Marsala Mushroom Cream Sauce over Beer Braised Beef over Mashed Potatoes

Made this dish last week. It was awesome! A hit with the entire family. Such perfect comfort food for chillier weather. Doesn't it just look comforting?

This recipe is assembled in 3 parts. I took the recipe from the Mushroom Channel, but made some changes. 

Beer Braised Beef

1 (2 1/2 lb) boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 2-3 inch chunks.

1/2 c flour

4 Tbsp veg oil

2 med yellow onions, halved & thinly sliced

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 (12 oz) bottles of lager beer

3 beef bouillion cubes

3 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 6in sprig rosemary

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Season beef generously with salt & pepper and place in a ziplock bag with added flour. Seal and shake until the beef until each piece is dredged and coated in flour. Add 3 Tbsp of oil to a large heavy duty pot and heat over med-high heat. Brown the beef on all sides, then transfer to a plate. Add remaining tablespoon of oil to pot and add onions, cook for 20 minutes until soft and slightly carmelized. Stir in balsamic vinegar, beef and boulion (*I used broth). Bring to a boil, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom. Add beef and juices back to the pot and give everything a good stir. *Cover pot with a lid and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours. (*Instead of placing in the oven, I put it in the crockpot on low and left it for 4-5 hours. It came out perfect.)

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

2 lbs yukon gold potatoes, washed and quartered

1/2 c butter, sliced

3/4 c buttermilk

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, add potatoes and cook for 20 minutes until fork tender. Carefully strain and place in large bowl. Add butter and allow it to melt. Stir in the buttermilk. Using potato masher, carefully mash until creamy. Salt and pepper to taste.

(*This is what they recommended. I made regular mashed potatoes. I love to make mine from baked potatoes, so I baked the potatoes while the beef was cooking in the morning. Then I scooped and made the mashed the potatoes with butter and milk. I covered them and reheated at dinner time.)

Marsala Mushroom Cream Sauce

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp oil

8 oz cremini mushrooms

8 oz button mushrooms

3/4 c marsala wine

1/2 c heavy cream

fresh thyme, salt and pepper

In a large skillet, heat butter and oil. Add sliced mushrooms and saute 3-4 minutes. Add marasala wine and cook 5 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and thyme. Reduce the heat to med and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

To serve: Layer in a bowl - mashed potatoes, beef, sauce. It sounds like a lot of work, but it really isn't... and it is SO worth it. It was decadently delicious!