Bourbon Beef And Dumplings

2-3 garlic cloves, minced (about 2 teaspoons)

1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, divided

¼ teaspoon of ground cloves

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 pounds boneless beef chuck, excess fat trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 teaspoon salt, to season meat

½ teaspoon pepper, to season meat

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 cup of fresh pearl onions, peeled, whole

2 cup carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cup Bourbon, divided

4 cup beef broth, homemade or low sodium if store bought

2 bay leaves

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

4 cup butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 cup frozen, pearl onions, thawed

1 8 ounce container fresh mushrooms, sliced

Kosher salt and pepper, to season

2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

For the dumplings

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup cornmeal

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika, plus more for dusting

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

6 ounces cheddar, finely grated 1 1/2 cup buttermilk

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees.

Combine the garlic, ½ teaspoon of paprika and the cloves in a small bowl and press the mixture with the back of a fork to form a paste. Stir in the tomato paste and set the mixture aside.

If necessary, dry the chuck pieces well with a paper towel and season with remaining ½ teaspoon of paprika, salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a Dutch oven or large oven safe pot over high heat and brown 1/2 of the meat, allowing it to get a nice, dark sear on all sides, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer it to a separate plate and repeat with the remaining olive oil and remaining beef, leaving the second batch of meat in the pot after browning.

Reduce the heat to medium and return the first batch of the beef to the pot. Add the pearl onions and carrots to the pot and stir to combine with the beef. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits, until the onion is softened. Add the garlic mixture and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until no dry flour remains, about 1 minute.

Slowly add the 1/2 cup of Bourbon, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen and browned bits. Increase the heat to high and allow the Bourbon to simmer until thickened and slights reduced, about 2 minutes. Sir in the beef broth, bay leaves thyme and remaining 1 cup of Bourbon. Bring to a simmer, cover, transfer to the oven and cook for 90 minutes.

Remove the pot from the oven. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Stir in butternut squash, cover, return the pot to the oven and cook until the butternut squash is almost tender, about 30 minutes.

While Beef is cooking, prepare the dough for the Paprika Dumplings. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and paprika. Using a pastry blender, or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it is pea size with a few larger clumps remaining. Stir in the cheese. Add the buttermilk, using a rubber spatula, stir until the dough just comes together. The dough will be slightly sticky; don't over mix. Keep dough in refrigerator until ready to use.

Remove the pot from the oven, and increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Using a large spoon, skim any excess fat from the surface. Sir in the mushrooms and thawed peas and pearl onions. Season with salt and pepper.

Drop the Paprika dumplings by rounded spoonful (I used a large ice cream scooper) on to the top of the Bourbon Beef. Sprinkle top of dumplings with paprika. Return pot to oven and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes until the biscuits are brown and the meat offers little resistance when poked with a fork. Garnish with thyme leaves. Serve immediately.

• The Cook of the Week Challenge contestants' recipes are published exactly as submitted to the judges for evaluation.