Boeuf bourguignon

For New Year's Eve we are making boeuf bourguignon, based on a recipe by Alice B. Toklas. It's been prepared one day in advance.

Serves 4

1 kg beef, special meat for stews, in cubes
butter
150 g bacon, in cubes
2 dl red wine
12 small onions, cut in quarters
2 cloves garlic, cut finely
2 carrots, cut in thin vertical slices
a few mushrooms, cut in slices
1 bay leaf
a few thyme sprigs
a piece of nutmeg
salt & pepper
1 slice of bread, without crusts

Put a big cooking pan on very low heat and add a little wine.
Fry beef in butter, seal it well on all sides, add pepper and salt generously, transfer to cooking pan. Fry one half of the meat first and then the remainder.
Fry bacon in the same pan used for frying the meat, then transfer to the big pan.
Fry onion for a few minutes in the same pan, then add carrots and garlic. Fry for a few more minutes, then remove from the pan and set aside.
Fry mushrooms in the same pan, then remove and set aside.
Cover beef and bacon with red wine and some hot water if necessary. The meat should just be covered. Add bay leaf, thyme and nutmeg. Put the slice of bread on top.
Let this simmer on very low heat for 3 hours.
Then add onions and carrots and let it simmer for another 30 min.
Add mushrooms and let it simmer for 5 min.
Remove bay leaf, thyme and nutmeg.
Serve with parsley.

Note: I'm not sure about when to add the garlic. It's probably better not to add it together with the carrots. Then you can fry onions and garlic at medium heat without fearing to burn the garlic. I need to consult with master cook P on this.