Natalia Fritz's Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp Olio D'Natalia
• 8 ozs good quality dry cured center cut bacon, cut into pieces
• 2 1/2 lbs chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 lb carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 yellow onions, sliced
• 2 tsps chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup Cognac
• 2 (750ml) bottle of Fritz Zinfandel (1 for cooking / 1 for drinking)
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• 4 tbsps unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 tbsps all-purpose flour
• 1/2 lb frozen whole onions
• 1 lb fresh mushroom caps thickly sliced
• 1 loaf good sour dough bread thickly sliced for serving
• chopped fresh parsley ~ optional