Skillet Beef Pot Pie (MBR)

• 1 1/2 pound blade steaks, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut crosswise 1/2 inch thick
• 8 ounces white mushrooms, wiped clean and quartered
• 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/3 cup dry red wine
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 recipe Skillet Pot Pie Crust, frozen for at least 30 minutes

Since I was lazy and didn't know where my rolling pin that I've been carrying for years was,  I went with a pre-made crust.  Alas, I would have to roll the 9-inch crust out to 12 inches anyway.

Had to wait for my french rolling pin to come in the mail since I didn't even have a wine bottle to roll the crust out with.

Fold 1/2 inch border all around and crimp the edges.  Cut out 1/2 inch by 3 inch oval vents from the center and freeze for 30 minutes to ease with putting it on the skillet later.

Remaining mise en place.

Browning the beef.  I was certainly worried about having to eat shoe leather later.

Cook onions, carrot and 1/2 teaspoon of salt over medium heat until vegetables are softened.

Stir in mushrooms and cook until softened.  I mean that's not really the right adjective that I would applying to a stage at which mushrooms should be cook, but I guess I'll go with it.

Add garlic and stir until fragrant.

Stir in flour and tomato paste until incorporated, about 1 minute.  Stir in wine and cook until evaporated.

Slowly stir in broth and thyme and bring to a simmer.

 

Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Then stir in beef with accumulated juices and the peas.

Place crust on top of filling and bake at 425 degrees until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 45 to 50 minutes.

 

Even though this pot pie and the chicken version that I'll later blog about are both better than the one and only Mark Bittman pot pie I made when I first started cooking, I really don't think that either makes me want to give up either pre-made pot pies or especially the chicken and dumpling recipe I usually lean back on a couple times a year.

Bittman's recipe was a watery mess which this recipe goes to correct as just being overly dry.  Not a complete failure or really even terrible but still.

Stir-Fried Thai-Style Beef with Chiles and Shallots (MBR)

BEEF AND MARINADE

• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 2 pounds blade steaks, trimmed

STIR-FRY

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Asian chili-garlic paste
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minces or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 serrano or jalapeno chiles, halved, seeds and ribs removed, chiles cut crosswise 1/8 inch thick
• 3 medium shallots, quartered lengthwise, and layers separated
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, large leave torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves [Bought parsley by mistake and used some Thai basil instead.]
• 1/3 cup roughly chopped roasted unsalted peanuts
• Line wedges, for serving

Mise en place.  Steak is marinating.  Sauce ingredients stir together until sugar dissolves.

Browning the beef in batches over high heat.  I got away for a pretty long time without setting the fire alarm, but alas, eventually I lost the war.

Used home-grown and fairly mild Hungarian wax pepper here.  Sauteed with shallots until beginning to soften.

Push everything aside and stir garlic mixed with 1 teaspoon oil in center until fragrant.

Cook everything together until sauce is thickened.

The recipe suggests that half the herbs be stirred in and half used as garnish, but as I was only going to eat this one bowl at a time, I just stirred it all in.
Pretty decent stir-fry.