Boeuf Borguignon

I have been wanting to make this dish for over a year; I finally got around to it at a 4-H Foods meeting. This recipe is quite involved, but absolutely worth it! (Your house will smell wonderful too!)

Ingredients:
6 oz. of bacon, cut into 1 1/2 x 1/4 inch pieces
1 Tbs. olive oil
3 lbs. lean stewing beef (patted dry with a paper towel)
1 sliced carrot
1 sliced onion
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 Tbs. flour
3 cups of red wine
2-3 cups of beef stock
1 Tbs. tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
18-24 small white onions
1 lb. mushrooms
1 1/2 quarts of water

~Bring water to a simmer, add bacon and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain.
Heat oven to 450 F.
Saute bacon in the olive oil to lightly brown. Set bacon aside. Brown beef (do not crowd) in olive oil/bacon fat. If beef is not dried before attempting to brown it, it will not brown properly. Remove beef from pan and set aside. Lightly brown carrot and sliced onion in oil/bacon fat. If there is a lot of excess oil, drain it. Put bacon, beef, carrots and onions in a large casserole dish (one that can go from stove-top to oven). Season with salt and pepper; stir. Sprinkle in the flour, mix again. Place casserole dish in the center of the pre-heated oven. Bake for 4 minutes. Remove from oven and stir; return to oven and bake for another 4 minutes. Remove from oven, and decrease temperature to 350 F.
Add wine, tomato paste, bay leaf, thyme, garlic, and enough beef stock to almost cover meat. Bring to a simmer on a stove.
Return casserole to oven and bake for 2 1/2 - 3 hours.
Peel white onions (leave whole), and prick bottoms with a small knife. Put onions in a saucepan, and partially cover with water. Add 1 Tbs. of butter, bring to a simmer and cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until soft.
Wash mushrooms (just wipe all the dirt off of them), and cut in half (or in quarters, depending in the size). Heat oil in a skillet, add about 1 Tbs. of butter. When the butter is no longer bubbling, add the mushrooms (do not overcrowd). Saute for 2-3 minutes, moving around in pan every 30 seconds.
Set these aside until needed.
When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Put the meat back into the casserole dish. If the sauce from the casserole dish is thin (does not coat a spoon), heat it up on  the stove. Make a paste out of flour and butter; use about 1 Tbs. of flour and about 2 tsp. of butter per cup of sauce. Mix into sauce, until sauce is thick. Taste for seasoning.
Add white onions, mushrooms, and sauce to casserole, stir.
If serving right away, heat for a few minutes on stove.
Serve over potatoes, rice, or pasta. (Optional) Garnish with parsley.