Gourmet Tater Tot Casserole

We are now officially out of the mid west and I can stop pretending that calling something hot dish is socially acceptable. I don't think that in our 10 years living there I ever willingly called something I made a hot dish. Now I don't even have to silently nod as I inwardly cringe at the word.

No matter what it's called, I've been craving a tater tot covered meat dish for weeks now. As I checked out various recipes online I was prepared to make the standard ground beef and cheese casserole but then I came across this amped up version of tater tot casserole and I was inspired!

What better way to start this off than with braised short ribs and a deep rich beef sauce. Add in some gruyere instead of cheddar and you've got a full on gourmet dinner. It probably took a bit longer than the standard version but it was well worth it.

From the original recipe here, I made the following changes:

1)  I used all beef stock, substituting stock for the stout and then using the remaining six cups as called for.
2) I used 6 tablespoons of cornstarch to get the thickness I wanted for the final sauce.
3) I didn't have any truffle paste. I was going to use some of my truffle salt or truffle oil but when I tasted the sauce I liked it as is so I didn't add anything additional.
4) This made enough of the base that I had enough for two casseroles. I finished the one pan with tater tots and then froze the remaining mixture to use later. 

Enjoy!