Бефстроганов

Ferdinand the Bull, you are safe from my teeth more so than Porky Pig would be... except when I have the craving for Beef Stroganoff.

This classic dish has been around forever. Elena Molokhovets' cookbook published in Russia in 1861 gives the first known recipe for "Govjadina po-strogonovski, s gorchitseju" or "Beef à la Stroganov, with mustard" This recipe called for lightly floured and sautéed beef cubes with a sauce of prepared mustard and bouillon, and finished with a small amount of sour cream. It was likely named after an aristocratic Russian family. Later recipes added mushrooms, onions and beef cut into the characteristic strips. Immensely popular (and kind of exotic) in the 1950's, the dish is now served around the world in many variations.

My favorite recipe is a combo of the classic 1961 Craig Claiborne recipe and my own likes and tastes. Claiborne makes a very traditional Stroganoff without mushrooms and onions, so I add those (green onions sometimes) and a splash of Worcestershire sauce, (which no one else seems to add) but with things like cornichons, tarragon and tomato sauce added to some recipes, I am safe.

I made some tonight as I was in a stay-at-home-Greta-Garbo-(I want to be alone)-mood. As I was buying a few things for it that I was lacking, I ran into a friend of mine. She asked what I was buying which led to a discussion of the dish. I told her I was omitting the noodles (it is really designed to be served over noodles or rice) since they were carb packing enemies of mine. She thought I was nuts, and thus given tacit permission, I relented. Such a great dish, easy, elegant when done well and relatively quick.

My recipe: (as usual the amounts are estimated and variable according to taste, I never measure)

Meat:
1 lb beef (sirloin, flank steak, whatever you can find just not that horrible stew meat)
salt/pepper to taste
splash of Worcestershire sauce
1 sm can of button or a handful of sliced fresh mushrooms
2-3 green onions (or handful of chopped white onion)

Sauce:
butter (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
flour (about a tablespoon)
1 can beef consummé (not canned broth, consummé is more intense and richer)
squirt of prepared mustard
splash of wine optional
sour cream, lots

Trim beef into strips, salt and pepper them and splash with the Worcestershire. Let marinate for a hour or so in fridge.

In saucepan melt about 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter and then add about a tablespoon of flour to make a nice light roux. Heat consummé to boiling and add to roux, whisking until roux is dissolved and sauce is nice and thick. Here you can add a splash of wine, red or white, as you desire. Set aside.

Drain beef. In some butter, sauté the beef until browned. Add the mushrooms and onions and cook until beef is done and onion/mushrooms tender.

Reheat the sauce gently and add great gobs of sour cream (I am an addict).

If you are being elegant, put the hot beef on a platter and pour the sauce over. Or just throw it all together and mix the beef in the sauce.

Gotta serve it over plain, lightly buttered noodles.

хороший (Russian for good!)

Literary Masterpiece

There is a literary masterpiece that every serious reader should know, but sadly out of print in its purest, original form. I am referring to the original 1961 Craig Claiborne "New York Times Cook Book". Coming the same year as Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", these two books opened new worlds for the average US cook. Reading through these wonderful recipes provides credence to the idea of a superior being. You can see that an omnipotent mind created the basic ingredients that when combined with human creativity and curiosity produces a piece of edible art.

The NYT book is, of course, broader in scope covering many cuisines and styles than Julia's. Some recipes are startlingly simple, for example the one for corn on the cob. Some, like the elegant Aubergines a la Boston, are more complex, but always well thought out and easy to follow, You can recreate a Brazilian Feijoada that was served to the great composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, make a traditional, classic and quite easy Chicken Kiev (in 1961 that dish was quite exotic), serve a delicious and unique black beans in rum, or find a good recipe for Sauerbraten (there are actually two in the book).

And so much fun to read with a genteel, elegant prose. The garlic in a Ratatouille Nicoise is to be added "..according to conscience and social engagements". For Lobster Americaine (Lobster in a tomato sauce with cognac) Claiborne argues that "American chefs say it was created by an American and the French say no such thing, unless it was a French chef lured to the US by the Yankee dollar."

Dear Craig misses the boat when it comes to his inadequate gumbo recipe which does not include celery or bell pepper, two parts of the "holy trinity" that are required (I think by law) for a proper gumbo.

In 1990, the book was revised and to me lost so much of its character. Some 40% of the recipes were replaced and many others changed. I am sure today's chefs look at these recipes as unadventurous, bland and utterly boring. I say to hell with their raspberry-garlic reduction coulis and constant tinkering with tradition; this is good cooking. Maybe not what mama used to make, unless you were on the Park Avenue side of life, but grand, tasty dishes considered gourmet and classic when the world was a bit simpler.

If you ever see one, grab it.

BBQ Jesse Mae Style

One of my favorite memories as a kid is that of the frequent BBQs my neighborhood had. Our little cul-de-sac loved to eat. Someone would start a grill and before you know it, salads, vegetables and beer would arrive and the party would start. The best ones were when Jesse Mae cooked.

Jesse Mae was a sort-of Southern Belle. Born in Cairo, Il (pronounced Kay-row) she was just enough genteel southern to be a bit exotic in our lilly white neighborhood. And damn she could cook. Nothing fancy, but great BBQ, salads and all that I can still taste.

The one gift I have from this remarkable lady is her BBQ sauce. Trust me, no Gregory Court BBQ was complete without it. I asked my sister to find it for me and sure enough, mom had written it down. Simple, tasty, totally unhealthy.. but damn... it is like home.

I am going to make a batch and use it this summer to remember when I was just a goofy kid, enjoying life in the suburbs.

Jesse Mae Perks' BBQ Sauce:

1/3 lb lard

2/3 qt vinegar either white or apple cider

4 tbs salt

3 tsp black pepper

2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbs paprika

Melt lard in large pan. In qt jar add all dry ingredients to vinegar and shake well to blend. Add the vinegar mix to the melted lard. Cook 15min until thicken. DO not boil.

Brush on chicken or chops.

The best.

Bloody Mary on a Stick

I have not shared a recipe in ages, so here is a simple one for those winter parties and Mardi Gras events:

Bloody Mary on a Stick

1-2 boxes grape tomatoes
1 stalk celery
2-3 cups ice cold Absolut Peppar vodka (or steep 3-4 hot red chili peppers in cheaper vodka for 1 week)

Assemble 1 tomato and slice of celery on a cocktail stick. Marinate in the cold vodka. Serve in a big bowl with the vodka. Provide a dish of sea salt in which to dip the hors d’oeuvre.

What was that phrase from a movie??? "What this country needs is more meat on a stick"?? Well, I think we need more cocktails on a stick!

Morrocan Spiced Olives

For a Moroccan themed party I am preparing this dish I found on RecipeSource.com . It is quite good, really easy and different.

1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Fennel seeds
1 tsp Coriander seeds
1/4 tsp Cardamom, ground
1 pinch Crushed red pepper flakes
1 pinch Nutmeg, ground
1 pinch Cinnamon
1 tb Olive oil
1 1/2 c Green olives, brought to room temperature
1 tb Lemon juice
1 tb Orange juice
3 Garlic cloves, minced


Heat first 8 ingredients in a small skillet over medium heat until
fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat & add olives & toss to
coat.

Stir in remaining ingredients. Refrigerate in an airtight container
for at least 4 hours or up to 3 weeks. The longer they marinate, the
better they taste. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Mary Thurman's Potato Salad

Bruce's mother, Mary, was frequently called upon to assist with the post funeral meals a family would have. One of the staples of these events was Mary's own special potato salad. A few years ago, Bruce told me the recipe, or at least the basics of it, and I made it for a party. It was a hit. Now every party has to have a big bowl of this frankly unique salad. Since posting about it on Facebook, I have been innundated with requests for the recipe. I kept warning people that it was not an easy thing for me to give the recipe, but they persisted.

So what's all the drama?

I never wrote it down, like most of my favorites. And I never make it the same way twice, like most everything else I make. Plus, I only know how to make huge quantities.

So here it is folks.... as it is. Adapt it to your quantity. And enjoy.. it is good.

Cook potatoes to just slightly underdone, you don't want them mushy. Peel and chop roughly. Place in a large bowl and cover with bottled oil and vinegar type Italian salad dressing. Just the regular old kind, not the balsamic reduction-red wine-shallot-dijon style, just plain ordinary tangy dressing. To give you an idea, for 10 lbs of potatoes I used 1 whole 28 oz bottle. Just enough to cover but not swim in. Got it? Marinate this overnight (oh yes, this is a two day affair).

By the morning, the potatoes should have all absorbed the dressing. Add to this celery seed, a bit of celery salt (not much, the bottled dressing is usually salty enough), raw white sweet onions finely chopped, freshly chopped celery (lots of it, you want it nice and crunchy) and a jar or so of chopped green salad olives with pimentos, drained (Ok I confess, not in the original recipe, I add a bit of the juice from the olives), a couple of finely chopped hard boiled eggs, a squirt or 2 of mustard and a bit of mayo to hold everything together.

I think that is it. If I remember anything else, I'll let you know.

Bon appetit!

Redeeming a Culinary Nightmare

Salisbury Steak. The very name synonymous with the culinary hell of TV dinners, school cafeterias and cheap, "family" dinners found in the frozen food section. But have you ever made real Salisbury Steak? It is actually quite good if you make a good gravy and use lean, fresh hamburger.

The Salisbury Steak was actually invented by a man named Salisbury, an American physician and nutritionist from the mid 1800's. He believed fruits and vegetables created toxins and advocated a diet of chopped beef and coffee. While his ideas have been found to be wanting in many respects, his legacy lives on in the form of his steak.

I found this recipe in an old cookbook on casseroles and skillet dinners. Sounds like something worth trying. And wouldn't it be fun to shock your guests and tell them you are making Salisbury Steak for dinner?

Steaks:

1.5 lbs ground beef (get the good stuff, don't be cheap)
1 10 oz can of condensed French Onion soup (think Campbell's makes it) (divided use)
1/2 cup dry plain bread crumbs
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 tbs ketchup
2 tbs grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbs dried onion flakes (or a couple tbs of finely chopped fresh)
salt and pepper to taste

1 tbs oil
1/4 cup flour

Gravy:

1/4 cup beef broth
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dry mustard
Remainder of onion soup

Garnish:

2 Cups mashed potatoes
2 tbs butter
paprika
Parmesan cheese


Mix beef, 1/4 cup of the soup (reserve remainder of soup) and rest of ingredients for the patties. Shape into 6 oval patties. Brush skillet with the oil and dredge the patties in the flour. Brown both sides over medium heat. Remove patties and arrange in a 9X13 baking pan. Drain off most of the fat from the skillet, reserving a scant 1/4 tsp or so. Mix gravy ingredients and remainder of soup in the skillet and heat through until begins to thicken, de-glazing the skillet. Pour gravy over patties and cover with foil. Bake in 350deg oven for 25 min, turn patties over, recover and bake an additional 20 min.

Remove cover and drop spoonfuls of the potatoes around the edges of the baking pan. Brush potatoes with butter and sprinkle with paprika and cheese. Bake an additional 15min uncovered until potatoes are nicely browned and steaks are fully cooked.

Never had these in a cafeteria!

Welsh Rarebit

My faithful reader, Callalilly, commented that she lives vicariously through my description of the food I prepare and recipes I post. Should I describe the Asparagus with Crab Hollandaise I made for Mardi Gras, or the Shrimp Creole? How about one of the most misunderstood dishes around... Welsh Rarebit.

Some think it is a rabbit dish and that the word rarebit is an old English or Welsh word for rabbit. And it may be; the Betty Crocker Cookbook claims that Welsh peasants were not allowed to eat any rabbits caught on the nobleman's estate, so they used melted cheese as a substitute. There are many theories about the origins of the name. At any rate, we are most familiar with it from the frozen food section, courtesy of Stoffer's. But have you ever had it?

It is easy to make, and quite fun. Great with a steak, or roast beef... whatever.

So, have some for fun. The otherwise obnoxious Elton Brown on Food Network has a good recipe:

Welsh Rarebit

So, hwylfawr! And of course Cymru am byth!