Shortcut Beef Bourguignon

Shortcut Beef Bourguignon

This is a stove-top version, of Julia Child's famous dish. It's a little faster, but still, fairly time consuming. It's worth it.
My son Aaron, loves this. He once said " This is so good, it makes you wonder, what else is out there" It's comments like these, that keeps me, trying classic recipe's.

For the Beef:
2lbs. sirloin-cubed
3Tbl. flour
4slices of bacon-cut into lardons
1 onion-sliced
2Tbl. oil
2cups robust red wine- like burgundy, pinot noir
2cups beef broth
1Tbl. tomato paste
1/2tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2tsp. salt
1/4tsp. pepper

For the vegetables:
1 potato per person-cubed
8 to 16oz. fresh mushrooms-quartered
1 onion-sliced 
1tsp. oil
1slice of bacon-chopped
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of thyme
4Tbl. of sauce from the cooked beef.

Coat the beef with the flour, set aside.
Fry the bacon,in a 4quart pot, until crisp.
Reserving  the drippings, remove the bacon, and set aside.
Heat the bacon drippings, caramelize the onion in it.
With a slotted spoon, add the onion, to the bowl of bacon, reserving the pan drippings.
Add 2Tbl. oil to the pan, and heat on a high flame until very hot.
Brown the beef, a little at a time, and add them to the bacon and onion.
Deglaze the pan with 1cup of the wine, scraping the bottom, as you simmer, a few minutes.
Add the remaining cup of wine, the broth, tomato paste, herbs, the reserved beef, onion, and bacon.
Cook on high, until the liquid reduces to a semi-thick sauce.

While the beef is cooking, boil the potatoes, until they are just beginning to soften. Drain and chill them, with cold water. (as if making potato salad) drain.
In a skillet, fry the bacon and onion, over a low flame, until the onion has browned.
Add the mushrooms, and cook until they sweat.
Add the potatoes, and all other vegetable ingredients, and cook, gently stirring, until heated through.

Toss the beef, in the flour, and set aside.

Fry the bacon, until crisp. Remove it with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

Caramelize the onions, in the bacon drippings. Remove with a slotted spoon, and add to the bacon.

Add 2Tbl of oil to the drippings, brown the beef, a little at a time, remove it from the pan, and add it to the bacon and onion.

You'll have a lot of browned flour, and drippings, in the bottom of the pan, but that's a good thing.

Add 1-cup of the wine, and cook on a high flame, for a few minutes, while scraping the bottom of the pan, to loosen. Add all other beef ingredients, and cook on high heat, until it reduces to a semi-thick sauce.

For the vegetables: boil the potatoes, until they are just beginning to soften. Drain, and run cold water over them, until cold. Drain and set aside.

In a skillet, add the bacon and onions, brown the onion, over a low flame. Add the mushrooms, and cook until they sweat.

Add the potatoes, and all other vegetable ingredients. Heat until cooked through.