I was a little apprehensive when I got half way cooking and opened the bottle of red wine.  This was a bottle that was gifted to me, and I had no idea what varietal it was since the label is in Russian.  It smelled and tasted a bit sweet, which made me panic, but not for long because I began pouring it in and hoped for the best.  Then I drank a glass of wine.

The good news is, it worked!  Or maybe I just assume it worked because I don't know how the stew is supposed to taste!?  Anyhow, JR commented that it was really good so I'll take that as another sign it worked.

If you've been putting off making this because it seems a little intimidating or time consuming, put those thoughts out of your mind and go ahead and try it.  My only advice would be to save it for a weekend when you have more time.  And be sure to head over to A Taste of Home Cooking for the Recipe Swap Round-up of Soups.

Here is what you'll need:

• 6 slices thick bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces 
• 2 lbs beef cubes/stew meat, cut into 1 inch chunks
• salt and pepper
• 4 carrots, peeled and coined
• 2 onions, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and slightly crushed
• 1/2 bottle red wine
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 tsp thyme
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 6-8 pearl onions
• 8 oz mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 3 Tbsp all purpose flour 

Preheat oven to 250F.

In a Dutch oven preheated over medium-high heat, add bacon and cook until browned.  Remove from pot and set aside.

Season beef and add a portion to the bacon fat.  Sear meat on all sides, then remove from pot and set aside.  Repeat in batches with remaining meat.

Add carrots and onions to the pot, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.  Add garlic to vegetables, stir and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.

Add beef, bacon, wine, tomato paste, beef broth and thyme to the pot.  Stir and bring to a simmer.  Cover pot and place it on the middle rack in the oven.  Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

15 minutes before the pot is ready to come out of the oven, heat butter in a saute pan over medium heat.  Add onions and mushrooms and cook until tender, 10-15 minutes.

Remove pot from oven and place on the stove over medium heat.  Add onion and mushrooms to pot and bring to a boil, reduce to low heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine flour with a large scoop of liquid from the stew.  Whisk until thickened and well combined.  Add another scoop of liquid to the bowl and whisk until smooth.  Add to the pot of stew and stir until well combined.  Allow the stew to cook another 10-15 minutes until thickened.  Serves 6.

Source: Ina Garten as seen on The Cookaholic Wife