Stroganoff vs strogonoff

Meatballs Stroganoff
The Essential Pasta Cookbook Copyright 1998

1 lb macaroni I used gemelli since this called for non-elbow macaroni which I could not find
1 ½ lb lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2-3 tablespoons plain flour
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons oil
1 ¾ oz butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced
8 oz small button mushrooms, halved
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2-3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¼ cup white wine
½ cup beef stock
¾ cup sour cream
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1. Cook the macaroni in a large pan of rapidly boiling water until al dente. Drain; keep warm.
2. Combine the beef, garlic and some salt and pepper in a bowl. Use your hands to mix well. Roll 2 heaped teaspoons of the mince into balls. Combine the flour, paprika and some freshly ground black pepper on a clean surface or sheet of greaseproof paper. Dust the meatballs in the seasoned flour.
3. Heat the oil and half the butter in a frying pan. When foaming, cook the meatballs over medium heat, in batches, until brown. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.
4. Melt the remaining butter in the pan, add the onion and cook until soft. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are tender. Pour in the combined tomato paste, mustard, wine and stock. Return the meatballs to the pan and gently reheat. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste. Stir the sour cream through until smooth. Sprinkle with a little parsley and serve with the pasta.


One of the first recipes I made on this blog was Meatballs Strogonoff (yes, that’s how it was spelled in that cookbook). I deemed it okay at the time. This recipe, however, was so much better. Much more complex yet quite easy to throw together. My son even liked this (well, the noodles and sauce). Once again, though, the meatballs weren't as tender as I would have liked them to be. Lean beef with no fillers is just not going to give you a tender meatball.

Another good recipe from this gorgeous pasta cookbook. Sadly, after years of drooling over the food porn in this cookbook, I think the binding is starting to go. I hope it doesn't start losing pages.

She must own stock in butter

Sausage-Rice Casserole
The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook Copyright 1997, 1998

One 6-ounce box Uncle Ben’s long grain and wild rice
1 pound ground sausage
2 small onions, chopped
One 4-ounce can mushroom pieces
One 10 ¾ ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) of butter I omitted this

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook rice according to directions on box. In a heavy skillet over medium heat, cook sausage until thoroughly done, about 4 to 5 minutes; drain. (I cooked the sausage and onions together until sausage was completely cooked and onions were translucent – more than 5 minutes.) Combine all ingredients except butter and our into a casserole dish. Dot top with butter.(or don't!) Bake until bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Serves 4

I love Paula Deen to death but her recipes tend to be excessive. I can’t imagine what that ½ stick of butter would add to this recipe. It was delicious (and quite rich from the pork fat) without it. And most nutritionist would probably agree that this would serve more than 4 people but it is too good to stop eating after a proper portion. This is definitely a keeper.

I’ve had this cookbook for almost a year and this is the first recipe I’ve tried. I have faith that these recipes are all delicious but just reading this cookbook will harden a few arteries, never mind cooking from it. She adds a cup of sour cream to a meat loaf recipe! Her Pineapple Casserole (a side dish) has 1 cup of sugar, 2 cups of cheese and a stick of butter. I plan on trying many more of her recipes but I’ll have to ration them, maybe one per month.

You're fired!

Devil's Food Cake
The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion Copyright 2003

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) soft butter
1 3/4 cups superfine or granulated sugar I used superfine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3/4 cup natural cocoa powder
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk or water I used milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and salt till fluffy and light, beating for at least 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa and baking powder. If lumps remain, sift the mixture. Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix together the milk or water and the vanilla. Add one-third of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, then add half the milk, another third of the flour, the remaining milk, and the remaining flour. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally throughout this process. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans, three 8-inch round pans, or a 13 x 9-inch sheet cake pan. Wrap the pans with Magi-Cake Strips(r), to prevent doming, if desired. Bake the cakes in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes (a bit longer for the sheet cake), until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, and the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove the cake(s) from the oven, cool them for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove them from the pan (leave the sheet cake in the pan, for easiest serving). Yield: Two 9-inch or three 8-inch rounds, or a 13 x 9-inch sheet cake.

I used the yellow cake recipe from this cookbook for my Halloween cupcakes and it was great. So I tried their Devil's Food Cake recipe for my mother's birthday cake. It came out kind of dry. I think I may have overbaked it. It wasn't acceptable and I decided to bag it and try another recipe. I ended up making a recipe (very good!) off of the box of cake flour that I had in the cupboard. I froze this cake and took it out to bring to my co-workers. It wasn't so bad I was going to throw it out, just not good enough for birthday honors. I thought freezing it might have helped but it still wasn't as moist as I would have liked. I frosted it with my mother-in-law's peanut butter frosting recipe (nope, I'm not sharing that!) and that made up for the lackluster cake.

I'm surprised to be disappointed by a King Arthur recipe so I really do think this was user error. Never bake a cake while watching the Apprentice, especially if it's due to come out of the oven around the time the candidates are in the boardroom.

Mmmm good

Horn and Hardart’s Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Great American Food Almanac Copyright 1986

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
1 ½ cups milk
2 tablespoons light cream I had some heavy cream left over from pie making
1 ½ tablespoons butter
1 ½ tablespoons flour
1 ½ cups shredded Cheddar cheese I used a pre-shredded blend of American and Cheddar Jack
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and white pepper
¼ cup finely chopped canned tomatoes I used petite diced
½ teaspoon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook the macaroni, uncovered, in 6 quarts of rapidly boiling salted water for 8-12 minutes until al dente. Drain well.
3. Combine the milk and cream in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. I nuked it.
4. While the milk warms, heat the butter in another saucepan over low heat for 1 minute until foaming. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. I didn’t let this go 3 minutes, more like 1.
5. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture, and cook, stirring with a wire whisk or wooden spoon for a few minutes, until thickened.
6. Add the cheese to the white sauce, about ¼ cup at a time, stirring until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth. Add the cayenne pepper and season to taste with salt and white pepper.
7. Stir the tomatoes and sugar into the cheese sauce.
8. Combine the cooked macaroni with the sauce, and pour into a buttered 1 ½ quart baking dish.
9. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until the top is nicely browned.

Serves 4.

I don’t know if this really tastes like Horn and Hardart’s Baked Macaroni and Cheese but this is darn good. It could be the best I've ever made. Nice and cheesy. When left to my own devices I tend to add to much macaroni but following a recipe forces me to do it right. I like the addition of the tomatoes.

This isn’t really a cookbook. It describes itself as ‘an organized scrapbook of food facts, fancies, and foibles, useful, diverting and full of surprises’. Now we have the internet and Food TV but in 1986, most people still read books to discover food facts, fancies, and foibles. There are only about 20 recipes in the book. There’s one for a chicken covered in 24K gold. I don’t think I’ll be trying that one anytime soon but I’ll be making this one again.

Yet another Thanksgiving pie

Butterscotch Pie
The New York Times Cookbook Copyright 1961

6 tablespoons butter
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 ¼ cups water
1 egg yolk (I always use 2 because I’m paranoid that one little egg yolk isn’t going to do the job)
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
¼ cup cold water
1 pint vanilla ice cream (must be Haagen Daaz or this recipe is at your own risk)
Almond Crust*
½ cup heavy cream, whipped I let everyone top with whatever they prefer (whipped cream, Cool Whip, etc)
Slivered almonds, toasted I omit

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the sugar and water and heat to boil. Combine a little of the mixture with the lightly beaten egg yolk, then add to the mixture in the saucepan. (This can be tricky and sometimes I have to strain out a few strands of cooked egg yolk.)
2. Soften the gelatin in cold water. Stir it into the sugar mixture until gelatin dissolves. Add the ice cream, cut into pieces, and stir until melted.
3. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator until slightly thickened but not set. Turn into the prepared pie crust and chill until firmly set. When read to serve, garnish with whipped cream and sprinkle with nuts.

*NOTE- I’ve always used a graham cracker crust. Homemade is better - if you use store bought you won’t fit in all the filling. The Almond Crust recipe from this cookbook is 1 ½ cups blanched almonds, finely chopped, 1 stiffly beaten egg white and ¼ cup sugar baked until lightly brown in a 375 degree oven (for 9-inch pie).

I’ve been making this recipe for years on Thanksgiving. It’s my brother’s favorite and over the years it’s become one of mine, something I didn’t realize until this year. I believe the secret to this pie is that I always use Haagen Daaz. What wouldn’t taste good with a pint of Haagen Daaz vanilla ice cream mixed into it?

This isn’t an attractive pie in it’s unadorned state (this year it had a scar from the plastic wrap I used to cover it) but everyone in my family has different preferences when it comes to pie toppings so I leave it plain. The filling has quite a jiggle to it, from the gelatin, so it’s difficult to cut a small slice but it has a wonderful creamy texture and a delicious flavor when you taste it. Look at the ingredients – butter, dark brown sugar, vanilla ice cream (I insist you use Haagen Daaz which is always on sale the week before Thanksgiving) – you can imagine how good this is.

The New York Times Cookbook is a classic. It was one of my first cookbooks, purchased from the return bin for $1, at the book warehouse where I had a summer job in college. Truth be told, this may be the only recipe I've ever tried from this cookbook but it makes the book well worth the buck. I assume many of the other recipes were popular in the 50s and 60s but seem a bit outdated now.