Fancy but not Fancy (Beef Stroganoff Two Ways)

Dinner Party Ready, with filet mignon
and brandy

Beef Stroganoff. It just sounds fancy. But in reality, it’s one of the easiest dishes to cook for a holiday (we had it for Christmas Dinner last year), date night in, or yes, a quick weeknight meal. Here’s a two-in-one recipe — you can make it with ground beef or you can get fancy with filet mignon and good dose of brandy. You take your pick which one to serve to the kiddos on a Wednesday night!

Beef Stroganoff Two Ways

Serves 4-6

Easy Week Night Dinner, with
ground beef and sans brandy (or not!)

Ingredients

• 1 lb. filet mignon cut into bite sized pieces and seasoned with plenty of Kosher salt and ground black pepper (or 1 lb. ground beef)
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 lb. mushrooms
• 3/4 cup sour cream 
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth + an additional 1/2 cup combined with 2 TBS of corn starch to make a “slurry"
• 3/4 cup brandy + a splash more to add at the end (you can leave this out for the weeknight version)
• 1 TBS dijon mustard
• 2  TBS corn starch combined with 1/2 beef broth to make a “slurry”
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 4TBS butter, divided
• Salt and Pepper to season the meat
• 1 bag Egg noodles, cooked according to the package directions, drained
• 1/2 cup parsley, chopped

Method:

• Heat the oil in a large skillet on a high heat and brown the meat. If you are using steak, do it in two batches, being careful not to over cook! Just get some color and then remove the meat to a foil-covered bowl covered. If you are using ground beef, break it up with a wooden spoon, but keep the pieces fairly large, rather than small crumbles. Season it with a good pinch of Kosher salt and some ground black pepper about half way through. Remove to paper towel lined bowl to drain. Cover with foil. 
• Add 2 TBS of the butter to the pan and sauté the onions and mushrooms over a medium heat until they are soft. Then stir in the dijon mustard. 
• Next pour in 1 1/2 cups of the beef broth, plus the brandy if you are using it. Bring this mixture to a boil and then spoon in the cornstarch slurry. Stir to combine and thicken. 
• Now adjust the heat to medium-low, add in the meat and any juices, and gently stir in the sour cream. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed. (I like to add another 2 TBS of brandy as well).
• Serve over noodles that have been tossed with the remaining 2 TBS of butter and the parsley.

Enjoy!

Rescued From Take-Out (Layered Vegetable Casserole)

Hot and bubbly from the oven...
waiting is the hardest part

Like Mother Hubbard,  I went to the cupboard this evening and by golly it was bare.  

The thought did cross my mind to make a quick call to Sal’s Pizza or run over to Alan & Son for some BBQ.  Not exactly healthy moves. 

So instead I took another inventory of the ‘fridge and pantry.  Here’s what I came up with:

• 1 small striped zucchini from last weekend’s trip to the Farmers Market
• 1 medium summer squash from the same farmer
• A good-sized handful of baby spinach
• 6 large mushrooms
• ½ pint of whole milk ricotta (the inspiration for this dish.  I couldn't bear to toss it)
• About ¼ cup of shredded and ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese
• 1 slice provolone cheese (like you’d use in a sandwich) this is probably optional but sounded like a good thing to do
• Some fresh basil
• Some fresh parsley
• About a cup of dried rigatoni (any shape or style would do)
• 1 medium can of Cento San Marzano tomato sauce
• Staples of salt, pepper, olive oil, fennel seed and fresh garlic

Put it all together and what do you get? 

Layered Vegetable Casserole (or lasagna without lasagna pasta), that’s what.

Method

Here’s the game plan:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degree
• In small sauce pan, sauté two chopped cloves of garlic and a teaspoon or so of fennel seeds in about a Tbs of the olive oil; then add the tomato sauce and a handful of the basil that you’ve rough chopped
• Simmer as you prepare the rest of the recipe
• In a large pot, boil some salted water and cook the pasta until al dente.  When done remove the pasta and add to the simmering sauce
• Slice the squash into ¼ inch lengthwise slices. 
• Mix the ricotta cheese with the grated parmesan cheese, a handful of chopped parsley, about a teaspoon of olive oil and a scant pinch of salt and about six grinds of pepper.
• Slice and sauté the mushrooms in a tsp of the olive oil

Now to assemble:

• Put some sauce in the bottom of a small casserole dish; smear it around
• Add a single layer of zucchini
• Dot the zucchini with ½ of the ricotta mixture
• Add a layer of the spinach
• Scoop out the pasta from the sauce and layer on top of the ricotta
• Add the mushrooms
• Add the summer squash in a single layer
• Top with rest of the ricotta mixture
• Pour on the rest of the sauce
• Slice the provolone into thin strips and put them as the final layer
• Sprinkle the shredded parmesan cheese on top’
• Cover lightly with foil

Time to cook it

• Bake for 40 minutes covered
• Remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes or until the cheese starts to turn golden

Cool for 15 minutes

Slice and serve

Enjoy

End of vacation dinner (Will’s lemon scented pasta)

A note from Holly:

(I was going to post the recipe for my lemon chicken – and then I realized that I’ve already posted it.  Brain Cramp. What I will share with you is the pasta that we served with the lemon chicken I made last night.  More of a method than a recipe, this one so simple yet so delicious.  And the really cool part – Will came up with it!  I guess he got the cooking gene!)

It seems like we just picked up Will at the airport and now his summer break is over.  Tomorrow at o'dark-thirty he and Steve will leave for a cross-country drive back to school. They’ve got a great itinerary planned – and will hit baseball games in Chicago and Minneapolis before fishing their way thru North Dakota and finally dropping into the Big Sky State. 

As moms are wont to do, I cooked up one of Will’s favorite dishes last night – lemon chicken.  And this time, he taught me a trick – scenting the pasta itself with lemon by putting both the juice and the juiced lemon halves into the salted pasta water right before you add the pasta.  Wow, was it good.

Lemon Scented Pasta

Ingredients

• Large pot of boiling water
• 2 – 3 Tbs of Kosher Salt
• 1 lemon, juiced
• The actual lemon that was just juiced
• 4 servings of angle hair pasta (or any shaped pasta of your choice)

Method

• Boil the water in a very large pot
• Add the salt, lemon juice and juiced lemon halves
• Add the pasta and cook according to package directions
• Drain the pasta and return to the pot you cooked it in.
• If you are serving with a dish that has a sauce, pour some of the sauce on the pasta before serving. 
• Or you can simply toss gently with
• 1 Tbs melted butter
• 1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• Some chopped flat leaf parsley

To serve

• This is great with lemon pasta, but would be equally good with shrimp, fish, or even sautéed zucchini or spring peas.
• Dust with Parmesan cheese

Dig in and enjoy!

Smile (Lemon Chicken Pasta)

Nothing guarantees a smile outta me like a text or email from our son, Will who has been attending college in Helena, Montana for the past three years. Anyone who has had a child go off to college knows the feeling. You devote 18 years of your life getting them ready to leave the nest. And then they do. Thank goodness for the Internet.

I got one of those emails the other day while we were driving cross-country. He was cooking dinner for a friend and wanted to know if I had any ideas. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree and Will knows his way around the kitchen, which is a good thing when you are an athlete.

So I tapped out my response – a lemon chicken pasta that I felt was sure to please. Turns out, he fixed something else (which is totally OK, and I want the recipe for the salad he made!). But tonight, after unpacking boxes for 9 hours I found myself walking down to Weaver Street Market to pick up the fixin’s.

And when Steve walked in the door after spending 9 hours of supervising (and helping) our moving crew as they transferred our all our worldly possessions into storage, I saw a smile on his face, too.

Here it is… give it a try… and hope you smile as well.

Lemon Chicken Pasta

(Serves 2 - usually with leftovers for lunch the next day. Scales well to serve 4 or 6)

Ingredients

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 Tbs flour
• 1 1/2 to 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil or butter (enough to coat the pan)
• ½ medium sized onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 3 large or 6 small mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Tbs fresh thyme
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 Tbs capers, drained
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• ½ box penne pasta, cooked
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley to garnish (optional)

Method

• Put a large pot of water on to boil, season with salt
• Add pasta, cook until al dente (about 8 minutes) then drain. Set aside.

While the pasta is boiling:

• Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then toss with the flour
• Melt the butter or warm the olive oil in a medium sized skillet over medium/high heat.
• Brown the chicken, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
• Add the onion to the pan. Cook until soft.
• Lower the heat… Add the mushrooms, garlic and thyme. Cook another 5 – 7 minutes, or until soft.
• Add the chicken back into the pan.
• Stir in the broth, scraping up any browned bits.
• Add the capers
• Now add the drained pasta

At this point you can turn the heat off and cover to keep warm.

• When you are ready to serve, heat the mixture up, add the lemon zest and juice. Continue heating until everything is warmed through.
• A bit of fresh parsley and Parmesan is a nice garnish.

Enjoy!

Escape Plan (Summer Pesto Chicken Pasta)

Sheryl and I met in college – my freshman year, her sophomore year – outside the big theater style room at Cal State Fullerton when we took a class called History of Radio, TV and Film. I remember thinking it was pretty darn cool to get to watch old movies and news clips for a grade. If this was college, I knew I was going to like it.

The class was a fairly early one, as I recall, and our friendship grew over coffee, bagels and cream cheese from the Student Union.

Since then, our friendship has had its peaks and valleys. With marriages, kids careers… there were times when we went months without talking and others when we talked every day. I often note that she’s the only “college friend” I have from that sea of students that passed through the CSUF Communications department during the years we were there. Frankly, I’ve never needed more.

So it is fitting that Sheryl would volunteer to drive cross-country with me when Steve and I make the big move to North Carolina later this month. Steve and our Scottish terrier, CurveBall, will head out first and arrive a few short days later to supervise the arrival of our life’s possessions. In true Steve Barnett style they will drive guy-style; stopping to eat, sleep and not much more.

Us girls…. Well, let’s just say we will take more leisurely approach.

Last night we got together to plan the trip. In true Sheryl fashion, she had the whole thing mapped out. Rest stops, hotels, and entertainment for a trip that will wind our way from Orange County to Chapel Hill via Flagstaff, Santa Fe, Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga and Asheville. Oklahoma City is in there somewhere, I think, but it is just a hotel stop. No offense, OK City.

We figure it will take a full week. I can’t wait!

Our evening was complete with great wine and a warm pasta dish that is great for an evening with friends on a hot summer night. Sheryl was a true pal and wrote down what I did so I could share it with you. I actually grilled an entire whole chicken (split and pressed flat) so that we’d have leftovers for next week. To simplify matters, I’m providing the recipe below using two large chicken breasts. The choice is yours.

Summer Pesto Chicken Pasta

Note, this is easier and faster than it appears… and is a great meal to cook with friends over a glass of wine. We like it in the summer because its served warm, with the “cooking” of the sauce coming from the heat of the pasta and chicken as it is tossed with the room temperature pesto and tomatoes. (Oh, and if by chance there are leftovers, it is amazing cold!)

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts, with bone and skin. Brined (see below)
• Emeril’s Original Essence seasoning and cracked black pepper – to cover both sides of the chicken
• 2 cups (firmly packed) fresh basil leaves. (This equates to an entire large package fo fresh basil from Trader Joes, or 1 large very large bunch from a farmer’s market. Stems removed.)
• Either ¾ cups walnuts or ½ cups pine nuts, toasted in a skillet until fragrant and then cooled
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Zest of 1 lemon
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, grated on a micro plane, or mashed into a paste (the idea here is that you want a hint of garlic and not raw chunks)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 large heirloom or 3 farm stand tomatoes (look for the heirlooms as their seed to flesh ration is much lower.
• 8 oz dry rigatoni pasta – and yes, you need to use rigatoni. Penne won’t stand up to this dish

Brining liquid

• ¼ cup kosher salt
• 1/8 cup Emeril’s Original Essence
• 1 clove of garlic, smashed
• Cold water to cover the chicken in a stockpot

Method:

Brine and Grill the Chicken

Mix the dry brining liquid ingredients in a stockpot; Add 1 or 2 inches of water; stir to dissolve the salt as much as possible. Add the chicken and the garlic. Cover the chicken with cold water. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 2 – 6 hours. (Trust me – this step is worth it and results in amazingly moist and tender meat. Once you brine poultry you will never go back!)

After the allotted time, remove the chicken and pat it dry. Dust it with Emeril’s Original Essence and fresh cracked pepper.

Grill on a medium high flame (gas) or ash white coals until done, typically about 5 – 7 minutes per side. Remove the chicken, tent with foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Then remove the skin and cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks. Cover with foil to keep warm.

Prep the Tomatoes and Pesto:

While the chicken is brining you can prepare the tomatoes and pesto.

To prepare the tomatoes, chop them into 1-inch chunks, place them in a medium sized bowl and sprinkle them with a pinch of kosher salt and a few grinds of pepper. Set them on the kitchen counter until needed. DO NOT put in the refrigerator.

Then make the pesto. In a food processor, pulse the basil, nuts, lemon juice, lemon zest, water, garlic and salt until well chopped. Then whirl in the processor as you stream in the olive oil. Scrape the sides mid-way. Do not add the cheese. That comes later. Scrape this mixture into a large bowl. Don’t be alarmed if this tastes bland. The flavors need to come together, plus it is lacking cheese, which will come later. (Sheryl told me to make sure to tell you that.)

Toss the tomatoes with a little salt and pepper and allow them to rest in a separate bowl. If you can’t find heirlooms and need to use everyday tomatoes, slice them in half before you cut them into chunks and squeeze out as much of the water and seeds as possible. You will appreciate this extra step later when your sauce is not watery.

Cook the Pasta

Fill a large stockpot with water, bring to a boil and add a handful of kosher salt. Cook the pasta until al dente, typically about 8 – 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly

Assemble the dish

Add to the bowl of pesto in this order, stirring after each ingredient:

• Tomatoes
• Pasta
• Chicken
• Cheese

Serve with a dusting of Parmesan cheese and a grind or two of fresh cracked black pepper.

Enjoy!