I am one of these people who attracts computer crashes like a honey attracts bees.
And there is nothing more irritating to a grown woman such as myself than when the computer decides to collapse on me like a souffle and all I can do is stare at the bright blue screen talking rude gibberish in a vocabulary meant clearly for drones and not for humans.
That and the fact that I am further paralyzed from touching something lest I ruin the situation further and so I must wait for techy persons such as Mr. Hubby to come to my rescue. For some unfathomable reason Mr. Hubby like a breed of other techy's seem to have this overwhelming urge to explain all that they're doing to fix the darn thing while they're doing the fixing!
I don't mean to be ungrateful but for one couldn't care less because all I want is this doggone thing fixed so I can get on with it! And the more Mr. Hubby engages in techy drone talk with me the more my brain feels like its being stuffed with cotton wool.
And when I bring this fact kindly to Mr. Hubby's attention he has this to say -"Behind every successful woman is a man....... providing tech support!"
So there you have it - it is under such excruciating circumstances that I have come to the realization that I now have a mere hours before I must cart a large potluck sized steak & ale pie for our community gathering.
Now for most women this wouldn't be a problem because I suspect most women have their recipes nicely categorized in folders and such. Mine are all crammed into the computer - a computer that has only just after extensive CPR has blinked back to life and in the interim valuable time has been lost.
Besides having to compile a grocery list, do the shopping & cooking at neck breaking speed, I have yet another challenge on my hands -
What's the challenge you ask?
Well, traditional steak and ale pie has a lovely puff pastry top that covers the whole thing but since we're going to be so many for us at the gathering I shudder to think what the state of the puff pastry will be after all the shoveling.
The question is, how to prevent the puff pastry from crumbing into smithereens & withstand the digging and prodding?
After a restless night, I had a moment of clarity!
I am channeling the concept behind chicken & dumplings and intend to do the puff pastry topping not an one humongous sheet but rather 2" circles thus making shoveling (around the pastry) all the more easier & so very potluck friendly! See for yourself!
There you have it and it worked like a charm!
Everyone could help themselves to the little puffy heaven without having a detritus of crumby pastry to deal with at the end.
By no means is this a traditional recipe. Traditional recipes do not use celery and frown at the use of mushrooms or rosemary.
I have used my artistic license freely and used this as an excuse to incorporate extra bits of celery, herbs & half used onions that were pleading to be used up. Various and countless sources of inspiration have all together in the creation of this dish. This is what you'll need to make this pie -
Beef chuck, a really good ale - I use Arrogant Bastard because it a serious, deep and bitter ale (and not for wimps) garlic cloves, onion rosemary, thyme, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, button mushrooms, turnip, potatoes, celery, tomato paste, all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, ground black pepper, cornstarch and bakery or store purchased puff pastry sheets.
Prepare the ingredients -
Onions - Peel, discard the skin & tops and dice into 1/2" chunks.
Celery - Discard root and leaves. Cut into 1/4" thick slices.
Garlic cloves - Peel, crush and roughly chop
Mushrooms - Cut off the stems and discard. Wipe with a damp cloth and halve.
Potatoes - Peel and cut into 1" chunks.
Turnip - Peel, discard tips and cut into 1" chunks
Thyme - Leave intact
Rosemary - Strip the leaves from the stalk and roughly chop
Beef - Cut away the skin and fatty portions. Cut the meat into 1" chunks. Dry between kitchen paper towels. Add 1/4 cup all purpose flour and mix using clean hands.
Puff pastry - Remove from freezer and refrigerate to defrost.
Use a very large pot, something like a heavy bottomed stock pot - one that can hold enormous amounts if meat as well as ll the stock and beer.
Heat the olive oil & add the butter and melt on medium heat. Add the meat in batches and on medium- high heat, brown the meat on all sides - about 3-4 minutes per batch.
Return all the meat to the pan and add the garlic, onions and celery. Saute for about 5-7 minutes until the onions shows softening.Add remaining flour and stir till combined.
Add the potatoes, mushrooms, turnip, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, beer, herbs, tomato paste, salt, black pepper and sugar. Bring to boil. Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook on low heat for 1 hour.
After the first hour, crack the lid about an inch to allow some of the excess water to evaporate and cook the stew for another 1 hour on medium-high heat.
Cook's Note - If after this time there is still plenty of water (you want to have the stew thick enough to spoon - unlike a soup) then take the lid off and evaporate excess water.
Once the stew is quite thick but still has a gravy to it, mix 1 tbs cornstarch to 1 tbs water. Stir till dissolved and add to the stew. Stir and simmer the stew on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
You can also make only 1 pie now and store the remaining stew in the refrigerator for the next couple of days. I would not recommended freezing only because in my experience potatoes turn mealy once they are stored below 40 deg F. About 45 minutes before serving or 1-1/2 hours before you have to cart to a potluck, spoon the now thick stew into pie dishes. Also remove one of the pastry sheets and unroll onto a clean working surface. Return the other pastry sheet to the refrigerator to keep cool.
Preheat the oven to 375 deg F.
Cook's Note - This is very important or the pastry will not puff up.
I am using 2 dishes because I am carting one off to the potluck but leaving the smaller one at home for Mr. Hubby and the kid's dinner.
You will need to carry both dishes or use a very large roasting dish and use all the meat if carrying to a potluck for more than 20 people.
Using a small glass or a 2" cookie cutter or biscuit cutter, press the rim into the pastry sheet making 2" circles as close as possible and as many as you can manage.
I have a thin strip of pastry sheet left and I don't want to waste it so I cut into 2 thin strips and used it to make a circle around the center pastry circle. Just use your imagination!
If you are assembling the 2nd pie as well then proceed with the process till both pie's are assembled.
Beat an egg with 1 tbs water and using a pastry brush, apply the egg wash on the top of the pastry circles and not on the sides on the pastry won't puff up.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 - 40 minutes. Check in 30 minutes to see if the pastry has puffed up and is a nice golden brown. If not give it another 5-10 minutes.
Cook's Note - Do not go by the baking times on the pastry box! I almost had a heart attack when the pastry did not puff up in 15 minutes but that only refers to pastry baking on trays and not on pies. Spoon stew & puff pastry crumb free onto plates!
And there you have it! A steak and ale pie worthy of potlucks or any occasion.
This received rave reviews at my potluck and I came back with an empty dish! Which says it all, don't you think? This is definitely a rich and wholesome pie. It amazing to taste the beer flavors in the stew mature turning from bitter to a rich & deep flavor.
I loved the herbs, turnips and mushrooms in it though it is not traditional to the dish. I hope you'll give this a try and guzzle down cold pints of Guinness with it!
Recipe for
Computer Crashes, Techy Mr. Hubby & Potluck Steak & Ale Pie
Preparation time - 20 minutes
Cooking time - 2 hours
Baking time - 30-40 minutes
Shopping list
1 packet Puff pastry, 2 sheets (Pepperidge farm) or from your favorite bakery
5-1/2 lbs Beef chuck
1-3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
4-5 stalks celery (to yield 1-1/4 cup sliced)
1-1/2 large yellow onion
1-1/2 lb potatoes
1 turnip
12 oz button mushrooms
3 cups beef stock
3 cups bitter ale or stout
1 egg for egg wash
Preparation-
Onions - Peel, discard the skin & tops and dice into 1/2" chunks.
Celery - Discrd root and leaves. Cut into 1/4" thick slices.
Garlic cloves - Peel, crush and roughly chop
Mushrooms - Cut off the stems and discard. Wipe with a damp cloth and halve.
Potatoes - Peel and cut into 1" chunks.
Turnip - Peel, discard tips and cut into 1" chunks
Thyme - Leave intact
Rosemary - Strip the leaves from the stalk and roughly chop
Beef - Cut away the skin and fatty portions. Cut the meat into 1" chunks. Dry between kitchen paper towels. Add 1/4 cup all purpose flour and mix using clean hands.
Puff pastry - Remove from freezer and refrigerate to defrost.
Cooking Method -
Use a very large pot, something like a heavy bottomed stock pot - one that can hold enormous amounts if meat as well as ll the stock and beer.
Heat the olive oil & add the butter and melt on medium heat. Add the meat in batches and on medium- high heat, brown the meat on all sides - about 3-4 minutes per batch.
Return all the meat to the pan and add the garlic, onions and celery. Saute for about 5-7 minutes until the onions shows softening.Add remaining flour and stir till combined.
Add the potatoes, mushrooms, turnip, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, beer, herbs, tomato paste, salt, black pepper and sugar. Bring to boil. Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook on low heat for 1 hour.
After the first hour, crack the lid about an inch to allow some of the excess water to evaporate and cook the stew for another 1 hour on medium-high heat.
Cook's Note - If after this time there is still plenty of water (you want to have the stew thick enough to spoon - unlike a soup) then take the lid off and evaporate excess water.
Once the stew is quite thick but still has a gravy to it, mix 1 tbs cornstarch to 1 tbs water. Stir till dissolved and add to the stew. Stir and simmer the stew on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
About 45 minutes before serving or 1-1/2 hours before you have to cart to a potluck, spoon the now thick stew into pie dishes. Also remove one of the pastry sheets and unroll onto a clean working surface. Return the other pastry sheet to the refrigerator to keep cool. Cook's Note - This is very important or the pastry will not puff up properly.
Preheat the oven to 375 deg F.
Using a small glass or a 2" cookie cutter or biscuit cutter, press the rim into the pastry sheet making 2" circles as close as possible and as many as you can manage.
If you are assembling the 2nd pie as well then proceed with the process till both pie's are assembled.
Beat an egg with 1 tbs water and using a pastry brush, apply the egg wash on the top of the pastry circles and not on the sides on the pastry won't puff up.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 - 40 minutes. Check in 30 minutes to see if the pastry has puffed up and is a nice golden brown. If not give it another 5-10 minutes.
Cook's Note - Do not go by the baking times on the pastry box! I almost had a heart attack when the pastry did not puff up in 15 minutes but that only refers to pastry baking on trays and not on pies.
Enjoy!
