Whee! I just made a dish that came out well enough that I'm sharing it with anything that stands still.

BEEF PORTABELLO

Ingredients:

2 lbs beef (flank steak, top round - whatever works)
One largish portabello mushroom
One shallot (if not, garlic or small onions can be used, but will give stronger flavor)
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup beer
2 Tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbs cornstarch and cold water

PREPWORK:

Remove excess fat from beef. Reserve for later use. Cut beef into strips (mine were approx. 1/2"-3/4" wide).
Cut mushroom into slabs (I trimmed the stem down, cut the cap in half, and then cut them into approx. 1/2" wide strips)
Slice shallot thinly

COOKING:

Bring vegetable stock to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Simmer mushrooms for 3 minutes, then remove from stock. Return stock to boil. Let boil and reduce until ready to add to rest of dish.

In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium/high heat. Add in reserved fat from beef and cover. After a couple minutes, add beer and re-cover. Let simmer for approx. 4-5 minutes, then remove fat pieces from skillet.

Add sliced shallots and sautee until they begin to turn translucent. Add beef, mushrooms, salt, pepper and vegetable stock that has been boiling. Cover and reduce heat to medium/low, and let simmer for 25 minutes (longer if not done). After 25 (or more) minutes, remove beef and mushrooms from skillet and transfer to serving plate.

In small dish, mix cornstarch with approx. 1/2 cup cold water (MUST be cold). Mix quickly and thoroughly, then add to liquid left in skillet. Increase heat to medium and stir attentively until mix thickens (note: if liquid does not thicken, you can add more cornstarch - just make sure it's not TOO much, and that you mix it with a similar ratio of cold water). Let simmer for 2-3 minutes.

This can either be poured over beef/mushroom mix, or served on the side as a savory gravy.

Eat.

Also, someone may want to check the "X-Ed" thread - DougR put up what sounded like a good chocolate pudding recipe.

M