Perfect Beef Stroganoff: College Style!

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day. When I called to give my mom some love she reminded me of this special Mother's Day from years gone by:

When my brother was in Journalism School at the University of Georgia my mother received a notice from the University Food Service that they would be soliciting favorite recipes, which if accepted, would be served on campus in remembrance of Mother's Day. My mother accepted the challenge and sent the school her Beef Stroganoff Recipe.

The letter came - CONGRATULATIONS!! It is with pleasure that University Food Services announces that your recipe for Perfect Beef Stroganoff has been chosen to be featured during our "Tribute to Mother's Day". That was no surprise because the recipe is great, but it did come as a complete shock.

The University sent her a souvenir copy of the recipe that would be served in Oglethorpe, Bolton and Snelling Dining Halls where my brother ate. Her recipe is #103271 - Perfect Beef Stroganoff which they scaled up to serve 4000 students. They used 800 lbs. meat, 200 lbs. butter, 200 lbs chopped onions, 200 lbs. sliced mushrooms, 40 lbs. flour - you get the gist. The outcome: Did my brother eat there that day? Nope, sometimes Moms just can't win. However in her heart she knew she had a WINNER thanks to one of her friends in Kansas City, Missouri who always shared her recipes and served the best dinners.

Perfect Beef Stroganoff

2 lbs. Sirloin
6 T. Butter
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms sliced 1/4 in.
3 T. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. catsup
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 can beef bouillion
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tsp. dried dill weed
1 1/2 cups sour cream

Method: Cut beef in strips and saute in 1/2 the butter.
Another pan: Saute mushrooms, onions and remainder of the butter for five minutes.
Remove from heat . Add catsup, salt, pepper, flour and stir until smooth. Gradually add bouillion. Bring to a boil - reduce heat and simmer five minutes. Add: wine, dry dill weed, sour cream - Stir over low heat . Add beef and serve over rice.

Gourmet Club: Irish Style!

Even though we only have gourmet club every 3 months - it feels like it happens every time I turn around. Life is happening at warp speed - isn't it! This time I got the honor of hosting and if any of you remember what the last one was like at Robin Sue's house - you know I had big "Boots" to fill! Take a look at the Hoedown she put together - HERE!



With St. Patty's Day right around the corner I knew what I had to do - A Night at the Shamrock Saloon!
The idea started with a little sign I picked up at Michael's which said "Welcome to the Shamrock Saloon" - and with that it all fell into place!



I got the recipes to all the guests 2 weeks before the actual party date. That way if they had an odd ingredient they could figure out where and when to get it throughout the course of those two weeks. This menu happened to be pretty straight forward - so no one needed to stress. Robin Sue (From Big Red Kitchen) and "Himself" (Robin's Hubby) were on the guest list....



...as well as Sabrina (From Britikibar) and Her Hubby (The Man )! We rounded out the night with my carpool buds Michelle and her hubby Roy! Roy is in the picture below on the far left.



Michelle is in the picture below, second from the right. Best laid plans ( I meant to get a picture of each couple - and then the food called my name and I left the camera in the dust!)



On the Menu for a Night at the Shamrock Saloon:

Irish Soda Bread - Martha Stewart Living March 2009
Beets with Watercress and Bibb Lettuce - Martha Stewart Living March 2009
Corned Beef with Boiled Veggies smothered in Horseradish Gravy - Bobi's Bites
Banoffee Pie - Paula Dean Foodnetwork.com



Beets with Watercress and Bibb Lettuce
1 Bunch medium red beets, trimmed and scrubbed(4 to 6 beets)
3 Tablespoons white-wine vinegar
2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
1 Tablespoon finely chopped shallot
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons, extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch (6 oz) watercress, tough stems trimmed
1 medium head (5 ounces) Bibb lettuce, leaves torn into 1 inch pieces freshly ground pepper.

Preheat oven to 425. Divide beets between 2 parchment-lined pieces of foil. Fold each in half, crimping edges to seal. Place packets on a baking sheet, and roast until beets are tender, about 1 hour, 20 minutes. Peel, then cut into 1/2 inch-thick rounds and wedges.
Whisk together vinegar, mustard, shallot, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Add oil, whisking until emulsified. Arrange greens and beets on a platter. Drizzle with dressing, and season with pepper.



Irish Soda Bread

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
• 2 cups golden or dark raisins (Robin used 1 cup dried cherries instead - yum!)
• 1 1/2 scant cups buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and caraway seeds until well combined.
2. Using a pastry cutter or two knives in scissor fashion, cut in butter until the mixture feels like coarse meal. Stir in raisins until evenly distributed.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, and baking soda until well combined. Pour buttermilk mixture into the flour-and-butter mixture all at once, and stir with a fork until all the liquid is absorbed and the mixture begins to hold together. It should resemble a rough biscuit dough. Using your hands, press the dough into a round, dome-shaped loaf about 8 inches in diameter. Lift the loaf from the bowl, and transfer it to the prepared baking sheet.
4. In a small bowl, mix the egg yolk and cream together. With a pastry brush, brush the egg wash over the loaf. With a sharp knife or razor, incise a cross, about 1/2 inch deep, into the top of the loaf. Transfer to the oven. Bake, rotating halfway through, until it is deep golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted into the center, about 70 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer bread from the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool. Makes 1 loaf.



Banoffee Pie
Ingredients
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 10 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
• 3 large bananas
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix graham cracker crumbs with softened butter and press mixture into 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes.
Lower the oven to 300 degrees F for the toffee filling.
To create toffee filling, caramelize the sweetened condensed milk. Pour the condensed milk into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Cover with foil and place dish inside a larger poaching pan. Add water to poaching pan until half way up sides of baking dish. Bake for 1 1/2 hours.
Once both the crust and toffee filling are cooled, spread half of the filling evenly inside crust. Slice the bananas and layer on top of filling. Pour remaining half of filling over bananas, spreading evenly. Whip the cream with the confectioners' sugar and vanilla and spread on top of toffee filling and bananas.

I wish this picture did it justice - It was AMAZING!



No Gourmet club would be complete without a little goody for the guest to take home. This was just a little "Thank you for coming" gift of a clip board and Thank you cards! I love those girls - and I wanted them to know!

Tune in Friday for Bobi's amazing Horseradish gravy that smothered everyone's plate! No St. Patty's day celebration would be complete without it!

Rindy's Sloppy Joes

The other day I went to my fridge - only to be met by the package of hamburger I had bought days earlier! I didn't have the foggiest idea what to do with it but knew I had to make it THAT day! I went to my old stand-by - Allrecipes.com - and browsed. I finally decided to do a sloppy joe. I pulled a recipe off the net - only to find I only had about half the ingredients I needed. This is what I pulled out of my fridge and pantry to make one pretty good sloppy joe!

Rindy's Sloppy Joe's
1 pound ground beef
1 small sweet onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
4 Tablespoons salsa
3/4 cup ketchup
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
6 hamburger buns

In a skillet, cook beef, onions and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato paste, ketchup, brown sugar, salsa and soy sauce; mix well. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon about 1/2 cup meat mixture onto each bun.

I served with deviled eggs and got high fives from all my family!

Spaghettio's - Adult Style!

The other day I walked into my friend Meredith's house and smelled the best dinner cooking. I asked her what it was and she said - just a recipe she throws together all the time in the crock pot. I told her I had to have it and went out and bought the ingredients that day and made it the next. It did not disappoint!



Isn't she adorable. She is my neighbor and I can call on her for ANYTHING - and I just about have!



Meredith didn't really have a name for it - so my girls and I came up with "Spaghettio's - Adult Style"! To me, it tastes like what I thought Spaghettio's tasted like as a kid. (Although I have had them as an adult, I think they are disgusting - however, this stew tastes nothing like Spaghettios of old)!

Spaghettio's- Adult Style!
1 pound stew meat
1 (46 oz) Vegetable Juice
1 (29 oz) can "Veg-All" Vegetables, drained
1 sweet onion
1/2 teaspoon dried Basil
1/2 teaspoon dried Rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried Thyme
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup dried noodles



Douse meat with worcestershire sauce. Toss meat in flour and fry on all sides. This takes about 10 minutes.
Cut sweet onion in small pieces and place in bottom of crock pot.
Place seared meat on top of onions.
Pour bottle of vegetable juice all over meat.
Pour whole can of vegetables in crock pot.
Put dried herbs and minced garlic in crock pot.

Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Thirty minutes before serving, put 1 cup of dried noodles in the crock pot.
I had 2 hot dogs in my deli drawer and I cut them up and threw them in the crock pot at the same time I tossed in my dried noodles. This is a great recipe to use up some of those extra cans of veggies in your pantry!

Enjoy and get ready to relive a taste from childhood!

French Dip - Man Size!

With Football season upon us - I knew it was time to get the crock pot out and make my man his favorite sandwich. He has no idea what goes into this dish, the time it takes and the overall effort on my part to make him HIS sandwich - and I like it like that. If he knew it took 2 minutes when I woke up in the morning and 2 minutes to put it in the bread - I might not receive all the accolades he gives me (so lets keep this blog between you and me- wink)



French Dip
1 (3lb) beef roast shoulder cut
2 cups water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 bay leaf
3 to 4 peppercorns
French rolls
Provolone or cheddar cheese

Place roast in slow cooker. Add water, soy sauce, and seasonings. Cover and cook on high for at least 6 hours. Remove meat from broth, shred with fork and keep warm. Strain broth, skim off fat. Pour broth into small cups for dipping. Serve beef on rolls. I slit rolls, place 2 pieces of cheese on one side, wrap in foil and bake at 400 for 10 minutes.

Now a little bit about the man I cook for....

Jamie (He wants to be called James - but he is Jamie to me) has been my rock for 14 years now. These past two years, my rock, has turned into a pillar. He is VERY Scandinavian, and thus keeps his emotions tucked way down deep - which is great for our relationship because I wear mine on my sleeve, my shirt, my cuffs, my pants, shoes, and sox. I can fall to pieces watching a fast food commercial! He is the yin to my yang, the PB to my jelly, and the cinnamon and sugar to my leftsa!

When my hubby and I were in NY this summer he was running to get cash so we could buy cheap Broadway tickets. On his way to the ATM someone shouted out "Hey, there's Cal Ripken". My husband not only came back with the money for the tickets - he brought with him a head so big it didn't fit in the theatre that night. You be the judge...Am I married to a Cal Ripken look alike?

Log your vote at the top of my blog!

Julie's Cincinnati Chili

This is my friend Julie. She is no ordinary friend - she has superhero status in my eyes. She is the friend that I never want my husband to ever have more then a 5 minute conversation with, because if she starts telling him what she does around her home - I'm toast!
Three true conversations I have had with Julie:
1. "Julie - I love your countertops" - Oh thanks - one time when Richard (her husband) was out of town I decided I wanted a new look in the kitchen so I built some frames and mixed some cement and poured myself these new countertops! (My jaw wide open)
2. "Julie - Your garage looks so neat" - oh thanks - one time when Richard was out of town I just got so tired of looking at all the disorganization on these shelves that I decided to build doors for all the shelving units. (My jaw on ground)
3. "Julie - your banisters look beautiful" - oh thanks - did you see that PVC pipe on the ground outside when you came in? Well I decided to strip all the banisters and repaint them. I just removed them from the stairwell, filled the capped PVC pipe with paint stripper and let each soak - in no time they were ready for a new coat of paint! (My jaw on ground, being stepped on by my own large feet)

I know we would all love to hate a person like this but you CAN'T! She is as nice as she is efficient! I'm just glad she is MY friend - and not my husbands!!

We had this chili one night at her home ( on her covered patio - she built)! It is the best Cincinnati Chili I have ever had.
Julie makes this in 26 pound batches and freezes them. I just double this recipe because I don't own a pot a human being can fit into!




Julie's Cincinnati Chili
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 medium onion, chopped
29 oz can tomato sauce
14 1/2 oz can peeled whole tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 toe of garlic (clove)
3 bay leaves

Cook gound beef with onions till browned and cooked through. Drain off grease and place in a large stockpot. Add remaining ingredients and cook 4 to 5 hours, covered. Remove garlic and bay leaves and serve on a bed of spaghetti with grated cheddar cheese and diced onions. Great for chili dogs. Freezes well.



I love doing a chili bar! The chili bases that I serve are: french fries, bake potatoes, spagehetti and corn chips. Kids and adults can enjoy their chili anyway they want! Don't forget all the toppings as well: jack and cheddar cheese, nacho cheese, onions, hot peppers, banana peppers, the list is endless!

Skewered Ginger Beef

This recipe came from my sister-in-law Jillieta. My hubby is the oldest of 6 kids and when all of his family gets together - it's a crowd. Each family takes turns doing a meal for the entire clan - and when it is Aunt Jillieta's turn - we all ask for this delectable treat! It has become my daughter Jensen's favorite dinner.

1 cup sugar
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 bunch green onions, sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. pepper
2 pounds beef sirloin steak, cut into 1/4 inch strips

In a large re-sealable plastic bag, combine the first 8 ingredients; add steak. Seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and discard marinade. Thread steak onto metal or soaked wooden skewers. Grill, covered, over indirect medium heat for 15 minutes or until meat reaches desired doneness, turning occasionally. I serve this over rice and with a green salad.

BBQ Meatballs

Meatballs are no stranger to any family.  For our family, these are the only ones!  My mother's friend in Wheaton, IL shared this recipe with her and it has been a favorite to make, bake and take to many friendly gatherings.  When my kids get home from school and smell the BBQ wafting through the house they immediately know it's going to be a great supper.  I serve these scrumptious morsels with potato salad, baked beans and a wedge of watermelon.  Hope your family enjoys these as much as mine!

3 lbs hamburger

2 cups quick oats

1 can evaporated milk

2 eggs

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. pepper

Shape into balls with hands.  Cover with sauce.  Bake 1 to 1 1/2 hours at 250.

Sauce:

4 cups Ketchup

1 cup brown sugar

4 Tablespoons liquid smoke

2 tsp. garlic salt

Make balls and put in pan (I usually get 60 meatballs).  Put half of BBQ sauce on raw meatballs and bake.  When they come out of the oven - toss meatballs in rest of sauce!  

These freeze great!  I usually double the recipe and freeze the leftovers.