We've also been snacking on goodies and before I knew it, it was 630 p.m. and neither of us was particularly hungry. Also, sometimes The Geek forgets to eat (HOW ON EARTH DOES ONE DO THAT?) and so I like to leave his fridge stocked up with leftovers when I am not going to see him for a few days. I've been wanting to try the "Poor Boy Stroganoff" in my America's Best Lost Recipes cookbook and so I went ahead and made it with plans to leave most of it behind.
What do the words "Beef Stroganoff" bring to mind for you? For me, it's chunks of beef in a creamy white sauce with a ton of sour cream served over egg noodles. But every recipe on the Cook's Illustrated family of sites involves tomatoes and red wine and The Geek says that is how he has always eaten it. A quick wikipedia search revealed that, while stroganoff with the tomato/red wine sauce is how the dish originated in Russia, it is the British that generally serve it with the creamy white sauce. WHEW! Nice to know I'm not crazy afterall!
Stroganoff is also apparently usually made with beef tenderloin which is a very expensive cut of meat. This recipe is made with ground beef, thus the "Poor Boy" moniker. The Test Kitchen decided to make it as a hearty casserole rather than a sauce poured over noodles, and we decided we like it this way too.
Recently another friend introduced me to packaged salad mixes that are now available in most megamart grocery stores. These bags of salad, which run about $4 and makes about 4 small side salads, include everything you need to make a yummy salad, such as greens, dressing, dried fruit, and nuts or other crunchy toppings. Normally I wouldn't buy these packaged mixes when I'm at home - I prefer to make things from scratch, which is way more economical - but at The Geek's house, they are perfect and convenient. I picked up a bag of pear gorgonzola salad but decided we weren't going to eat it tonight since neither of us were too hungry. I'm looking forward to sharing that with the kids tomorrow evening.
A second recipe that I tried earlier this week was for Caramel Dumplings. The concept is simple: make a caramel sauce and then bake the dough in it so that you infuse the dumplings with caramel flavor and you have a lovely sauce to spoon over. A few weeks ago I made the Cook's Illustrated recipe for Burnt Sugar Ice Cream and absolutely loved it and so I was eager to try this as well.
You can see from this photo why these are considered dumplings and not biscuits. The dough is dropped into the syrup much in the same way that dumplings are dropped into chicken soup.
Sadly, I can't say I loved this. The dumplings didn't have much flavor - they certainly weren't "infused" with caramel - and the sauce ended up being a little thick so it didn't pour well. (That was my fault - I reduced the caramel syrup even though the recipe did not include instructions to do so.) The kids both loved the biscuits though and happily ate them with ice cream.
Busy Mom Modifications and Tips
- The dumplings are best eaten fresh from the oven, when the sauce is warm and runny.
- I find that pasta casserole dishes turn out best if you seriously undercook the pasta. Then when you bake the casserole, the noodles will absorb some of the sauce and take on a richer, deeper flavor. Plus they won't be so mushy after baking.
- I haven't tried this but I imagine the casserole can be assembled and frozen for baking at a later time.
- Summer will be here soon and I am always reluctant to run the oven when it's hot out. This dish is definitely worth making again but I think I'll explore the skillet and slow-cooker versions next time.
The Results
- The Geek and I both loved the Stroganoff.
- Kids loved the Caramel Dumpling but I didn't think they had much flavor.
Ratings
- Difficulty: Both are easy to make although you need an oven-safe skillet for the Caramel Dumplings
- Time to prepare:
- Poor Boy Stroganoff: 20 minutes prep time, 20 minutes baking time
- Caramel Dumplings: 5 minutes prep time, 30 minutes baking time, 10 minutes cooling time
- Prognosis: I'm willing to make both these dishes again
My Shopping List
- For the stroganoff, I just happened to have everything on hand for the sauce but some of the more unlikely ingredients included ground beef, red wine and sour cream and I had to buy the egg noodles.
- I had everything for the caramel biscuits.
No comments:
Post a Comment