Beef for a Blustery Day

One of the nice things about having so many recipes collected on this blog is that I can easily revisit favorites and make some changes on the return visit. I did that last night with a dish that Sweetie particularly enjoys, beef and mushroom potpie.

When I made it before I used puff pastry on top and baked it in individual dishes. This time I cooked the meat part a few days in advance and let it chill to allow the flavors to really mingle. Things that have cooked onions in them often taste better with a day or two of sitting between the initial cooking and the eating. I also substituted refrigerated pie crust dough for the puff pastry because I had some in the fridge.

Instead of individual dishes I used a casserole dish and put the pie crust on top to make it a potpie. This is a hearty dish and makes at least 4 servings. I suspect that the leftovers will be tasty tomorrow, too. This makes a rich, savory, meaty, warm dish with the added delight of shards of crisp pastry from the crust. Some of the crust will be less crisp but delicious because it has soaked up the wonderful meat gravy.

The rain is coming down quite steadily today and there is some wind, too. We had a nice lunch with our friends/relatives from Healdsburg. Could be that a recipe will be posted from that meal in a day or two. I've also been working on the family cookbook revision and reading a new book which arrived today from Powell's bookstore in Portland, Oregon. It's the Momofuku Milk Bar book with lots of unusual dessert recipes. There will undoubtedly be something inspired by that book posted here within a week or so...maybe sooner. Thank you Natasha for the book!
Now, for that wonderful potpie. If you don't have Irish stout, a good dark beer would suit, too.



Beef and Mushroom Potpie with Stout
Adapted from a Gourmet 2004 recipe

2 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground (if possible) black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves roasted garlic, mashed
1/4 cup water
1 cup can tomato sauce
1 can beef broth
1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons butter
4 oz. sliced white mushrooms, wiped clean if necessary
4-5 stems Italian parsley

Ready-made, or home-made single pie crust (I used Pillsbury Ready Crust)
1 tablespoon egg white

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place race in center or just below center of oven.

Place flour, salt and pepper in a clean paper bag and shake to combine. Pat beef dry and place 3-4 cubes at a time in the bag and shake to coat. Remove from bag, shaking off the excess flour and place on a plate or piece of waxed paper. Heat the oil in a wide 5 -6 quart ovenproof heavy pot over moderate-high heat until oil is very hot. (I used a large soup pot...that way the grease spatter from the browning meat mostly stayed inside the pot. It is ovenproof and has a tight lid, so I baked the dish in it, too, and it worked perfectly.)

Brown the meat in 3-4 batches, turning at least once, about 5 minutes per batch, transferring the browned beef to a bowl as each batch is done.

Once all beef has been removed to the bowl, add the onion, garlic and water to the pot and cook, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pan and stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce, beef broth, stout, Worcestershire sauce and thyme and bring mixture to a simmer. Stir in beef and any juices from the bowl. Simmer one minute. Cover and simmer until beef is very tender and sauce is thickened, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. If sauce is too thin, thicken with a slurry of 2 tablespoons each flour and water, stirred into the sauce and cooked until sauce thickens.

Chill at least 4 hours or overnight to meld the flavors.

While stew is cooling, melt butter in skillet and sauté' the mushrooms, letting them brown lightly on each side. While they are browning, chop the parsley in a fine mince. Bring stew to room temperature.

Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Place baking dish or dishes onto a shallow baking pan. Divide room temperature stew among the dishes (or put all in one large shallow baking dish). They won't be completely full. Spoon the cooked mushrooms over the stew, dividing evenly among the dishes or spreading over the larger baking dish if using. Sprinkle minced parsley over each dish or over the baking dish of stew.

Roll out pastry dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a circle about 9 inches in diameter and prepare for topping the stew; if using small dishes, cut the pastry into squares, place one on top of each dish of stew. If topping a larger dish of stew, roll up edges toward the center of the dough circle, flute the edges, cut a hole in the center and slash in four places, then use to top the large baking dish of stew. Brush tops of either kind of pastry with the egg white.

Bake pie(s)in preheated oven until pastry is golden brown, about 15 - 20 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees F and bake 5 minutes more to fully cook the dough. Serve right away. Sides that work well include almost anything with potatoes. I like to serve green peas or a green salad, although steamed broccoli works well too.

Just for Sweetie

Sweetie has had a difficult March so far, but is feeling better and looking far better than the ladder which fortunately did all the breaking so Sweetie didn't have to when he fell. The joys of home projects! Since my knee is much better I decided to cheer him up with beef. I'm not sure what it is about beef and guys but some of them just have to have it on a regular basis. Since we're going with meat, we might as well have potatoes, too, so there were mashed potatoes and some peas of green since this was our St. Patrick's Day feast.

The dish is Beef and Guinnesss and Mushroom Pie and it is a winner! It reminded us both of a very similar dish we used to enjoy at an Irish pub which has since closed. There are no potatoes or other vegetables to get in the way of the intense, meaty flavor. The sauce in this dish (which is a pie in a very loose meaning of that word) is especially good.

The original recipe from Gourmet 2004 used tomato paste but I rarely have those little cans in my pantry. Since most recipes call for only a tablespoon or two and the cans have at least 8 tablespoons, they always end up in the back of the fridge growing fuzz since I have trouble just throwing them out once I've used the tablespoon or so, even knowing that I will not end up using the rest. The solution is to use tomato sauce and adjust the water in the recipe to compensate.

What a treat this is if you like beef. Tender cubes of slow cooked beef, a delicious sauce, savory mushrooms (my own addtion because Sweetie really likes mushrooms) and a sprinkle of parsley just because. Topping all that goodness is just enough flaky, buttery golden brown puff pastry. Don't bookmark this for next March 17th...make it soon for someone who loves beef and you will likely make it again and again. They will love you for it.

Beef Guinness and Mushroom Pie
Adapted from a Gourmet 2004 recipe

2 pounds bonless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground (if possible) black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup water
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can beef broth
1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout
1 Tablespoon Worcestershir sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons butter
4 oz. sliced white mushrooms, wiped clean if necessary
4-5 stems Italian parsley

Ready-made, frozen puff pastry dough, thawed (I used the patty shells)
2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place race in center or just below center of oven.

Place flour, salt and pepper in a clean paper bag and shake to combine. Pat beef dry and place 3-4 cubes at a time in the bag and shake to coat. Remove from bag, shaking off the excess flour and place on a plae. Heat the oil in a wide 5 -6 quart ovenproof heavy pot over moderate-high heat until oil is very hot. (I used a large soup pot...that way the grease spatter from the browning meat mostly stayed inside the pot. It is ovenproof and has a tight lid, so I baked the dish in it, too, and it worked perfectly.)

Brown the meat in 3-4 batches, turning at least once, about 5 minutes per batch, transferring the browned beef to a bowl as each batch is done.

Once all beef has been removed to the bowl, add the onion, garlic and water to the pot and cook, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pan and stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce, beef broth, stout, Worcestershire sauce and thyme and bring mixture to a simmer. Stir in beef and any juices from the bowl. Simmer one minute. Cover and transfer pot to the oven. Braise until beef is very tender and sauce is thickened, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. If sauce is too thin, thicken with a slurry of 2 tablespoons each flour and water, stirred into the sauce and cooked until sauce thickens.

Let uncovered pot of cooked beef sit and cool completely, about 30 minutes. If stew is too warm while assembling pies, it will melt the uncooked pastry top.

While stew is cooling, melt butter in skillet and sauté' the mushrooms, letting them brown lightly on each side. While they are browning, chop the parsley in a fine mince.

Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Place baking dish or dishes onto a shallow baking pan. Divide cooled stew among the dishes (or put all in one large shallow baking dish). They won't be completely full. Spoon the cooked mushrooms over the stew, dividing evenly among the dishes. Sprinkle minced parsley over each dish.

Roll out pastry dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin (if using full sheet of puff pastry dough) into a square about 1/8 inch thick. Trim edges and cut dough into quarters. If using patty shells, place one on top of each dish of stew, scored side down. If using pastry squares, place one on top of each dish of stew. Brush tops of either kind of pastry with the milk.

Bake pies in preheated oven until pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees F and bake 5 minutes more to fully cook the dough. Serve right away. Sides that work well include almost anything with potatoes.

Apricots and Pork...Who Knew?

Living as I do with a 'meat and potatoes' kinda guy, I have a lot of standard recipes that I know he likes. Most of these have been posted over time on this blog and they can be found in the Index (see the Sidebar).


In general Sweetie is not fond of meat dishes that use sweet ingredients but today he was the one who suggested baking pork chops along with apricot ale. Now apricot ale isn't really sweet, but there are fruity overtones of apricot and it's faintly sweeter than some ale. The one we like is brewed by Pyramid.


Once Sweetie suggested the apricot ale I jumped in with a spur of the moment collection of other ingredients: brown rice, mushrooms, onions, parsley, sage, even nutmeg...and dried apricots of course.


This is a savory dish with little bursts of sweet from the dried apricots. It's very easy to do and made enough for two dinners for two or plenty for four at one meal. I served it with a nice green salad for some crunch since the pork dish is savory but soft. Who knew that pork and apricot together would yield such a nice dinner? Now we have a meal already cooked for Friday.


A little update on health: My knee is doing much better (and THANK YOU to all for the good wishes) but the doc said yesterday to expect another couple of weeks before walking downstairs would be comfortable. I was actually talking to the doc because I had to drive Sweetie in to be checked out for a fall from a wooden ladder. He is fine (although pretty sore) but the ladder isn't. I'd rather have it that way than the other way around. It is sort of comical. He can walk fine but it hurts of do much bending over and I can bend over fine but it hurts to walk much so both together equals about one healthy person. Good thing we have each other!

Pork and Apricot Bake

4 thick cut pork chops
garlic salt or salt and pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon ground sage
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground (if possible) nutmeg
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup water
4 cups already cooked brown rice
1 bottle (12 oz) apricot ale
1/2 cup dried apricots (halves or chopped)
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook in an oven safe skillet with a lid or transfer ingredients to a large casserole with a lid when it's time to bake.

Season the pork chops with the salt or garlic salt, pepper, sage and nutmeg. Season both sides if that is important to you. I generally go with seasonings on one side, so you may need to increase the sage and nutmeg amounts if you season both sides.

In large skillet, over high heat, heat the olive oil and brown the seasoned chops. Turn and brown the other side, then remove from the pan and keep warm. Add the chopped onion to the pan and stir continuously for 2 minutes, then add the mushrooms and stir every 10 seconds for 2 minutes.

Turn down the heat to low and add the water. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and stir the mixture. Add the rice and stir to combine completely. If using the same skillet, smooth out the rice mixture. If using a different ovenproof baker, transfer the rice mixture to that baker and smooth it out.

Place the browned pork chops evenly around the baking dish. Scatter the apricots over the rice around the pork chops. Pour on all of the ale. Sprinkle Italian parsley over all. Cover and bake covered for 1 hour. Remove cover and bake another 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Inspired by Apricot Beer - Soft Cheese Bread

You never know when inspiration will strike. I was avidly reading through Peter Reinhart’s book Artisan Breads Every Day a short while ago and noticed a recipe that called for beer in the bread. The day before Sweetie had me try a new beer he had found that had a strong apricot flavor. It was delicious! As soon as I saw that this bread recipe used both beer and cheese I decided to bake it using the apricot beer, diced dried apricots and brie cheese.

The brie seemed like a good choice because it goes well with fruit like apricots and it would get nice and melty in the bread, too. I always did like the challenge of making changes to a new recipe that I had never tried in its original version.

To make the challenge even greater, I decided to use some of my sourdough starter instead of the instant yeast in the recipe. I left out the diced onion or chives called for, but included the brown sugar and buttermilk. Because it has been over a week since I made the bread and I forgot to write down the proportions, I’m going to give the recipe as written for using instant yeast, but include the apricot beer and apricots and brie. Although the recipe gives amounts in a number of different measurements, I weighed mine…it is so nice having a good scale at last! Thanks go to my generous daughter who gave it to me for Christmas.

This book has a wonderful, illustrated section at the beginning that gives a nice primer on mixing, kneading, and shaping bread, with lots of explanations. One of the distinctions that Peter makes in this book is between sticky and tacky dough. His description for tacky is that the dough sticks to the surface of a dry finger but then peels off easily, like a Post-it note. That was what I was going for and eventually reached. I also did the stretch and fold that he suggested, giving my bench scraper a workout at first. Once the gluten developed enough I could use my hands. It was fun. The apricot dice was kneaded in at the end, before the first rising. The diced Brie cheese was carefully kneaded in right before I shaped the loaf into a sort of football shape.

During the baking some of the cheese near the surface melted and bubbled up and then cooked to a crispy bubbly blister.

This may not be the most elegant looking bread, but it was delicious.

This bread was very different than the Irish Apricot and Walnut bread, even though they both had apricots. This bread was softer, with a finer crumb, and it had a malty flavor due to the beer.

I really liked it when it was warm and the cheese was soft. It didn’t need any butter…or anything added. Great bread! I'm sending this over to Susan at Wild Yeast for her Yeastspotting event...the best event ever for those who bake with yeast both wild and not.

Soft Cheese Bread with Apricots and Brie
Makes 2 large loaves

6 ¼ cups (28 oz/794 g) unbleached bread flour
2 teaspoons (0.5 oz/14 g) salt, or 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
5 tablespoons (2.25 oz/64 g) brown sugar
1 cup (8 oz/227 g) lukewarm apricot beer (I used Pyramid Breweries Audacious Apricot Ale [an unfiltered wheat ale], but you could use your favorite beer or ale)
1 cup plus tablespoons (9 ox/255 g) lukewarm buttermilk (about 95 degrees F or 35 degrees C)
1 ½ tablespoons (o.5 oz/14 g) instant yeast
¼ cup (2 oz/56.5 g) melted unsalted butter or vegetable oil (I used butter)
1 cup (8 oz) (sorry, no other measurements for this ingredient) finely diced dried apricots
1 ½ cups (12 oz/340 g) diced Brie cheese. I removed some of the Brie rind for a mellower taste.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, slat, and sugar together. Separately, combine the beer and buttermilk, whisk in the yeast until dissolved, then pour the mixture and the melted butter into the dry ingredients. If using a mixer, use the paddle attachment and mix on the lowest speed for 2 minutes. If mixing by hand, use a large spoon and stir for about 2 minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed, or continue mixing by hand for 3 minutes, adjusting with flour or water as needed. The dough should be soft, supple and tacky but not sticky. Add the diced apricots and mix on the lowest speed or continue mixing by hand for 1 minute, until the fruit is evenly distributed.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 1 or 2 minutes to make any final adjustments, then form the dough into a ball. (This is where I used the bench scraper and did the stretch and fold. Perhaps I had not added enough flour, but I was going for a hydrated dough and the combination of bench scraper and stretch and fold did the job.)

Place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for up to 4 days.

When ready to have a baking day, remove the dough from the fridge about 2 hours before you plan to bake. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Each will weigh about 2 pounds (907 g). Dust each piece with flour, then use a rolling pin (I used my hands to flatten dough) to flatten dough a bit. Put about ¼ of the cheese on each piece of dough, then knead it in. Flatten again and divide remaining cheese between the two pieces of dough. Knead the cheese dice in until evenly distributed. If making a boule, draw the dough toward the back of a ball to create a skin all around the ball. If some cheese pops out, that’s OK. (I shaped mine into a football shape once it was in the boule shape.) Proof the loaves on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Since these are large loaves, you may want to use one pan per loaf. Mist the shaped dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap, then let the dough rise at room temperature for about 90 minutes, until increased to about 1 ½ times its original size.

About 15 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F ( 177 C). Because of the cheese, there may be air pockets or tunnels in the risen dough that could cause it to separate. Poke through the top crust in a few spots with a skewer or toothpick. The dough may fall a bit, but will recover in the oven.

Bake loaves for 20 minutes, then rotate the pans. The total baking time is about 50 minutes. The bread is done when it’s a deep golden brown and the internal temperature is above 185 degrees F (85 egrees C) in the center.

Remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack for about 45 minutes to an hour before slicing or serving. (Since I’m married to Sweetie who can't seem to wait for the bread to cool, the bread was sliced by him after about 30 minutes…not great for the bread texture, but yum for the melted cheese.)