Beef Stroganoff with Homemade Egg Noodles

I grew up thinking stroganoff was made with cream of mushroom soup, canned mushrooms, ground beef and IMO.  Obviously that recipe was a throwback from my parents' dental school days; the penny pinching days when a sandwich was made with a single slice of Buddig ham.  Since I discovered "the real thing," I've been on the lookout for the best recipe.  Not surprisingly, this winning recipe comes from Cooks' Illustrated (my favorite!)  We had it on homemade egg noodles tonight (recipe follows) and it was amazing!

Beef Stroganoff

•1 1/4 lbs sirloin steaks, tips (trimmed of excess fat and cut lengthwise with grain into 4 equal pieces)
•2 teaspoons soy sauce
•1 lb white mushroom, quartered
•2 teaspoons hot water
•1 tablespoon dry mustard
•1 teaspoon sugar
•fresh ground black pepper
•1 tablespoon vegetable oil
•1 medium onion, finely chopped
•table salt
•2 teaspoons tomato paste
•4 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour
•1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp. white wine or 1/3 cup dry vermouth
•1 1/2 cups beef broth
•1/2 cup sour cream
•1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:
1- Using fork, poke each piece of steak 10-12 times. Place in baking dish; rub both sides evenly with soy sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour.
2- While meat marinates, place mushrooms in medium microwave-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high power until mushrooms have decreased by volume by half, 4-5 minutes (should be as much as 1/4 cup liquid in bowl). Drain mushrooms and set aside; discard liquid*. Combine water, dry mustard, sugar, and 1/2 tsp pepper in a small bowl until smooth paste forms; set aside.
3- Pat steak pieces dry with paper towels and season with pepper. Heat oil in 12" skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Place steak pieces in skillet and cook until browned on all sides and internal temperature registers 125 to 130 degrees, 6-9 minutes, reducing heat if fond begins to burn. Transfer meat to large plate and set aside while cooking sauce.
4- Add mushrooms, onion, and 1/2 tsp salt to skillet and cook until vegetables begin to brown and dark bits form on bottom of pan, 6-8 minutes. Add tomato paste and flour and cook, stirring constantly, until onions and mushrooms are coated, about 1 minute. Stir in 1/3 cup wine, beef broth and mustard paste and bring to simmer, scraping bottom of pan with wooden pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce has reduced slightly and begun to thicken, 4-6 minutes.
5- While sauce is reducing, cut steak pieces across grain into 1/4" thick slices. Stir in meat and any accumulated juices into thickened sauce and cook until beef has warmed through, 1-2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let any bubbles subside. Stir in sour cream and remaining tablespoons wine; season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley.

* Being a teetotaller, I opted not to discard the mushroom liquid, but added 1 tsp cider vinegar to it and used it in place of the wine/vermouth.

(Cooks' Illustrated March 2010.)

Egg Noodles

Ingredients
 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
 1 pinch salt
 2 eggs, beaten
 1/2 cup milk
 1 tablespoon butter
Directions
1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Add the beaten egg, milk, and butter. Knead dough until smooth, about 5 minutes. Let rest in a covered bowl for 10 minutes.
2. On a floured surface, roll out to 1/8 or 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired lengths and shapes.
3. Allow to air dry before cooking.
4. To cook fresh pasta, in a large pot with boiling salted water cook until al dente.

(Pulled this simple recipe off allrecipes.com- http://allrecipes.com/recipe/egg-noodles/)

Homemade Potstickers

These homemade potstickers weren't all that hard to make but they beat Ling-Lings' pants off! The kids helped make the dumplings. We made them with ground turkey, but any ground meat would work well. We also grated carrots & threw them in with the cabbage for the salting routine. YUM!

Pan-Fried Asian Potstickers with Sesame Beef and Cabbage Filling

Published in Cook's Illustrated, September 1, 1994.

Why this recipe works:

Salting the cabbage kept the filling from getting soggy in our pan-fried potstickers recipe. For crisp potstickers that were cooked all the way through, we pan-fried them, added liquid and let them steam, and then uncovered them and cooked them some more until they crisped up again. (less)

Salting the cabbage kept the filling from getting soggy in our pan-fried potstickers recipe. For crisp potstickers that were cooked all the way through, we pan-fried them, added liquid and let them steam, and then uncovered them and cooked them some more until they crisped up again.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups filling

The filling amount is enough for 32 dumplings. Look for wonton or gyoza wrappers in 3-inch squares, with about 50 wrappers per pound in the package. See the related Illustrated How To Guide, "Shaping and Filling Asian Dumplings" for illustrations.

Ingredients

1/2	small Napa cabbage , finely shredded (about 2 cups)
1	teaspoon table salt
4	ounces ground beef
1	medium scallion , minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1	medium clove garlic , minced (about 1 teaspoon)
1	tablespoon soy sauce
2	teaspoons sesame seeds , toasted
2	teaspoons sesame oil
	Pinch cayenne pepper
1	package wonton wrappers (see headnote), or gyoza wrappers
2	tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions

1. 1. Toss cabbage and salt together in colander; let stand until cabbage wilts, 15 to 20 minutes. Rinse cabbage; squeeze dry. Mix cabbage with remaining filling ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to make dumplings.

2. 2. To fill ruffled potstickers - Place one rounded teaspoon in the center of a round wrapper. Moisten the edge with water. Fold the wrapper in half, then pinch the edges together and seal. Lightly press the filling on the counter to form a flat base. Gather the pinched edges together to form ruffles on the top.

3. 3. To Pan-fry Dumplings - Bring 1/2 cup water or chicken broth to simmer in small saucepan. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot and hazy, add dumplings, flat sides down. Fry until bottoms are brown, about 2 minutes. Add simmering water or broth to skillet, pouring around dumplings. Cover and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 3 minutes longer. Uncover and let dumplings fry until bottoms are crisp again, about 1 minute. Serve with dipping sauce passed separately, (see related recipes).

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=5393

the best meatballs w/pasta and tomato-basil cream sauce

*meatballs

1 lb. beef
1/2 pkg. of stove top stuffing mix for chicken
2/3 cup water
1 egg

heat over to 400 degrees. line cookie sheet with foil, spray with cooking spray.
mix ingredients until blended. shape into balls and lay on pan. bake 14-16 min.

*pasta and tomato-basil cream sauce

1 jar (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce
3 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. dry basil
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
8 oz. linguini pasta, cooked

mix sauce, cream cheese, and basil in large skillet; cook on medium-low heat for 3 min. or until heated through. add the cooked meatballs into the sauce. sprinkle with parmesan cheese. serve with pasta.

kraftfoods.com

Swedish Meatballs

Meatballs:
1 large egg
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 large slice high-quality white sandwich bread, crusts removed and bread torn into 1-inch pieces
8 oz ground pork
1 small onion, grated on large holes of box grater (about 1/4 cup)
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
8 ounces lean ground beef
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

Sauce:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
table salt and ground black pepper

For the meatballs:
Whisk egg and cream together in medium bowl. Stir in bread and set aside. Meanwhile, in stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat pork, onion, nutmeg, allspice, pepper, brown sugar, salt and baking powder on high speed until smooth and pale, about 2 minutes, scraping bowl as necessary. Using fork, mash bread mixture until no large dry bread chunks remain; add mixture to mixer bowl and beat on high speed until smooth and homogeneous, about 1 minute, scraping bowl as necessary. Add beef and mix on medium-low speed until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl as necessary. Add beef and mix on medium-low speed until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl as necessary. Using moistened hands, form generous tablespoon of meat mixture into 1-inch round meatball; repeat with remaining mixture to form 25-30 meatballs.
Heat oil in 10-inch straight-sided saute pan over medium-high heat until edge of meatball dipped in oil sizzles, 3-5 minutes. Add meatballs in single layer and fry, flipping once halfway through cooking, until lightly browned all over and cooked through, 7-10 minutes. (Adjust heat as needed to keep oil sizzling but not smoking.) Using slotted spoon, transfer browned meatballs to paper towel-lined plate.

For the sauce:
Pour off and discard oil in pan, leaving any fond (brown bits) behind. Return pan to medium-high heat and add butter. When foaming subsides, add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until flour is light brown, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in broth, scraping pan bottom to loosen brown bits. Add brown sugar and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce is reduced to about 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream and return to simmer.
Add meatballs to sauce and simmer, turning occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

We have had these meatballs with both noodles and mashed potatoes.