Beef Stroganoff

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I have no holiday treats to share with you tonight. Unexpected company forced me to put the butter and sugar aside for the evening and come up with something more substantial, like a real meal - for a change. The steak I had planned for dinner wasn't large enough to feed four of us, so I had to extend it some fashion and this stroganoff was what I came up with. These days, I rarely make this dish. Mind you, there's nothing wrong with it. There was a time I actually enjoyed it, but like many women my age, I ate a a lot of it back in the day. Stroganoff, a dish of Russian origin, was all the rage in the fifties and the sixties and you could find versions of it made with types of beef that ranged from tenderloin to hamburger. It was a hostess favorite, so if you weren't serving it, you could be sure someone else was. Stroganoff is quite easy to make and it can be delicious if you use a cut of beef that is both tender and flavorful. Several years ago, I discovered that thin strips of flatiron steak were perfect for dishes like this. The beef used in stroganoff is not truly browned and it should be cooked only until it changes color. The chefs in the imperial Russia were not big on browning, so a classic rendering of the dish can look awfully beige. While I have not included it in the recipe below, the addition of a tablespoon of tomato paste can add some color to the dish and make it look more appealing. It seems that stoganoff is making a bit of a comeback and some of the newer recipes have you pile French fried onions or shoestring potatoes on top of the meat. While very early versions of the dish were served with a side of shoestring potatoes, I prefer to serve it over buttered noodles. This is a nice recipe. If you have never had stroganoff, I hope you'll give this version a try. Here's how the dish is made.

Beef Stroganoff...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Sauce
1 (14.5-oz.) can reduced sodium beef broth
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided use
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 cup sour cream
Beef and Mushrooms
1-1/2 pounds thinly sliced flatiron or sirloin steak
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
8 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms
Optioanl: 2 tablespoons brandy or dry sherry wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
8 ounces cooked and buttered egg noodles

Directions:
1) To make sauce: Place beef broth in a small pan, bring to a boil and simmer until broth is reduced by half.  In a separate pan,  heat 2 tablespoons butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and dry mustard, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Gradually add broth, whisking constantly, and bring to a boil; cook until thick, about 2 minutes. Stir in sour cream, remove from heat, and set aside.
2) To make beef and mushrooms: Heat remaining butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly season beef with salt and pepper. Add to skillet and cook until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer beef to a plate. Add onions to same skillet, and cook until soft and lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes longer. Deglaze pan with brandy or sherry, if using. Reduce heat to low, return beef to pan and add reserved sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper and heat through. Cover to keep warm.
3) Meanwhile, cook egg noodles per package instructions. Drain. Toss with butter. Spoon stroganoff onto a serving platter, and surround with egg noodles. Garnish with parsley. Yield: 4 servings.

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Kulich - Russian Easter Bread

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This delicious bread is called Kulich. It is a Russian sweet bread with a frosted crown that is associated with Orthodox Christian paschal tradition. The bread is shaped like the hats worn by Orthodox priests and it is baked in tall, cylindrical tins that are twice as tall as they are wide. It tastes much like a good Italian panettone. Kulich, however, has a symbolic importance that other sweet breads do not. It is part of the Russian Orthodox Easter vigil services. On the Saturday before Easter, the bread is taken to church to be blessed by priests. The bread is served only between Easter and Pentecost. While blessed Kulich is eaten before breakfast, the rest is served for dessert with a sweet cheese called paskha. A recipe for paskha can be found here. Paskha is pressed in a mold that embosses the cheese with the letters X. B., the abbreviation for Xristos Boscrecie, or Christ is risen. There is a prescribed ritual for slicing the bread. The crown is removed and placed in the center of a serving platter. The remaining loaf is cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise and finally arranged on the plate around the crown. I was introduced to Kulich many years ago by Russian programmers who were on staff and this is the recipe they shared with me. . This is the first time I made it myself and while it is not difficult to do, shaping it is a bit tricky without proper molds. My gerry-rigged mold sprung a leak, so to speak, so dough was allowed to escape from one side. My Kulich has a carbuncle on one side and a dome that slants. We'll do better next time. The bread is fantastic and I do hope you'll try it. Here's the recipe.


Russian Easter Bread...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:

Bread

2 packages yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup scalded milk (click here to see how to scald milk under note)
6-1/2 to 7- 1/2 cups flower cups flour
4 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup golden raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup honey
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Glaze

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:
1) In a large bowl dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk cooled to 120 degrees and 1-1/2 cup flour, stir until smooth. Cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down.
2) Add beaten eggs and egg yolks, butter, raisins, vanilla, honey, salt, sugar and vegetable oil. Continue to add remaining flour until a moderately stiff dough is formed. Knead well in the bowl until dough is smooth and elastic.
3) Grease 2 tall 1 pound coffee cans. Fit each can with a collar of greased parchment paper (2 inches) to allow for height. Fill each can with equal amounts of dough. Cover and let rise until double, about 1 hour.
4) While dough is rising, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. When dough has doubled, transfer loaves to oven and bake bake until they are well-browned, about 1 hour. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes before removing bread from cans. Cool on a rack until loaves are at room temperature.
5) Combine sugar, vanilla and cream in a small bowl and beat until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake. Yield: 2 loaves.

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Chicken Stroganoff

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...When you travel with a group of strangers, you quickly learn about food preferences and the group's tolerance for new foods or flavors. Most people are adventurous, but I will never forget one traveler who quite unwittingly left me flabbergasted. I nearly choked when she complained, in tones far from sotto voce, that they served too much Chinese food in China. We were, of course, at a banquet in China, and whether your instinct is to laugh or cry, it was, pure and simple, one of life's "died and gone to heaven" moments. When we were in India, the people who planned our meals worked really hard to see that wouldn't happen. Western food was always included in the menu and the one dish that appeared every evening was Chicken Stroganoff. It apparently was viewed as a dish that would please both Eastern and Western sensibilities. Now, Beef Stroganoff was an enormously popular dish in the 60's and 70's, and most of us who cooked and entertained during that time had enough of it back then to last a lifetime. For that reason, I queued patiently for the exotic curries, daals and the gorgeous breads that are the hallmarks of the Indian table. There were, however, people who preferred the stroganoff and more Western fare. The Silver Fox liked the stroganoff, so once we were home I decided to make a version of it that we could both enjoy and that I could use in a pinch when had unexpected company. This is a 30 minute meal that is suitable for family, close friends and very informal gatherings. It won't make your reputation as a cook, neither will it break it. It is very easy to make and the only caution I have to share with you regards the sauce. If you make it with sour cream don't let it boil. It will curdle. I serve this dish with buttered parsley noodles or rice. Like all beige dishes, it cries for a side of bright green or red vegetables. This makes a nice meal. Those of you who try it will be pleased. Here's the recipe.

Chicken Stroganoff...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in 1-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more if needed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more if needed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup minced shallots
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup Marsala
1 (10.5-oz.) can condensed chicken broth, undiluted
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon, plus 6-8 sprigs for garnish
1/4 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
Optional: 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

Directions:
1) Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil and butter in large saucepan over medium heat until it shimmers. Add shallots and cook, stirring, until they're a light golden color, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until softened. Turn heat to medium-high, add the chicken pieces, and cook, stirring, until golden on the outside and almost cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a plate.
2) Return pan to burner. Turn heat to high and pour in Marsala, scraping brown bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock, stir, boil until the liquid begins to look syrupy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat and pour any juices that have accumulated on the plate underneath the chicken back into the pan. Add mustard and minced tarragon and simmer for 3 minutes.
3) Turn off heat and whisk in creme fraiche or sour cream, stirring until smooth. Turn heat to low, taste and salt/pepper more if necessary. If you would like a thicker sauce add cornstarch mixture to pan and cook until thickened.
4) Add chicken mixture to pan and gently heat over low heat until the stroganoff is warmed through; do not let boil. Serve immediately over noodles or rice. Yield: 4 servings.

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