Beef Stroganoff, 2

We made another beef stroganoff for lunch today, tihs time following a recipe from an excellent cookbook: Mike's parents' compilation of recipes. We made a few adjustments, and here it is:

250g beef stroganoff, seasoned with salt (or meat tenderizer) and pepper
1 tbsp butter
1/2 onion, chopped finally
1/2 cup beef broth thicketned with 1-1/2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp red wine
1 tsp Worcestorshire sauce
1/2 can mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream, yogurt, or cream
salt and pepper to taste

Sautree onions in butter. Add beef and sautee until brown. Add beef broth, mustard, wine, and Worcestorshire sauce. Simmer for 10-15 minutes (longer to tenderize beef). Five minutes before serving add mushrooms, sour cream, and salt & pepper to taste. Serve on spaghetti pasta or rice.

Serves 2.

Yum! This version was a lot thicker than my last attempt, because of the flour; I realize that when serving the stogranoff with pasta (which is what we did), it's important to have thick sauce, so that the sauce coats the pasta properly. With rice, the flour isn't necessary, methinks.

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Moussaka, with eggplant

We tried to put together a moussaka again today, this time with the eggplant. Here's what we did. Updated on August 27th. We tried it again, this time with a bechamel sauce. It's optional, though, and you can just do it with a regular cheese mix. I've listed both options below.

Ingredients:

250 g lean ground beef
garlic salt
pepper
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/8 cup red wine
2 tbsp English brown sauce (ketchup will also do)
2 tomatoes, diced
olive oil
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
dash of Tabasco
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 an eggplant (we don't like eggplants much, so we kept it to a minimum), sliced

Cheese Mix/Bechamel Sauce:

For an easy cheese mix: 1 egg, beaten and 1-1/2 cups quickmelt cheese, grated

For bechamel sauce, also add:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tbsp flour
1 additional egg, beaten

1. Chop eggplant into small pieces and put in a cup with salt water. Allow to sit.

2. Mix the tomato sauce, brown sauce, red wine, garlic salt (to taste) and pepper (to taste) into the beef.

3. Caramelize the onions in olive oil. Add the beef until brown. Simmer until dry.

4. While beef is simmering, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Celsius.

5. Rinse the eggplant pieces, then fry the eggplant in olive oil in a separate pan.

6. Prepare the easy cheese mix by beating the egg and mix in the grated cheese. To make the bechamel sauce instead, heat the milk and add the flour little by little, stirring constantly. Mix in the cheese and eggs, stirring until sauce has thickened. Remove from fire and allow to rest.

7. When beef is done, season with nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and Tabasco. Mix in the tomatoes.

8. Place a layer of the eggplant on the bottom of a baking pan. Pour beef as the second layer. Top with the cheese mix/bechamel sauce.

9. Bake for 20 minutes.

Yummy! Tastier than our last attempt, and cheesier. We didn't simmer the beef enough, though, so next time we'll dry the beef better. It took more work, but this is probably more authentic because it has a proper sauce. Nonetheless, it's also good with just the simple cheese mix.

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Baked pork loin with apples

Because of the Christmas season, our house has an overabundance of apples. My aunt gave me several apples to bring home from noche buena, and I already had two apples in the fridge. So today, I decided to baptize our new gas oven by attempting a dish that uses apples. I used Fuji apples for this dish.



Ingredients:

250g single piece of boneless pork loin
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 apple, cored and sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1/4 cup red wine
1-1/2 tbsp sugar

Rub:

1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

For the additional sauce (optional):

1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp sugar


Combine rub ingredients in a bowl. Rub over roast. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 165 degrees C (325 degrees F).

Heat oil in a non-stick pan and brown pork loin in the oil for about 4 minutes, turning every minute so that all sides are browned.

Place pork loin in a roasting pan and bake uncovered in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

While pork loin is baking, arrange 3/4 of the slices of apple and all of the onion slices on the bottom of a separate baking dish. Sprinkle sugar and cinammon powder on top of slices. Set aside.

After pork loin has baked for 30 minutes, remove from oven. Discard fat. Transfer pork loin to the other baking dish, on top of the apples and onions. Pour 1/4 cup red wine over everything.

Allow pork loin to bake uncovered for another 30 to 45 minutes, until done. (The length of time will depend on how thick the cut of the pork loin is. Check to see that pork is cooked through. If you have a cooking thermometer--which I don't--the internal temperature of the pork should be 70 degrees C/160 degrees F.)

To make additional sauce, chop the remaining apple slices. Combine with 1/4 cup red wine, 1/4 cup water, and 1 tbsp sugar. (Adjust amount of sugar to taste.) Cook and stir uncovered over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Serve.

Serves 2.
Calorie count: 460 per serving (based on recommended portion size)

Do you have any tips for consuming your oversupply of Christmas food?

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Beef Stroganoff

Here's my experimental beef stroganoff. Updated on November 21. I'll keep trying to improve it.

Ingredients:

salt
200 g beef, sliced into strips
1 cup sour cream
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 can champignon mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp butter
dried oregano
1/4 cup beef broth

Marinade:

2 tbsp red wine
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/8 onion
pepper

Rub the beef with salt, then marinate for at least 30 minutes. Over medium heat, sautee the onion and garlic in butter. Add beef and beef broth. Simmer until beef is tender and broth is almost gone (around 1 hour). Add mushrooms. Season with dried oregano. When mushrooms are cooked, lower heat and stir in the sour cream little by little. Simmer awhile to thicken.

Serve on rice or pasta.

Serves 2.

Preparation time: 30 minutes.
Cooking time: a little more than an hour.
Estimated calorie count per serving (including 1 cup rice): 750 calories

Arugula salad with grapes and feta cheese

salad lettuce
arugula
feta cheese, crumbled or cubed
seedless red grapes, halved

Dressing:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp red wine
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper

Arugula is good for you but it's bitter. In this recipe, the red grapes and feta cheese balance out the bitterness of the arugula. Toss well, so that every bite of the salad has a bit of everything.

I'm still trying to improve on the dressing, though (the basics of which I got from the Internet). It's okay, but not great.