Beef Stroganoff

Well, I have been lazy , it is months since I have published a new recipe, despite the fact I have a few "drafts" waiting.
It is exactly a year ago when I first started to write the recipe for Beef Stroganoff. For some reason I did not publish it then. It is amazing that certain dishes are in favour for awhile and then they simply vanish from the menus in restaurants. One of these dishes is Beef Stroganoff, a very popular dish in the Seventies and Eighties. I hadn't cooked it for a long time but  when our eldest granddaughter requested a dinner with something saucy, creamy and mashed potatoes, I remembered the "Stroganoff".
The recipes requires very few but top quality ingredients.

Well hung sirloin or fillet steak, mushrooms, onions,

cream and sour cream, salt and pepper and a dash of brandy.

The dish stands and falls with the quality of the ingredients.

Ingredients:

per person 150 g Beef cut into small strips

250 g mushrooms sliced

150 g onions cut into  small slices

250ml fresh cream and 1 pot of sour cream (150 ml)

1 to 2 measures of brandy

some flour

salt pepper to taste

some rapeseed oil for frying

Method

1. Cut the meat into strips and cover it lightly with flour.

2. Clean the mushrooms and slice them

3. Peel and cut the onion ( if you dont like onions just increase the mushroom or use some leek instead)

4. Fry the meat quickly in the oil and remove from the frying pan.

5. Fry the onions and mushrooms

6. Add the meat and the brandy ( if you want to use it)
Note: If you are using a gas hob, be careful when you add the alcohol.

7. Add the cream and sour cream,  bring to the boil and reduce until you have a thick consistence.
Only when the sauce is reduced to the right consistency, adjust the seasoning.

I traditionally serve the "Stroganoff" with  creamed Potatoes. But if you prefer Pasta, I would suggest Tagliatelle. You can of course serve it with rice as well. It really depends on your personal Taste.

To green the dish, I serve a Green Salad with a straight forward Vinaigrette or a Cucumber salad, or if you are not a salad person, use Petits Pois.

Note: instead of using Brandy, you can use the juice of half a fresh lemon, this would give the dish a fresh taste.

A perfect dish for a rainy day at any time of the year

My Red Pesto

This  is a quick recipe for a red pesto which I created in order to use as a  kind of a dip for a Cordon Bleu pork chop which I wanted to serve with Pasta. I also wanted to put some taste into the Pasta but I did not want a sauce which would run into the pork chop. So the following recipe was the result of these thoughts, which I must admit, I usually get when I am swimming or sitting in the hot tub afterwards.

This is very quick to make.

Note: I did not use dried but fresh tomatoes

Ingredients 

1 red pepper

8 small vine tomatoes, chopped

Or three medium one

1/2 chili the long  mild one no seeds, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped 

Handful fresh Basil, 

50 to 70 g Parmesan, grated

Some olive 0il

Some salt and pepper to taste

Method

Put all ingredients into a bowl and blend until you have a smooth paste. 

Serve with Pasta and/or with any quick fried meat, especially Pork and chicken

Southern Comfort ( Pork Chops)

I had written the story of this creation a few weeks ago and was quite happy with the result and then something or somebody took my attention and I forgot to save it. So here I go again. I do not know if the second version will be as interesting as the first, but I give it a try.

I could have called the pork chops Rocky Mountain chops as well, as I first made this dish in Breckenridge, Colorado. It was my first attempt of cooking at this altitude and the reason for using the Southern Comfort was simple, I like it, but I underestimated how alcohol reacted with me at such a high altitude. So I decided it was better to use it for cooking as the alcohol would eveporate!

On top of that I was challenged to create something tasty with very few condiments. The pictures show how few incredients there are. I decided to marinate the chops in a liquid made up of Southern Comfort, chicken stock, some freshly ground pepper and chopped up garlic.      

Ingredients

1 to 2 pork chops per person

2 cloves of garlic

150 ml chicken stock/broth

some fresdhly ground pepper

2 measures of Southern Comfort

some oil for frying

Method

Marinate the meat in the mixture for preferable 24hrs (in the refrigerator)

but at least for 3hrs.

Fry the pork chops until they are golden brown, put them into an oven proof dish, then

pour the marinate over the pork chops and bake for 30 minutes at a medium hot oven.

the finished result

Note: serve with mashed potatoes (my favourite) or Pasta with a green or mixed salad

I wish to thank Janet, Dave and Martin for being willing "guinea pigs". We had wonderful days together in Breckenridge

Original French Crêpes

I was in the middle of making the batter for the crêpes this morning, when I thought, maybe some of you would like an orginal French recipe for making pancakes. So I decided to share the recipe which I have used for ever for our pancakes on Shroves/Pancake Tuesday.
It is quick, easy to make and the pancakes are light and delicious.  You can fill them with anything you like, sweet or savoury or simply eat them with sugar and lemon.

Ingredients

150 g plain flour

3 medium to large eggs

1 cup of milk

1/4 cup of water

1/2 tsp salt 

3 tbsp butter melted and cooled

Method

Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until you have a smooth batter.You get best results if you let the  batter rest for at least of an hour in the fridge.

To make the crêpes, heat a little butter and oil in a pan, if you have a special crepe pan all the better. Use approx 2 tbsp of batter , pour into pan and swivel the pan so that batter covers the pan.

After about a minute turn the crêpe and cook further min or until slightly brown.

Best eaten immediately.          Bon Appétit 

PS this is probably the quickest I have put up a recipe on my blog!