Stir in the wine and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 2½ to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed.

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.
Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2½ cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.

Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

For immediate serving: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley.

For later serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to a simmer, cover and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce. 

The Tandem Tasters serve it the first day with fluffy mashed. The next day, we switch to buttery egg noodles so it is a different meal. 

We serve this delicious dish with a hearty French Burgundy, just like Julia. She once told us that one of her favorite meals was gin, red meat and red wine!
Instead of dessert, we finish with an array of French or local cheeses and grapes.
This hearty stew is truly the perfect cold winter night meal for your family or the first party of the year. 

Raclette
This is pronounced (rah-KLEHT). What is interesting is this term refers to the famous cheese from Switzerland as well as the dish.  It comes from the French word “raclet,” which means to scrape and you do scrape.

The cheeses are named after the villages where they are produced.  According to a wonderful book titled 'Culinary Art and Traditions of Switzerland', “Only Raclette cheese from Valais and a few other cheeses from other mountainous regions are suitable for use in this dish.” We had visited Gruyère and experienced it there. We hope to return to Switzerland in the fall of 2010.

You can purchase electric Raclette heaters or make it over an open fire. But you don’t have to build a wood fire or purchase a Raclette machine (alternative pictured). 

Recipe for approximately 6 servings
1 large wedge (about a pound) raclette preferably Gomser, Conches or Bagnes, remove rind
1 dozen cooked small new potatoes, unpeeled 
assorted pickled garnishes 

Traditional Raclette Machine or grill, use according to directions and serve on warm plates.
As the cheese melts, you scrape it off the wheel using boiled potatoes, bread, pickles and other vegetables.
No machine or wood fire? You can preheat oven to 450, cut 4 to 6 ounce portions of cheese for each serving, remove rind and place on an oven safe plate. Put plates in oven until cheese is almost melted.
Serve with your new potatoes, pickles, bread and other accompaniments of your choice. We are happy with these two.
We serve a green salad or fruit with this dish. 

Fondue
If you did not indulge in fondue over the holidays, here is a recipe that is adapted from the 'Culinary Art and Traditions of Switzerland'. The fondue that originated in Switzerland consisted of scrambled eggs with cheese in proportions which were developed with time and experience. We have more fondue recipes between us than you can imagine. But, we wanted to provide you with a true Swiss tradition and experience.

Serves 4
3/4 pound Gruyère cheese
3/4 pound Emmental* cheese
1 clove garlic
2 cups white wine
2 teaspoons kirsch
1 tablespoon (a little more or less as needed) cornflour
Freshly ground pepper and nutmeg
1-1/2 pounds bread cut in small cubes or broken by hand

Method:
Rub the inside of an earthenware fondue dish with garlic.
Pour in the white wine, bring it almost to the boil.
Add the grated cheese, stirring continually with a wooden spoon.
When the mixture almost reaches boiling point, stir in the cornflour blended with the kirsch.
Continue to stir, adding pepper and a little grated nutmeg (optional).
Transfer the fondue pot to a burner, which can be regulated.
Serve the bread separately.
Using a fork, dip the bread into the fondue, and remember to stir the fondue with each piece.
The fondue should be kept at simmering point while eating.

Note: A fondue must be creamy, not too thick, but sufficient to coat the bread well. Burners, fondue pots and fondue forks are available.

Variations:
Fondue Gruèrieene – Made from a variety of Gruyère cheeses and often with apple brandy instead of kirsch.
Fondue “moitiè- moitiè” (half and half) – Made with Gruyère cheese and Half Vacherin cheese (from Fribourg) cut into small pieces.
Fondue Valaisanne – Made with Raclette cheese from Valais. Plum brandy is sometimes used instead of kirsch.
Fondue Vacherin – Made solely with Vacherin cheese from Fribourg and using water instead of wine. This fondue must not boil and is kept warm over a candle burner.
Fondue from Eastern Switzerland – Made with Appenzell cheese and cider and flavoured with apple brandy and a little lemon juice.
There are many more variations. Use your imagination and develop your own with your favorite cheeses.

* Emmental cheese is from the central cantons of Switzerland in the Berne region. It is a traditional unpasteurized hard cheese from cow’s milk. The flavor is somewhat fruity and has large holes. A hard Swiss cheese can be substituted if you cannot find Emmental.

We also serve a salad or fruit with fondue.

Fondue and raclette drink choices for Maralyn and Norm are cider, a dry Riesling or a light Pinot Noir.  Brenda prefers a cold German style lager beer or ale in a tall frosted mug. Of course, champagne goes well with all. Can we resist ending with Bon Appétit?