Boeuf Bourguignon--- OMG don't miss this!!!!

Boeuf Bourguignon is a rich beef stew cooked in red wine.  I've made it before in the crock pot, but man, that could not hold a candle to this recipe.  This might be my new favorite dish!

a drizzle of olive oil
1/2 lb of bacon, crumbled
2.5 lb of lean beef cut for stew (1-inch cubes)
1 lb of carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 tsp of fresh thyme
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups of dry red wine (I used a Burgundy)
about 2-3 cups of beef broth, just enough to almost cover the beef
1 tbls of tomato paste
5 tbls of unsalted butter, room temp. and divided
3 tbls of flour
1/2 lb of frozen pearl onions
1 lb of white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb of frozen peas- optional

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees
2. In a large dutch oven, drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil and slice and cook bacon until it's crispy.
3. While the bacon is crisping, dry the beef with a paper towel and season it with salt and pepper.
4. Remove bacon from the dutch oven with a slotted spoon.
5. Drain all but about 2 tbls of the oil from the pot
6. A few pieces at a time, put the beef into the hot pan with the remaining oil/bacon drippings and brown all sides of the beef.  Remove the beef and set aside... repeat until all the beef is browned on all sides (set it aside with the bacon).
7. While the beef is browning, slice the yellow onion and chop the carrots.
8.  In the remaining oil, saute the onion and carrots until the onions are soft.
9. Add minced garlic to the vegetables and cook for about 1-2 minutes more.  Garlic is bitter with it burns, so pay attention.
10. Return the beef, bacon, plus any excess juices to the pot with the vegetables.
11. Pour in the wine and enough beef broth to almost cover the beef, but not completely.
12. Add tomato paste and thyme.
13. Bring to a boil, then cover and put the dutch oven into the oven for approximately an hour and twenty minutes
14. After the hour and twenty minutes in the oven, the beef should be tender, remove the dutch oven and return it to the stove.
15. In a mug, combine 2 tbls of butter, 3 tbls of flour, and a small spoonful of the broth from the pot of stew.  Stir it until it's smooth then slowly pour it into the stew while stirring to thicken the sauce.
16. Add pearl onions and peas (optional).
17. As the onions simmer, saute the mushrooms with the 3 remaining tbls of butter, when soft, add them to the stew, try to omit the excess liquid.
18. Bring the stew back to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer for about 20 more minutes.
19. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

20. Serve with potatoes, rice, or buttered noodles....  I served it with mashed potatoes, peas, and crusty, French bread...  It was delicious!