martini marinated beef tips

Okay, so I could eat this everyday for the rest of eternity. The sauce is to die for. I mean, to DIE for. Not that I would like to die, but if I died eating this it wouldn't be so bad. Because it's like a one way ticket to heaven. Okay, so that may be a super exaggeration, but this dish is deserving of that.

This recipe starts with beef tips- you can use stew beef if you want but it may be slightly tough.

So it's the martini part time. Vodka. This is just plain old, cheap, charcoal filtered vodka. Nothing fancy is needed. The vodka will add flavor and tenderize the meat while it marinates.

Add about 4 cups of beef broth, or enough to cover... and then this gets marinated for 30 minutes. The vodka will break down the connective tissues and some of the proteins, the beef broth will infuse flavor and so on and so forth.

30 minutes later, the beef goes into a baking dish.

Okay, so now it's time for the olives. Regular old salad olives is what I used because I love the pimentos and the small slices.

A considerable amount of the marinating liquid is next- just enough to almost cover the beef and olives.

One wedge of blue cheese comes last. Crumbled up and topped on the beef at the beginning of cooking. This will melt and become browned and incorporate into the sauce like a dream.

30 minutes in the oven and this is what you'll have. Just one more step to go. Remove about a 1/2 cup of the liquid and then...

...whisk in about 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Pour this back into the pan and continue cooking for 20 more minutes. This will thicken and make an amazing sauce for the beef.

It will come out of the oven all hot, bubbly, delicious and amazing smelling. I serve it over mashed potatoes, and you can use bread to dip in the sauce as well. That's not too many carbs, right?

Martini Marinated Beef Tips
1 lb beef tips
4 cups beef stock
1/2 cup vodka
1 jar salad olives, with juice
4 oz. blue cheese crumbles
2 Tablespoons cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine beef tips, beef stock and vodka. Marinate for 30 minutes. Place beef tips in a baking dish along with salad olives and juice, enough of the marinating liquid to almost cover the tips and the blue cheese. Place uncovered in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove about 1/2 a cup of the liquid and combine with cornstarch in a small bowl. Pour back into the baking dish and continue baking for 20 minutes. Let set for 5 minutes and serve with mashed potatoes or crusty bread. Enjoy!