liquid to simmer down.  Add the stock, bacon, tomato paste and marinating liquid and bouquet garni (still reserving the vegetables), corn starch mixture if using and bring to a simmer.  Cover, turn the heat down and allow to simmer for up to an hour.  Add the reserved vegetables, mushrooms and pearl onions and simmer a further hour.  Remove the bouquet garni and add the sugar if needed to adjust the acidity.  Serve.