Steak and Mushroom Cobbler with Gruyere-Biscuit Topping

So, the weather around here has turned nasty. It is cold and it is rainy – all the time. Alas, what better way to brighten up your day than with some tasty cold weather food?

Sometimes, you just crave something “substantial,” food that has that somewhat elusive mixture of ingredients that just screams at you that you will be full, that you will be satisfied, that you will be happy, and that you will stay that way for quite some time.

Deep down, I wish that I could take credit for this dish – but I can't. This creation belongs to Curtis Stone and the man has outdone himself. Sure, I have changed a few things around, but the basic recipe is undeniably his. Credit where credit is due, if you ask me.

This dish is not super simple to make but it follows very easy steps with each step building upon the previous one. The result is visually stunning – perfect to impress some company, if you are so inclined. It's also delicious and, drumroll, pretty beige in appearance – otherwise I would never include it on a website dedicated to mostly beige food that caters to picky eaters. How, you might ask, can a dish be mostly beige and still impressive enough to please the eye? Go ahead, cook it, and find out for yourself.

Ingredients:

Filling:

1 ½ lbs. Top Round Steak, cut into ½ inch cubes.

Salt.

Pepper.

4 Tbs. Olive Oil.

1 large Onion, chopped.

4 Garlic cloves, minced.

1 lb. White Button Mushrooms (quartered if they are small, cut into even more parts if bigger).

3 large Carrots, cut into ½ inch pieces.

3 Tbs. All-Purpose Flour.

2 ½ cups Reduced-Sodium Beef broth.

½ cups Red Wine.

1 Tbs. Dijon Mustard.

1 Tbs. fresh Thyme, finely chopped.

Biscuits:

1 cup All-Purpose Flour.

2 tsp. Baking Powder.

½ tsp. Baking Soda.

½ tsp. Salt.

1 cup Gruyere, shredded.

4 Tbs. unsalted Butter, cold, and cut into very small chunks.

¾ cup Heavy Cream.

3 Tbs. Parmesan, freshly grated.

2 Tbs. unsalted Butter, melted.

Let's get started:

Season the steak cubes with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 Tbs. of the olive oil in a large pan over high heat.

Add the steak cubes and sear, turning occasionally, until the start to brown – roughly 7 to 10 minutes. I find that a lot of meat these days contains a lot of water. If your meat does, you essentially end up boiling the steak rather than searing it. Thus, I always drain the water, add a bit more oil, and keep searing the steak cubes until they are brown.

Once done, remove the cubes from the pan and put them into a medium bowl.

Lower the heat to medium, place the pan back on the stove, and add another Tbs. of olive oil.

Add the onions.

Add the garlic.

Saute for about 5 minutes until the onion is soft and translucent.

Remove the onion and garlic from the pan by adding them to the bowl with the steak cubes.

Raise the heat to high again and add the remaining 2 Tbs. of olive oil.

Add the mushrooms and saute until golden in color – about 5 minutes – while stirring occasionally.

Add the carrots.

Saute for another 2 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour on top and stir until all the flour is essentially integrated and there is no more liquid left in the pan.

Return the steak cubes, onions, and garlic to the pan.

Mix well.

Add the beef broth.

Add the red wine.

Add the Dijon mustard.

Add the chopped thyme.

Stir well and bring to a light boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened noticeably.

Taste for salt and pepper and adjust seasonings to your liking.

Preheat the oven to 400 degress Fahrenheit.

While the filling is simmering, get started on the biscuit topping:

On a large work surface, combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. I prefer to sift all three to avoid any clumps!

Add half of the Gruyere.

Add the 4 Tbs. of butter.

With a large knife, chop the ingredients until they start to clump together. Move back and forth, mix them a little, and chop them some more. Continue until you have quite a few crumbly pieces with some loose flour around them.

Transfer the crumbly flour and cheese mixture into a work bowl.

Add the heavy cream.

With a fork, mix the cream with the flour/cheese mixture until everything is moist but still lumpy.

Add the remaining Gruyere.

Add the Parmesan.

Integrate the two cheeses with the moist flour mixture to complete the biscuit dough.

Set aside – by now your steak filling should be done!.

Remove the steak filling from the pan and place it in a large baking dish.

Divide the biscuit dough into six more-or-less equal parts.

Place these six biscuits on top of the steak filling.

Slightly press on the biscuit dough to flatten it a bit.

Generously brush the melted butter on top of all of the biscuit dough.