BEEF AND ALE STEW WITH A SAVORY CRUST

Steps:

• Meat -- Now I use a baggie for this, but a small bowl or pan will work fine. I just mix the flour, salt and pepper in a baggie and toss the meat and dredge.
• Saute -- Now in a large pot heated to medium high, add the olive oil and cook the meat until golden brown. DON'T forget shake off most of the flour before you add it to the oil. The meat should take about 5-7 minutes until brown on each side. Remove to a plate while you prepare the vegetables.
• Vegetables -- In the same pot as you cooked the meat, add a little more olive oil and saute the onions, parsnips, celery root, mushrooms, and garlic. Cook 10 minutes until they begin to soften.
• Broth -- Add the beer to deglaze the pan and stir up all the good bits on the bottom of the pan. Add in the beef broth, seasoning and simmer 1 hour covered and 1/2 hour uncovered so the broth reduces a bit. You want a nice thick stew, not too runny. After 1 1/2 hours, the meat should be falling apart.
• NOTE: If you like your stew a bit thicker, just mix a little corn starch and water to make a slurry and add to a medium heat stew and it will thicken right up. Just a tablespoon or so should be plenty.
• Topping -- Now transfer the stew to a 13x9 baking dish, sprayed with Pam. Now roll out your crescent rolls (1 can at a time) on a counter top with a little flour so they don't stick or on a cutting board. Press the seams together and then I take my rolling pin and just roll it a couple of times to make a nice flat sheet.
• Now I like to cut my flat sheet of dough into 8 strips and then lay them across the pie like a checker board. The two crusts make a really pretty presentation. Now if you don't like the checker board pattern, just add it in strips. Anyways you like. Just remember if you put on a solid piece of crust, poke some holes with a fork on the top so the crust can breath. Just like a pie crust.
• Butter and Cheese Glaze -- The best part, just melt for 10 second in the microwave the butter and blue cheese with the seasoning. Just enough to make it soft but not liquid. Then brush the blue cheese butter on the crust.
• Bake -- 400 for about 17-20 minutes until the crust is done and golden brown. Then just ENJOY! Rich hearty stew, falling apart with a golden flaky crust.