Beef and Ale Stew With a Savory Crust

"Easy, slow cooked with a savory crust. The dark stout gives this great flavor. Comfort food at it's best. Now I just used crescent rolls for the top of this casserole, but you could use puff pastry if you want. Basically the same result. I just didn't feel like going to the store and the crescents worked great."
 
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Ready In:
2hrs 30mins
Ingredients:
20
Yields:
6-8 Individual Servings
Serves:
6-8
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ingredients

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directions

  • Meat -- Now I use a baggie for this, but a small bowl or pan will work fine. I just mix the flour, salt and pepper in a baggie and toss the meat and dredge.
  • Saute -- Now in a large pot heated to medium high, add the olive oil and cook the meat until golden brown. DON'T forget shake off most of the flour before you add it to the oil. The meat should take about 5-7 minutes until brown on each side. Remove to a plate while you prepare the vegetables.
  • Vegetables -- In the same pot as you cooked the meat, add a little more olive oil and saute the onions, parsnips, celery root, mushrooms, and garlic. Cook 10 minutes until they begin to soften.
  • Broth -- Add the beer to deglaze the pan and stir up all the good bits on the bottom of the pan. Add in the beef broth, seasoning and simmer 1 hour covered and 1/2 hour uncovered so the broth reduces a bit. You want a nice thick stew, not too runny. After 1 1/2 hours, the meat should be falling apart.
  • NOTE: If you like your stew a bit thicker, just mix a little corn starch and water to make a slurry and add to a medium heat stew and it will thicken right up. Just a tablespoon or so should be plenty.
  • Topping -- Now transfer the stew to a 13x9 baking dish, sprayed with Pam. Now roll out your crescent rolls (1 can at a time) on a counter top with a little flour so they don't stick or on a cutting board. Press the seams together and then I take my rolling pin and just roll it a couple of times to make a nice flat sheet.
  • Now I like to cut my flat sheet of dough into 8 strips and then lay them across the pie like a checker board. The two crusts make a really pretty presentation. Now if you don't like the checker board pattern, just add it in strips. Anyways you like. Just remember if you put on a solid piece of crust, poke some holes with a fork on the top so the crust can breath. Just like a pie crust.
  • Butter and Cheese Glaze -- The best part, just melt for 10 second in the microwave the butter and blue cheese with the seasoning. Just enough to make it soft but not liquid. Then brush the blue cheese butter on the crust.
  • Bake -- 400 for about 17-20 minutes until the crust is done and golden brown. Then just ENJOY! Rich hearty stew, falling apart with a golden flaky crust.

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>Growing up in Michigan, I spent my summers at my cottage in the Northern part up by Traverscity. On a lake, big garden which had all the vegetables you could imagine. My mom taught school, so summers were our vacation time. Gramps and I fished all the time so fresh fish was always on the menu, perch, blue gill, walleye and small and large mouth bass. At age 5 I learned how to clean my own fish and by 10 I was making dinner, canning vegetables and fruits, making pies and fresh breads. Apples fresh picked every fall, strawberries in June and July, Cherries at the Cherry Festival in Traverscity. So fresh foods always were a big part. Mom worked as a teacher during the year so dinner was more traditional with pot roasts, meatloaf, etc, but it seemed we always had fresh fruits and vegetables as part of the meal. Mom also didn't use as many spices as I do, but times were different back then. <br /> <br />So ... My motto is ... There is NO Right and NO Wrong with cooking. So many people thing they have to follow a recipe. But NO ... a recipe is a method and directions to help and teach someone. Cooking is about personal tastes and flavors. I love garlic ... and another person may not. I like heat ... but you may not. Recipes are building blocks, NOT text ground in stone. Use them to make and build on. Even my recipes I don't follow most times --They are a base. That is what cooking is to me. A base of layer upon layer of flavors. <br /> <br />I still dislike using canned soups or packaged gravies/seasoning ... but I admit, I do use them. I have a few recipes that use them. But I try to strive to teach people to use fresh ingredients, they are first ... so much healthier for you ... and second, in the end less expensive. But we all have our moments including me. <br /> <br />So, lets see ... In the past, I have worked as a hostess, bartender, waitress, then a short order cook, salad girl in the kitchen, sort of assistant chef, head chef, co owner of a restaurant ... now a consultant to a catering company/restaurant, I cater myself and I'm a personal chef for a elderly lady. I work doing data entry during the day, and now and then try to have fun which is not very often due to my job(s). <br /> <br />I have a 21 year old who at times is going on 12, aren't they all. Was married and now single and just trying to enjoy life one day at a time. I'm writing a cookbook ... name is still in the works but it is dedicated to those people who never learned, to cook. Single Moms, Dads, or Just Busy Parents. Those individuals that think you can't make a great dinner for not a lot of money. You can entertain on a budget and I want people to know that gourmet tasting food doesn't have to be from a can of soup or a box, and healthy food doesn't come from a drive through. There are some really good meals that people can make which are healthy and will save money but taste amazing. So I guess that is my current goal. We all take short cuts and I have no problem with that - I do it too. I volunteer and make food for the homeless every couple of months, donating my time and money. I usually make soup for them and many times get donations from a local grocery stores, Sams Club, Walmart etc, with broth, and vegetables. It makes my cost very little and well worth every minute I spend. Like anyone, life is always trying to figure things out and do the best we can and have fun some how along the way.</p>
 
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