Beef Bourguignon

So I made it, Julia Child's famous dish.  I have been wanting to make it since seeing the movie "Julie, Julia", which is a great movie by the way.  I asked for and got "The Art of  French Cooking" for Christmas and perused it, noticing the detail and numerous steps involved in the recipes.  I made steak her way, fabulous, and green beans, out of this world, and then tackled the signature dish!  Disappointed in my results.  I did everything according to the directions and from start to sitting at the table for consumption, six hours!  Yes, six hours, and all of that time actually preparing, because even as the dish cooks, there are the finishing touches to work on.  I know I did everything right, here is what I think made my dish just good and not excellent.  I bought stew meat, as the recipe called for, but next time I will get a better cut of meat.  I used rather inexpensive wine, and the wine is the broth, so next time I will use a better wine.  I also think there are a couple of steps that can be skipped or revised and in fact just watched Tyler Florence make this dish and I am going to do it his way next time.  I am going to continue to experiment with the recipes in the book, and no I am not going to blog about it, that's been done!  But I did want to share this particular experience with my attempt at French cooking.  I don't get not trying new things, and not making the time to do something different.  Life is short, live it now before the opportunity is gone!
Rosemary