Beef Bourguignon

I was following a self-proclaimed Julia Child recipe I found on the Internet. I’m quite afraid of commenting on such a classical dish, so I’ll just list a few (very humble) thoughts:

• To reduce cleaning hassle, brown the beef before the bacon to avoid burning.
• Onion gives lots of water, so brown the garlic and remove it from heat before browning the onions.
• Don’t be greedy with the roux: it needs to be just the right amount.
• I personally cannot taste the difference between dried thyme and fresh thyme.
• Beef broth is optional. Water would be just fine.
• Pearl onions should be optional.