Beef Stroganoff

Despite the fact that I have been working
out in the garden and the temperatures
have once again risen into the 80's,
I had a hankering for beef stroganoff.

But what recipe to use?

Isn't that always the question?

Of course I couldn't find just one recipe,
so I mashed two recipes together,
and even then I ended up tweaking this and that.

The first recipe calls for:
2 slices bacon, diced
1 pound stew beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
paprika

Mashing in the second recipe,
I added about a cup of sliced porcini mushrooms
and 1 cup beef stock.

The first step was to cook the bacon until browned.
Remove to a paper towel.

I browned the meat in the bacon drippings
and added a bit of flour
so that the stroganoff would thicken later.

After adding the chopped porcini mushrooms,
and allowing them to saute for a bit,
I added the diced onion and minced garlic.
Saute for another minute before adding
the bacon, salt, pepper, oregano, wine and beef stock.

Bring to a boil before turning down the heat
and covering the pan.
Simmer for 1-1/2 hours or until the meat is tender.

At this point the sour cream was added.
I decided that the sauce was too thin.
I made a slurry of corn starch and cold water
and added that to the sauce.
I then brought that back to a boil so that the cornstarch
could thicken the sauce.

Meanwhile,
I prepared a package of egg noodles
according to the package directions
and then tossed that with 3 tablespoons unsalted butter,
1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.



Serve the beef stroganoff over the noodles and top
with the chopped parsley and about 1/4 teaspoon paprika.

The family liked this,
although my husband would have liked more sauce
and the Foodie Daughter thought it needed
three slices of bacon.

The next time I will add 2 cups of beef stock
and another slice of bacon
to the recipe.

Substitutions, Substitutions

Wanting to make a recipe that I had made only once before, a very long time ago, I bought what I thought I needed to make the dish. Guess I should have dug out the recipe first.

Let's review, shall we?

Here is the recipe I was attempting to make:

HAM-AND-CHEESE SCROLLS

This easy recipe comes from an HGTV Christmas special. The pesto gives it a unique flavor. Pesto can be found in the Italian food section of the grocery store.

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
2 tbs. commercial pesto
6 thin slices honey ham
6 thin slices Swiss cheese

Spread the pesto over the sheet of puff pastry dough, top with ham slices then cheese. Start rolling the long side of the dough and continue until reaching the middle of the pastry sheet. Roll the opposite end in to meet the first roll.

Cut the roll into half-inch thick slices with a bread knife. Place the slices on a cookie sheet lined with parchment and bake at 425 degrees for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown.

And this is where I started this time. First off, I had bought whack-a-dough crescent roll dough, while I had mozzarella cheese, pesto and ham on hand at home.

Well, two out of four ingredients aren't bad...

I lightly floured the cutting board before rolling out the dough with my mini roller.

Now I was ready for the pesto.

Oops...

Fuzzy green stuff in the pesto jar is definitely not good eats.

Time for substitution number three.

I chose a combination of whole grain Dijon mustard and honey mustard to replace the pesto in the recipe.



Time to start spreading.

My husband wandered through the kitchen about this time and wondered if the "M" stood for Marilyn's Munchies.
Um yeah, of course, dear.

And then he asked if it was MYOL (Make Your Own Lunch)

"What do you think I am making, dear?

Now just be patient and run along."

Then a layer of ham went on.





Followed by a layer of mozzarella cheese.

Then I rolled the thing up in a spiral, starting at one long end.

(Yet another deviation from the recipe.)

I then cut the log into 1/2" slices.

I placed the slices on a silicon mat-covered baking sheet.

This went into a preheated 375 degree oven for 12 minutes.

(Please note the temperature change from the original recipe to account for the different dough used.)

These can be served either warm or at room temperature.

The verdict of my triple substitution of a four ingredient recipe?

Four thumbs up.

What can I say?

I rock.