Flupocolypse, day 6, The Dinner.....

Braised beef, smashed potatoes, simmered carrots, fresh rustic bread.

The braising liquid began with sauteed onions and celery, done in butter. Add a heaping tablespoon of chopped garlic, a couple tablespoons of AP flour stirred in, two tablespoons of tomato paste, and about 2 cups of chicken stock.  Oh, and lots of fresh black pepper.  Dump in about two cups of baby carrots, give it a stir.

The beef roast is browned hard in butter and olive oil, with much sea salt and black pepper.   Once the meat is heavily browned, lay it into the braising liquid.  Now, using half a bottle of good ale, deglaze the pan and pour that goodness onto the meat.   

Lid up the Dutch Oven, and into the oven at 350 for three hours.

The potatoes, medium redskins, are simmered in salted water for almost an hour (The last hour of the meat cooking).  Drained, dump into a big bowl, and add in three tablespoons of chopped crispy bacon, a stick of butter (cut up into pats), a heaping tablespoon of chopped garlic, a teaspoon of sea salt, and too much fresh black pepper.

Using a metal spoon, smash, turn, and stir the potatoes til they are chunky but getting smoother.  Now, splash in about half a cup of milk and stir up a bit.  Set aside til everything is ready. 

The carrots.... easy.  Dump a bag of baby carrots into a pot, pour on a cup of chicken stock and drizzle with honey.  Put on a lid and simmer slow for the last 45 minutes the meat is cooking.

That's basically it. Once the meat is removed from the braising liquid, stir it a while and it will thicken nicely.

Plate with buttered bread.

A nice bit of extra joy..... dump all the leftovers (but not the mashers) back into the dutch oven the next day, along with some chunked golden potatoes.  Simmer for an hour, throw in some rosemary and frozen peas.... Ta DA!   Exceptionally good beef stew.