Open Pie

So last week, when we were shopping at the markets, I thought I'd cook something different. Saw a recipe for beef and red wine pie. The idea is you make it in a bowl, chuck some puff pastry over the top and cook it in the oven. Well, we don't really have any appropriate bowls, so I invented the idea of the "open pie" instead. It was delish.

Got out the trusty "Le Creuset", pumped up the gas and cooked half the cubed fillet steak in much the same way as we do for the shaking beef... really hot so it barbeques instead of stewing. When that was done, I did the other half (if I did both lots at once, it probably would have started stewing). Nice crusty beef layer in the bottom of the pot. In with a bit more olive oil and very finely chopped carrots and celery, and halved small brown onions. Stirred this around for a while, and all the bits of beef left in the pan stuck to and mixed with the veges. Then back in with the beef, a good grind of black pepper and some sea salt, then some beef stock and red wine. Chucked in heaps of fresh thyme leaves and left to simmer with the lid on.

After half an hour, chucked in some chunky potatoes (so they don't overcook). Got the puff pastry prepared... cut into triangles and brushed with egg, then into a hot oven. After fifteen minutes of cooking the stew, added some corn starch and left the lid off for the sauce to thicken. When it was done, spooned the mixture onto plates with plenty of gravy and a couple of triangles of golden puff pastry. The beef was juicy and tender... pink in the middle. The potatoes were firm, and has soaked up the flavours of the sauce. D. says "great presentation, delicious beefy-winey flavours". We ate the lot.

Spent half the day at work, getting ready for a dealine at the end of the month. D. still not well, she spent the day resting and reading. Off to Dim Sum in the morning with Grace, and then we're hoping that Aladar and Deb will drop in to play some board games in the arvo.