Crockpot Beef Burgundy. Délicieux!

After feasting my eyes on Julie and Julia (both the book and the movie!), I was determined to make Bouef Bourguignon. Alas, there is both bacon and copious amounts of butter in the original recipe and I struggled to find a suitable way to adapt it to a Kosher kitchen. Until, I found this crockpot recipe in one of my cookbooks. It's not exactly the same as Julia's sacred recipe, but it's dayum good.

The beef burgundy was a labor-intensive recipe; however, the end result is well worth it. In the slow cooker, the stew thickens into a savory and tangy combination of spicy red wine and tender fall-apart beef, with a hint of garlic, thyme and onions. It's best served with sometime to sop up all that delicious sauce - crusty bread, noodles or a baked potato. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to lick the leftover tupperware container.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

2.5 lbs stew beef, trimmed of fat and cut into 1.5 ince cubes

3 TBS vegetable oil

2 cups full-bodied red wine, such as a Pinot Noir or Beaujolais

2 cloves garlic

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

20 baby white onions (can use frozen pearl onions)

1 TBS unsalted butter (I used olive oil)

1 lb mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup chopped fresh thyme, for garnish

Instructions:

Combine the flour and salt in a resealable plastic bag. Add the meat to the bag, several pieces at a time, and shake to coat completely.

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add 2 TBS oil. In batches, add the beef and cook, turning, for 6-8 minutes, until browned on all sides. Using tongs, transfer beef to paper towels to drain and then place into bottom of crock pot.

Add the wine to the pan and stir over medium-high heat to scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, until the sauce begins to thicken. Stir in salt to taste. Add the garlic, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves. Pour over the beef in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, until the meat is very tender.

While the stew is cooking, peel and trim the onions (unless you're smarter than me and using the frozen pearl onions). Heat a saute pan over medium high heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the onions and saute for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until they are lightly browned. One hour before serving, add in the onions (either frozen or fresh).

Throw the mushrooms into the pan you just used for the onions, along with either the tablespoon of butter or oil. Saute for about 5-10 minutes, until they are lightly browned. Add the mushrooms to the stew about 30 minutes before serving.

Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves, and garnish stew with chopped thyme. Serve with noodles, potatoes or bread.

Bon Appetite!