Beef Stroganoff Revisited

Since I posted the crock pot version of this recipe in March 2011, I’ve made it a couple times and got a little feedback. It’s been coming out too thin.

So, I made a few changes and when I made it last night, my wife said that it is the best I’ve done.

I suggest you go back to the March post and then read on, but if not, the recipe is in full.

Click to enlarge

1 lb beef
Salt and pepper
½ onion chopped
1 tblspn minced garlic
¾ lb sliced fresh mushrooms (or 1 can)
2 tblspn butter
3 tblspn flour
10 oz can beef broth (or consommé)
1 tblspn ketchup
½ cup wine
1 cup sour cream

Place beef, onion, and garlic in crockpot. Salt and pepper. Cook on low all day (you can cook on high for less time, but make sure meat is fall apart tender).
About an hour and a half before dinner time, put the mushrooms in with the meat. (Remember my tip on slicing fresh mushrooms)
At dinner time, shake the flour, broth, ketchup, and wine.
Heat butter in skillet until melted then add flour, broth, ketchup, and wine.
Drain meat, onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Cut the meat into bite sized pieces then add it all to skillet. Heat on medium to a boil and stir until gravy thickness.
Stir in the cup of sour cream. Reduce to low heat (simmer).
Cook noodles according to package, drain (rinse if desired.)
Serve Stroganoff over noodles.


Notice, just a little more wine this time. Plus don’t forget to give the dogs the leftover fat. You’ll also notice that instead of adding left over tomato paste to your ketchup bottle, I simplified it by just using ketchup.

Now I’m hungry. Luckily, I got some left over Beef Stroganoff.
Enjoy!

Cooking with Wine – Pot Roast, the Ultimate Comfort Food

A couple months ago, I got a free magazine in the mail. It was free because they want me to subscribe to it. Well, I don’t subscribe to magazines. Sometimes, I get subscriptions as gifts. Sometimes, I get them as rewards for buying other stuff.

Anyway, this magazine is called “Cuisine at Home.” They have a website cuisineathome.com. In the freebie, there are a lot of recipes that I want to try. The crème brulee for one.

Well, this week, chuck roast was on sale so I bought one. Usually I just throw in the crockpot and let it cook four or ten hours, use the juices to make a little gravy, then serve with mashed potatoes and green beans. This time, I thought about that freebie mag and remembered that there was a recipe for pot roast in it. (Click on the picture to make it bigger)

So I run upstairs to the library magazine rack in the master bath and take a look see. Sure enough there’s a recipe called Classic Pot Roast. It’s pretty simple and I only made a few little changes, but it turned out great.

If you know my blog, you know I hate opening a can of tomato paste just for a tablespoon or two of paste. So, I always substitute with ketchup. I’m not a big fan of garlic mashed potatoes, so I usually don’t throw garlic into the gravy juice, but this recipe actually named the gravy “garlic-thyme gravy” so I did add some. The recipe called for 6 cloves, but I opted for ½ teaspoon of minced dry garlic.

I really don’t like cooked celery either but I did it. Wasn’t bad but I think it could be left out next time. The garlic too, now that I think about it. Interesting that the recipe didn’t call for potatoes, but it had a recipe for garlic mashed potatoes with peas at the bottom of the page. I opted to cook the taters in the pot.
Speaking of pot, I also used the crock pot. The recipe called for searing the roast first then slow cooking it. I skipped that part and went right to the crock. No sense making any bigger mess than you have to.

My favorite part is that it calls for a half cup of dry white wine. Yeah, I love cooking with wine. Gives it that little extra zap of flavor. Once again, this is beef, why white? I had some white zin open in the fridge so it got the nod.

Last thing was the recipe called for 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme. I didn’t have any on hand so I used a half tablespoon from the jar. Then it says discard the thyme before serving. Couldn’t do it, it was ground leaves.

So, here’s how I made it and it was delish. Barbi says it was the best pot roast we ever made. I guess that means we’ll do it again… with just few little changes….

1 Each 3-4 pound chuck roast
Salt & Pepper the meat
4 new potatoes peeled and sliced about a half inch thick
¼ cup flour
2 tblspns ketchup
½ cup wine
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
4 green onions whole
4 carrots sliced about an inch thick
3 ribs celery also sliced about an inch thick
½ teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon Thyme
3 bay leaves
1 can beef broth

Layer the potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion on the bottom of the crock pot. Put the roast right on top.

In a shaker, shake the flour, garlic, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, wine, and how ever much of the beef broth you can get into the shaker. Mine only hold a cup so it only took about half the can. Shake it up and pour it over the roast along with whatever broth you have left. Throw in the two bay leaves.

The meat will make a lot of juice on it’s own so don’t worry if you were thinking you needed to add more for gravy. Don’t.

I cooked this bad boy eight hours in the crock pot. I did high for the first four, then low the rest. If you’re going to work, I would use low the entire time your gone but it may take another hour to be melt in your mouth tender.

When you get ready to eat, pull the meat and veggies out and put on a platter, then pour the juices into a big skillet. Throw out the two bay leaves. Shake a couple tablespoons flour with a little cold water (just enough to blend it, maybe half cup) then add it to the juices, bring to a boil, then simmer a few minutes. This was a pretty thin gravy, so if you like thicker, shake in some more flour.

Note that I added some cold water. I learned the hard way one time about adding flour directly to boiling hot juice. Talk about making a lumpy gravy. You can’t even shake it to a blend. It’ll make little biscuits for you. You can tell the family it’s a pot roast and dumplings.

Serve and eat. When you’re finished, I would just stack the dishes in the sink for later, because you’re gonna want to unbutton your pants and relax. So, time it right for a good movie, tv show, or have a book ready. Maybe, just a pillow.

This stuff is absolutely marvelous!
Enjoy!

Vietnamese Beef with Mushrooms and Snow Peas

I’ve been craving Chinese food. I wanted to go to Panda Express yesterday but my wife talked me into tacos. So, today I asked her to go onto the internet and find me a Chinese recipe that she thought sounded good. She came up with Vietnamese Beef & Snow Peas.

She said the snow peas sounded good. I read the recipe and then went looking at beef broccoli, kung pao beef, and some others and decided to kinda make one up. To make the wife happy, I left the name but added mushrooms.

You know I love fresh mushrooms. Then I added some fresh green onions. Sirloin is on sale this week so that’s the meat I used.

I gotta say, it came out fantastic!

Mix together:
1 lb thinly sliced beef (I marinated it in Italian dressing while I cut the veggies)
1 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce (store bought)
1 tbsp wine
1 tbsp minced garlic

Pour 2 tbsp sesame oil in wok and stir fry the above mix until beef is no longer red.
Move it to a dish and pour another 2 tbsp sesame oil in wok.
Stir fry (about 6 minutes):
½ lb snow peas
½ lb mushroom slices
Two chopped (sliced) green onions
One sliced and seeded green bell pepper

Add the meat back into wok with veggies.
Add:
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp corn starch
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp msg (accent) (optional)
2 tbsp oyster sauce

Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.
Serve over rice. I cook my rice in chicken broth

I loved it and my wife liked it too.
Mmmmm!
Enjoy!

Prime Rib

This week , our favorite grocer has rib roast on sale for $3.99 a pound. I jumped on the opportunity and bought one for tonight’s dinner and a couple more for the freezer.

We like the rib roast because, well, it’s prime rib. The dogs like it because they get a bone.

I’ve always said that I hate ordering something in a restaurant that I can do better at home. I am happy to say, prime rib is no longer on the restaurant menu.

They are so easy to cook and oh so good. Since there’s only two of us, I usually only get a 3-4 pound, two rib roast. I like the two rib like I said, because I’ve got two dogs.

When ya get it home rinse it off, rub it down with some vinegar and set it in the fridge until you’re ready to cook it. I use a red wine vinegar. When you are ready to start cooking, fire up the oven on bake at 325 degrees. While it’s warming up, put just a touch more vinegar on it. Don’t worry it’ll cook off. You need it to hold on the kosher salt you’re gonna rub into it next. Finish the process with some coarse ground or cracked black pepper. This is called “pepper encrusted.”

Pop ‘er in the oven. I use a glass baking dish with a wire meat rack on it. Place the roast on the rack. I prefer the bone down but I have trouble with a small roast wanting to fall over, so I put it bone up. (With a larger roast, definitely bone down.)


Cook it for about 2 ½ hours checking the temperature of the meat with a meat thermometer after the the first 1 ½ hours and every half hour after. When the internal roast temperature gets to 140, you got a rare prime rib. 150 is medium rare and 160 is medium. I always make sure I get at least 140 but never let it go above 160. Just a matter of taste. If you want, 170 is well done, and anything higher is a waste of money. Throw an old shoe in the oven, and get a sharp knife.

Ok, how simple is that?

Prime rib is traditionally served with au jus and a horseradish/sour cream. I like it like that, but…

If you read my Tournedoes Chasseur recipe in Feb 2010, you’ll know that I like chausseur (hunter style.) Since then, I have perfected this sauce for simplicity.

The original recipe for Chasseur Sauce calls for shallots. I use just a half of a regular ol’ onion either thinly sliced or chopped. Then the recipe calls for 1 ½ teaspoons of tomato paste. What the heck do ya do with the rest of the can? It usually ends up getting tossed, so I have replaced it with ketchup. I like Heinz. I also increased the mushrooms to a ½ pound. I use fresh cremini mushrooms because my grocer always has them. Rinse them, dry them, and slice them with your egg slicer. Lastly, I increased the flour from 2 teaspoons to 2 tablespoons. I just like a thicker sauce. If you like a thinner sauce, stick with the original.

Here’s what your recipe card will look like.

Prime Rib
Rinse then rub roast with vinegar
Cover with kosher or margarita salt
then with coarse or cracked black pepper
bake on a meat rack over pan at 325 degrees
until internal temperature is 140-160
Give bones to dogs, slice and eat the meat.

Chasseur Sauce
½ pound sliced mushrooms
½ onion (sliced or chopped)
Saute mushrooms and onions in 2 tablespoons butter
In a shaker blend:
1 ½ teaspoons ketchup
2 tablespoons flour
1 can beef broth
Dash, pinch or a shake each Salt and pepper
Add to mushrooms and onions
Cook til thick and bubbly. Serve over prime rib.

It is Fantastic!
Enjoy!

Two Great French Dressing Recipes

When I was in intermediate school (now known as Junior High), I had a classmate named Nick DeGrace. Nick’s parents, Philip and Elizabeth, owned a local restaurant called the Manor House (Liberty, Mo 69 Hwy.) The restaurant was operated by Nick’s big sister Rosalie. I remember there was a fire there, but I don’t remember if that’s why they closed.

I never went there that I can remember, but I do remember my parents going there for parties and dinners. They always seemed to enjoy the place.

Now, as I remember going to other restaurants about that same time (around 1966) you usually only had two or three choices for salad dressing. Those were French, Italian (vinegar & oil), and if you were real lucky, thousand island.

My mother loved the Manor House’s Coronado Court salad dressing and the DeGrace’s graciouly provided her the recipe. It’s easy to make and it’s delicious.

Coronado Court – from the Manor House Restaurant, Liberty, Mo

½ cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
1 cup oil
1 cup catsup (or ketchup)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp tobasco
1 whole garlic button

Mom always mixes it up in a big mason jar, shakes it like crazy, then lets it sit for At least 24 hrs before serving.

In the early 90’s, Marie Calendar’s had a tomato vinegarette that reminded me of Coronado Court dressing but it had tomatoes in it. So, I decided to add a can of drained whole tomatoes to the recipe. It turned out great.
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I met my wife in 1980 and we started dating January 1981. My wife is originally from North Platte, Nebraska. Nebraskans love Dorothy Lynch French salad dressing.

The salad dressing was made in Duncan, Ne. Dorothy and her husband sold the recipe in 1964 to a company called Tasty Toppings for $40,000 and a contract for a 1% royalty. Tasty Toppings opened a production facility in Columbus, Ne. Dorothy died in 1975. In 1987 Tasty Toppings changed the recipe and reduced the calorie content. Arthur, Dorothy’s husband died in 1992. The company again made some changes to the recipe and quit paying the Lynch family the royalties. The Lynch family sued and it went to trial in 1996 at the Platte County, Ne courthouse. The royalties were recovered.

Every time we go to Nebraska, we have to pick up a few bottles of Dorothy Lynch to bring home. In 2009, our local Wal Mart carried the dressing for about three months but then stopped.

Sometime in the 90’s, my wife ran across this recipe which is pretty close and very good.

Dorothy Lynch French Salad Dressing

Mix in blender
1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell’s tomato soup, undiluted
1/2 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Enjoy!

String Pie

This recipe originally comes from the North Dakota Beef Commission. In the early 90's, one of my co-workers, Ina, made this for us at work. She had added just two items and doubled the recipe for the work potluck.
I also like to add a little extra mozzarella just because.

Here's the original recipe:
Click Here

Make note that the recipe calls for teaspoons of butter instead of tablespoons ( I have no idea what would happen, but Ina underlined it on the recipe)

Here's the two items Ina added. It adds a really nice PIZZAZ and I suppose you could say changes it from Italian to Mexican.

-- 1 can (7-3/4 oz) of Marca El Pato brand Jalapeno Salsa
-- Add some "nacho sized" jalapeno slices on top of the cheese before baking (this picture doesn't have the sliced jalapenos on top.)

A great recipe for anytime- Pumpkin Bars

A friend of mine sent me this recipe.
Rather than retype it here, here's the link:
Click Here
It's easy to follow and prints out on a single page.

Ok, so here's what happened. I'm a dummy at times and I used the wrong sized pan. So instead of a sheet cake for pumkin bars, I made this nice pumkin cake. Same ingredients and same delicious taste.

The icing comes out thick. Don't cover it until you've cooled it in the fridge giving that icing plenty of time to harden some.

I also wondered what to do with leftover cream cheese since it only calls for a pkg and a half. So buy some sliced ham and make some pinwheels. :)

Beef Stroganoff

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I first made this recipe in 1974. It originally came from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, but over the years I’ve made a few minor changes.

The original recipe is as follows.
Beef Stroganoff
Cut one pound beef sirloin into ¼ inch strips. Combine 1 tablespoon flour and ½ teaspoon salt. Coat meat with flour mixture. Heat skillet, then add 2 tablespoons butter or margarine. When melted, add sirloin strips and brown quickly on both sides. Add one 3 oz. can mushrooms, drained, ½ cup chopped onion, and 1 clove garlic, minced; cook 3 or 4 minutes or till onion is crisp-tender.
Remove meat mixture and mushrooms from pan. Add 2 tablespoons butter or margarine to the pan drippings; blend 3 tablespoons all purpose flour. Add 1 tablespoon tomato paste. Stir in 1 ¼ cups cold beef stock or one 10 oz can condensed beef broth. Cook and stir over medium high heat till thickened and bubbly.
Return browned meat and mushrooms to skillet. Stir in one cup dairy sour cream and 2 tablespoons dry white wine; cook slowly till heated thoroughly (do not boil) Keep warm over hot water. Serve over hot buttered noodles. Makes 4 or 5 servings.

Now, I found several things wrong or just a pain in the ass with the original recipe. The first is the cut of meat. Sirloin is kinda tough unless you cook the heck out of it. I either use a better cut of meat like a rib steak (rib eye) or a tenderloin. If I do use a cheap cut, I use whatever’s on sale. If that’s sirloin so be it. I then cut it into bite sized pieces instead of strips and I remove all that fat. I actually cook the fat with it, then feed it to the dog.

Then there’s all that flour mixture bullshit. It’s a pain in the rear. Then how about that tablespoon of tomato paste. What do you do with the rest of the can? How about the wine. Dry white? I always heard you served red with beef, white with chicken or fish.

So here’s the cure and then some.

I cook it in the crockpot.

I cut the meat into bite sized pieces. Throw it in the crockpot on high. I chop up one medium onion and throw the whole thing in there. I use pre-chopped garlic and throw in a heavy spoon full. Mix a tablespoon flour and ½ teaspoon salt sprinkle it over the meat. Let it cook til the meat is tender, I mean melt in your mouth fall apart tender. Pull out that fat, rinse it, chop it up, and feed it to the dog.

Use whatever kinda wine ya got on hand and throw in about a quarter cup. Now you can throw in a can of mushrooms, but I prefer about ¾ to a pound of fresh mushrooms, sliced. My brother, who makes a fantastic stroganoff says you can never have too many mushrooms. Cook in the crock on high for about three hours stirring whenever you think of it.

Throw in the full 6 oz can of tomato paste. It makes your stroganoff a little red. If you prefer a lighter color, follow the one tablespoon recipe then throw the rest in the ketchup bottle. Or if your crazy, just throw the rest away, save it, whatever. Pour in the can of beef broth or consomme. Sir in the 3 tablespoons of flour. I use a shaker with some of the broth. Now this should cook up to a nice gravy consistency. If it's too thin, taste it. Can you add more flour without making it taste like flour? If so add a tablespoon at a time and let it cook awhile, and repeat if necessary.

Cook your noodles or rice, which ever you prefer. I like both. While you’re cooking the noodles or rice, stir in that cup of sour cream. Serve it over the noodles or rice.

Yep, that’s some good stuff!

Enjoy!

PS- Here's a handy tip for the fresh mushrooms.

I use my egg slicer to slice the mushrooms.