Now we're cookin', Yeah baby!

[dolphins_log]

Tonight I decided to cook Juli a nice meal. That's kinda hard. Whenever I ask her what she wants for dinner she says she doesn't care. It's true, she could care less.
Then I remembered she likes beef stroganoff. And Julesong just posted a recipe for that very thing.

So tonight I tried it out. I made a few changes. Tenderloin at $12.00 per pound -vs- chuck stew meat at $3.00 per pound? The meat worked out just fine.

Dinner was great! Delicious recipe with brussel sprouts on the side. The only problem I had was that it was a little thin. Juli suggested that I not mix the sour cream in next time. And I guess I could boil it down further.

Comments

thicker

[jwyldragon.livejournal.com]

The recipe I use for stroganoff calls for a pint of sour cream with a tablespoon of flour mixed in to be added... and it thickens up pretty well :)

Re: thicker

[dolphinchatter.livejournal.com]

Actually so did julesong's. Did you see her recipe? Can I have yours? I love to play with variations. Actually I vary the variations.

Re: thicker

[jwyldragon.livejournal.com]

Um... it is one from my head, learned at my mom's kitchen...

Bout a pound of top round, cubed
one packet Mrs. Grass onion soup mix
pint of sour cream with tblsp of flour mixed in
can of sliced mushrooms (small can) or about 8-10 med sized fresh ones, sliced

brown the cubes in oil/crisco... add a couple cups of water (enough to just cover the meat) and the packet of onion soup mix, stir and let simmer, covered for 20 min or so, stirring occasionally. Add the sour cream/flour mix, stir well and serve over noodles or rice.

that is how I do it (i like fresh mushrooms :)..)

Re: thicker

[dolphinchatter.livejournal.com]

Soups are so incredible for cooking dinners. I like to pour a can of mushroom soup over chicken and bake it for about 40 minutes to an hour.

I like fresh mushrooms too. The meal last night I used Portabella. Juli doesn't know why. she says she can't tell the difference between the cheaper and the more expensive kinds. I think it's her frugal Scottish heritage. ;-)

...wait... You like fresh mushrooms? ...and you live in BELLINGHAM? [okay, I'm having fun with you here].

[julesong.livejournal.com]

Oh, but you must mix in the sour cream. :) Otherwise it's not stroganoff.

You might not have simmered the liquids down far enough before adding the sour cream. Or next time, you can add a little bit more flour if it's seeming thin.

It's Mike who always makes it when we have it, so I'm not familiar enough with it to know exactly what happened with yours...

[julesong.livejournal.com]

Other difference is that we use a different cut of beef, and slice it very thinly across the grain. Not cubes. There's more surface area for the sauce to cling to, that way, and it might make a difference in how liquidy it is...

[julesong.livejournal.com]

Sorry for all the comments...

I should say that I'm not really that knowledgeable about beef cuts. I don't use tenderloin, specifically - I use whatever I have in the freezer, which is whatever great bargain came out the discount area of the grocery store. (It can really pay to visit that bin every visit to the store. You can get some very nice meats that way.) So I don't pay attention to what kinds/cut there are - if it's a nice, large, thick hunk of beef, I use it.

Someday, when we're rich (ha!), then maybe I'll learn about and pay attention to cuts.

Re:

[dolphinchatter.livejournal.com]

I think the simmering down of the liquids would have worked. But, hey! the meal was a success. Juli went back for thirds.

[dolphinchatter.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I sliced up the beef stew meat Reeeaally Thin. Bit's -o- Beef.

That's the beauty of stroganoff

[typographer.livejournal.com]

If you slice the beef thin, and use real sour cream, it doesn't matter what cut of beef you use, it comes out tasty marvellous.

And I strongly secnd Julie's suggestion about bargain meat bins at the grocery store. Yes, I buy expensive cuts of meat for special occasions, but the bargain do have nice cuts of meat, and if they are on the substandard size, a simple marinade will work wonders.

[mika-vumner.livejournal.com]

My mom always used the following recipe - as she called it, a poor-man's stroganoff.

about 2 lbs ground meat
1 small onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can stems/pieces mushrooms
3/4 cup sour cream

Brown the meat and saute onion. Drain any grease from the meat.
Mix all ingredients except for sour cream and simmer for 15-20min.
Stir in sour cream just before serving over your choice of noodles (she used egg noodles).

Re:

[dolphinchatter.livejournal.com]

Hey thanks! Like I was telling jwyldragon, soup is a terrific way to put a meal together.