Boeuf Bourguignon

OK, so like anyone who watched Meryl Streep in 'Julie and Julia' we became Julia Child fans and started cooking Boeuf Bourguignon, which also happens to be a good winter dish.
Saute lardons (in the U.S. you can use salt pork or thick uncured bacon cut into pieces) in a pan, set aside. Saute 2 pounds (~1 kg) of beef cubes (beef chuck) - after carefully drying them (this is Julia's emphasis) - in oil, then move to a casserole that goes in the oven. Brown equal amounts of sliced onions and sliced carrots (~1.5 cups/3 dl each) and add that to the casserole. Deglaze the pan with red wine and pour that into the casserole. Add beef stock (~1 cup). The liquid should just cover the meat (a little less than a bottle of wine should be enough). Stir in chopped tomatoes (a small can) and bouquet garni. Bring to a simmer on the stove, then move to a 325 F / 160 C oven and cook until tender, approximately 2.5 hours. When tender, drain and cook the liquid to reduce the juices. If the liquid has reduced quite a bit during cooking this may not be necessary. Whisk in 'beurre manie' and let the sauce thicken, then pour it back over the meat along with braised pearl onions and mushrooms. All this can be done in advance and then you just reheat before serving.
'Beurre manie' is a paste made of 3 tablespoons of flour mixed with 2 tablespoons of melted butter.
Pearl onions are braised after first boiling them for a minute and slipping off the skin. Then cut a cross into the base of the onion to prevent bursting and put in a pan. Saute until colored, then add water or chicken stock to cover the onions half way up and simmer ~25 minutes. Drain any excess liquid.
For braised mushrooms, just clean and quarter the mushrooms and saute them in plenty of butter. In general with Julia's recipes, the butter is the answer to any question.