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

hearty tomato soup

2 T. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups milk
2 cans condensed tomato soup
2 cans diced tomatoes with juices

melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. cook onion and garlic in butter about 2 min. stirring occasionally until onion is tender, remove from heat. stir in paprika, basil and cream cheese. gradually stir in milk and soup, return to heat, and beat with a wisk until cheese is melted and soup is smooth. stir in tomatoes, heat over medium heat stirring frequently until hot.

i was given this recipe by kate homer. it is one of jeffrey's favorties.

bbq cheddar chicken roll-ups

1 large green pepper, cut into strips
1 large red pepper, cut into strips
1 large onion, sliced
1 lb. chicken breast, but into strips
1/2 cup bbq sauce
4-6 tortillas, warmed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

warm a small amount of oil in a skillet pan. cook peppers for 3 min., add onion and cook for 3 min., add chicken and cook until no longer pink. stir in bbq sauce. you can add a small amount of flour if your sauce is too thin. cook until chicken is done.

spoon into tortillas, top with cheese, roll-up, and enjoy.

kraftfoods.com

Glazed Carrots with Bacon & Pecans

I brought these to our family Sunday dinner 2 weeks ago & they were so popular, it was requested that I bring them again the following week. Not a bad review for cooked carrots!

Glazed Carrots with Bacon & Pecans

serves 4

3 oz. bacon (about 3 slices), cut into 1/2" pieces

1/3 C. chopped pecans

1 lb. carrots (about 6 medium), peeled and sliced 1/4" thick on the bias

1/2 t. salt

3 T. light brown sugar, divided

1/2 C. chicken broth

1/2 t. minced fresh thyme leaves (I used scant 1/4 t. dried thyme)

1 T. unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

2 t. lemon juice from 1 lemon

Ground black pepper

(**green onions, optional)

Cook bacon in 12-inch skillet until crisp. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate to drain. Remove all but 1 T. bacon drippings from pan & add pecans & cook until fragrant & lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer the pecans to the plate with the bacon.

Add the carrots, salt, 1 T. of the brown sugar, chicken broth and thyme to the skillet. Bring to a boil, covered, over med-high heat. Reduce heat to medium & simmer, stirring occasionally, until carrots are almost tender, about 5 minutes. Uncover & simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced to about 2 T., 1-2 minutes.

Add the butter and remaining 2 T. brown sugar to the skillet. Toss carrots to coat & cook, stirring frequently, until the carrots are completely tender, about 3 minutes. Off heat, add the lemon juice & toss to coat. Transfer carrots to a serving dish, scraping the glaze from the pan into the dish. Season to taste with pepper, sprinkle the bacon & pecans on top and serve immediately.

(**I also added 3 green onions, thinly sliced. Reserve 1 T. green onion tops for garnish with bacon & pecans, but add the rest of the onions to the skillet with the butter & brown sugar.)

Recipe from Cooks Illustrated, February 2005

Stir-Fried Pork

2 cups white rice

1 tsp. oil
1 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into thin strips
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
8 oz. sugar snap peas
1/4 cup Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
3 green onions, diagonally sliced
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Cook rice as directed on package

Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet on med-high heat. Add meat, cook and stir 2 min. Add peppers and peas, cook 3 min. stirring frequently. Add dressing and onions, cook and stir 1 min.

Mix soy sauce, cornstarch, and ginger until well blended. Add to meat mixture in skillet, cook 1 min. or until sauce thickens, stirring frequently. Serve over rice.

Spring 2008 Kraft Food and Family magazine.

Tomato Artichoke Soup

4 T. butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 T. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. thyme
1 15 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained, chopped
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juices
4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth to make it vegetarian)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup sour cream

In a large saucepan heat butter and saute onion for 5 min, or till soft. Add garlic and thyme and saute 1 min. Add artichoke hearts, tomatoes, broth, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer for 30 min. Add sour cream, stir well and simmer for 5 min.
Taste for seasoning.

*Optional: Homemade Croutons

8 cups cubed french bread
1/4 c. olive oil
2 tsp. italian seasonings
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Cover cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Combine ingredients in bowl and toss well. Spread out on parchment and bake for 5-12 min. or until cheese melts and bread is toasted. Serve with soup.

Recipe courtesy of Becky Peirce

Lettuce Wraps

I love the contrast of the cool-crunchy lettuce leaves, chewy-hot-spicy meat & crunchy water chestnuts. Yummy!

• 16 Boston Bibb or Butter Lettuce leaves
• 1 lb. finely chopped chicken (like to use a combination of white and dark meat and chop it finely in my food processor)
• 1 T. cooking oil
• 1 large, sweet onion- medium dice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T. Soy Sauce
• 1/4 C. Hoisin Sauce
• 2 t. minced, pickled ginger
• 1 T. rice wine vinegar
• 1 T. Asian Chile Sauce
• 1 8 oz. can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced on the bias
• 2 t. Toasted Sesame Oil
• (We added sliced carrots & toasted, chopped nuts like almonds, peanuts or cashews just for fun.)
  

Rinse whole leaves and pat dry, being careful not to tear them. Set aside.
In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the chicken in 1 T. oil, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Drain, and set aside to cool. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar and chili sauce to the onions and stir. Stir in the chopped water chestnuts, green onions and sesame oil and continue cooking until the green onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.
Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter and pile meat mixture in the center. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito.
Serves 4-6 people as an entree or 8-10 as an appetizer.
from Kate Homer's Recipe Collection

Awesome Bowtie Pasta Salad

This recipe is soooo good!

8 chicken breast halves, cut and cooked
12 oz. bowtie pasta, cooked
4 green onions, chopped
1 small package slivered almonds
1 can water chestnuts, diced
1 1/2 bottles Briana's Poppy Seed Dressing
salt to taste
2 cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 package crunchy chow mein noodles

Cook chicken and chill. Rinse pasta with cold water. Mix chicken, pasta, onions, almonds, water chestnuts, and dressing. Add salt to taste, then mix in oranges.
Chill before serving.

Sprinkle crunchy chow mein noodles over Pasta Salad. (don't add them to the whole bowl - they get soggy.)

Another one of Sheryl's great recipes!