Boeuf Bourguignon

I bought a bottle of Smoking Loon 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon to serve as the wine. I don't know if it is any good but the price was right, and California wines seem to be pretty good.

Boeuf Bourguignon

4 strips Bacon
1 pound lean Beef, cut into cubes
1 medium Onion, diced
1 cup Burgundy
2 tablespoons All Purpose Flour
2 cloves Garlic, pressed
1/2 teaspoon dried Thyme
1 Bay Leaf
Salt
freshly milled Black Pepper
2 carrots, cut into chunks
3 medium onions, cut into wedges
1/2 pound Mushrooms, sliced

Fry bacon and set aside. Cut your beef up into chunks and brown on all sides in the bacon fat. Remove. Add diced onion and saute in remaining fat. Add flour to wine and shake up so that no flour particles remain. Add wine to pot. Add the meat back, along with the spices. Bake in a 350 degree oven, covered, for 2 hours. Next saute the onion chunks and carrot slices in a little olive oil until starting to soften. Add to the pot with the sliced mushrooms and the crumbled up bacon. Bake for another hour and then serve.

Several times during the baking you need to check it. The sauce will need to be diluted with water so that it doesn't dry up. I just added a cup at a time and stirred. I checked it like every 1/2 hour or so.