Beef Bourguignon

Fry the bacon until lightly browned. Move the bacon into a dutch oven or roast pan.

Trim and cut the beef into 2-inch chunks. Season it with salt and pepper. On a high heat, using the frying pan from the bacon, fry the beef until it is brown - about 7 min. (You may need to do this in two steps depending on the amount of beef and the size of your pan). Place the beef in the dutch oven or roast pan.

On a medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter until it foams. Whisk in the flour and cook until it turns into a light peanut-butter like paste - about 5 min. Whisk in the broth and 1.5 cups of water. Increase the heat and bring it to a boil, stirring frequently until it thickens. Pour the mixture into the dutch oven or roast pan.

In the dutch oven add the parsley, thyme, chopped onions, chopped carrots, crushed garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, porcini mushrooms, halved potatoes, 3 cups of wine, tomato paste, pepper, and another cup of water. Mix everything together and cook at 300F for 2.5-3 hours.

Remove from the oven and transfer all the solid items into dishes, separating the potatoes from the rest of the ingredients. Place the dutch oven or roast pan on the stove on medium-high heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally until the sauce is reduced to a thick cream texture - 15-20 minutes.

While the sauce is reducing, in another pan, boil the pearl onions (cleaned frozen onions are easiest to work with), 1 tablespoon of butter, sugar, and 0.5 cups of water. Simmer covered until the onions are tender - about 5 min. Remove the cover and cook until the liquid evaporates - 3 min. Add the mushrooms and cook stirring until the liquid from the mushrooms evaporates and the onions are brown and glazed. Remove the vegetables and add 1/4 cup of water. Mix around and then pour the water into the reducing sauce in the dutch oven or roast pan.

When the sauce is done reducing, mix in the beef and all the vegetables except the potatoes. Add the remaining wine and the brandy. Cover and cook for another 5-8 minutes. Serve with the potatoes on the side.