Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy (#6)

Pork chops,  baked,  because they were over 1" thick prepared following Joy of Cooking recipe coupled with Mushroom gravy from my 1950 The American Woman's Cook Book.  The pork chops were delicious,  the mushroom gravy was more white sauce with mushrooms in it,  pretty good but not as good as gravy.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

All-American Apple Pie

Awesome apple pie made with Golden Delicious apples,  took 45 minutes.  Recipe from Farm Journal's Best-Ever Pies, 1981.

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Doughnuts

Today I made cake doughnuts from my 1945 edition of the Boston Cooking School Cook Book.  

After mixing the dough I struggled with frying them up.   At 370 they kept overlooking,  350 seemed to work best for a light brown,  well raised doughnut.   If it dropped below 350 the center of the doughnut may not fully cook.

Overall good but easier to just buy some.

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Cream Scones

My New Year's Resolution this year is to cook recipes from my cookbooks.   I think I'm going to try for 1 a week,  with the goal of 50 new recipes this year.  I will do extras when I know I'll be gone.

I started this morning with Cream Scones from the Boston Cooking School Cook Book 1945.    Delicious.   The egg whites and sugar on top made the crust crisp.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Beef Stroganoff


Beef Stroganoff  (from http://guiltykitchen.com/2011/01/11/beef-stroganoff/)

Yield: 2-3 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
13 oz beef steak (hanger, skirt, strip, rib eye, sirloin...) sliced VERY thin. (mine was already cooked but it would be better raw)
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 small onions (or one small onion and two  small shallots), sliced into strips or diced
12 oz crimini or button mushrooms, quartered  (I used sliced brown button mushrooms)
1 clove garlic, minced or grated
sea or kosher salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste
1 tbsp paprika
1 cup beef stock (I used water)
1/2 cup red wine (I used apothic red, it was good but it should be reduced to 1/4 - 1/3 c)
2/3 cup sour cream (full fat or light)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 small sour pickle, julienned (optional) (I did not use these)

1. Heat 2 tbsp of butter in a heavy bottomed, deep sided sauté pan or Dutch oven.
2. Add onions and garlic and sauté for 5-10 minutes or until they are slightly golden in colour. Sprinkle with flour and stir to combine. Pour in stock and redwine, add 1/2 tsp salt, stirring to ensure there are no lumps. Allow flour to cook for 2-4 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside. (Save yourself from dirtying two pans by completely removing onions from pan and setting in a bowl or other dish.)
3.  Season sliced beef with salt, pepper and paprika.
4. Heat 1 tbsp of butter in pan on high heat. Add mushrooms and brown for about 2-3 minutes. Add meat and sear for two minutes.
5. Add onion/stock mix to mushrooms. Stir in sour cream and Worcestershire, and remove from heat.
6. Serve over fresh pasta (recipe follows) or store bought egg noodles cooked to package directions (al dente). Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and julienned pickles if desired.

Fresh Egg Pasta

Yield: 3-4 servings
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 3-5 minutes
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup semolina flour
4 large eggs

1. Remove all jewelery on the hands and wrists! Believe me, you don’t want to have them anywhere near this stuff.
2. In a bowl, mix the two flours until well combined. Pour out onto a clean, dry surface and form a well by making a depression in the pile.
3. Crack the eggs into the well and dig in with your hands, mixing the egg into the flour.
4. Continue mixing until you have so much egg and flour stuck to your hands you can’t stand it anymore. Scrape off your hands, go wash them and return to the business at hand. Continue to knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 5-10 minutes.

5. Form into a ball, cover in a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes- 2 hours.
6. When ready to roll out, flour the surface to be rolled on very well. Also rub some flour on the dough and continue to do so well you roll it out. Cut the dough into two pieces and either run through a pasta machine until thin or roll out with a rolling pin until quite thin (Even your kids can help!). The preferred shape for this dish is long and about 1 cm in width. I use a pizza cutter to slice it, but a knife works equally well.
7. Lay the pasta, once cut, onto a broom handle laying across the kitchen or somewhere else you can hang your pasta. This prevents it from sticking together and becoming unusable. (Wash the handle first!)

8. Bring a large pot 2/3 full of water to a boil, add 1-2 tsp of salt and add pasta. Boil for 3-5 minutes for al dente. Check the pasta by fishing a piece out and biting it. Is it to the desired consistency? If so drain and serve!