Today for lunch, Michele fried some sweet Italian sausage and served them on toasted, garlic-rubbed bread. Next to it was an ordinary green salad, made extraordinary with her kumquat and blood orange dressing. It was a perfect early spring lunch.
Beef Stroganoff is one of my favorite recipes of all time, but not the classic Russian version, which had neither mushrooms nor onions, and was served over rice or fried potatoes.
No, I prefer this this Americanized rendition that gets to sit on a pile of wide buttered egg noodles. There’s something about the rich, creamy, tender beef wrapped inside those fat ribbons of pasta that really does it for me.
Speaking of tender beef, this isn’t the quick-seared beef tenderloin filet you often see used in restaurants. That version is nice once in a while, but I prefer this slower, beefier recipe, which uses a much less expensive beef chuck roast. That’s right, more money for vodka!
One big reason I love beef Stroganoff so much is the sauce that features a substantial amount of sour cream. Of course, that’s great news when you have access to the world’s finest homemade sour cream supply, as demonstrated in the recent creme fraiche video.
This is a fairly lean version, as most similar recipes call for more cream to create a larger volume of sauce. This is something you can easily adjust to your tastes. I like a little thicker version, with just enough sauce to coat the meat and noodles.
Remember, the great thing about creme fraiche is you can cook it to reduce and thicken the sauce if need be. So, start a batch of creme fraiche soon, and you’ll have 2 days to plan the rest of beef Stroganoff dinner. Prijatnovo appetita!
Crème fraiche is French for "fresh cream," which makes it one of the most ironically named foods ever, since it's made by leaving cream out in a warm spot until it’s soured and thickened by a growing colony of bacteria. Yeah, fresh.
Regardless, making crème fraiche is very easy and as the title implies, once you taste the magic of homemade sour cream, you'll have a hard time not repeating this somewhat esoteric exercise. Sure it takes a couple days, but the effort is minimal for such a marvelous payoff.
As I mention in the video, besides the amazing taste and luxurious texture, maybe the best thing about crème fraiche is its ability to be cooked. Because of it's composition and fat content, it doesn’t curdle and separate when you heat it like sour cream.
This makes it an incredibly versatile addition to countless recipes. I can't think of many pan sauces that don’t benefit from a spoon or two. Yesterday on this blog, you saw it stirred into fried rice. Next week, you'll see it turn an ordinary pan of braised beef into a world-class Stroganoff. I could go on and on, and for SEO purposes I probably should, but you get the idea.
As long as your jars and utensils are very clean, preferably sterilized, there isn’t a lot that can go wrong. Be sure to get your hands on the best, freshest cream you can find. In the supermarket you'll want to look for "pasteurized," not "ultra-pasteurized" heavy whipping cream. Also, be sure to use cultured buttermilk otherwise you’re going to be waiting a full day to see nothing happen.
By the way, I'm extremely proud of this video recipe and blog post, but not for the usual reasons. It's because I didn’t make one single Randy Marsh joke! You South Park fans know what I'm talking about, and those of you that don’t should really check out this crème fraiche-themed episode. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons cultured buttermilk
Mix together and leave in a warm spot (about 70-75 degrees F.) for 24 hours, or until thick. Refrigerate for 24 hours before using. Should last a week or two.
This is not a tease for an upcoming fried rice video. As magnificent a meal as it was, this was simply the result of using up some leftover Thai takeout. However, this is a little tease for an upcoming crème fraiche video. A chef I used to work for would mix sour cream and herbs into leftover rice pilaf, and bake it in a casserole to create a new side dish. I believe that's what possessed me to add the dollop at the end. Enjoy and stay tuned!
This pickled grilled vegetables technique was my favorite new discovery on the Kingsford University trip. It's quite a simple, and seemingly obvious trick, yet it never occurred to me. It's times like these when I'm faced with the tragic realization that I'm not as smart and creative as I think I am.
Basically, small pickling cucumbers (which I've always called, "pickles," even if they aren’t pickled yet, just to be confusing), as well as other firm vegetables, are seared briefly over very hot charcoal, before being packed in the sweet and sour pickling liquid.
The grilling imparts a subtle smokiness, as well as a little extra sweetness from the caramelization of the vegetables. I can see these being a regular fixture on the picnic table during the upcoming grilling season. What a perfect compliment to a platter of barbecued pork, or grilled chicken.
These tasted great after just one day, and even better after three. Please don't ask me how long they will last in the fridge, as I believe they should be eaten before that would become any kind of issue. I hope you give it a try, and be sure to tell me all the fabulous ways you flavored your pickling liquid. Enjoy!
Some leftover barbecued pork belly from Sneaky's Barbecue was crisped-up in it's own smoky fat. The thin, red Carolina-style pepper sauce was drizzled around, and then two eggs were cooked to just-set in the sizzling pool. A perfect breakfast-for-lunch experience.
Well, the rain finally broke and I was able to dust off the old grill and film the pickled grilled pickles video I teased after the Kingsford University trip. To the right of those you'll see a jar of homemade Crème Fraîche, inspired by comments on our handmade butter post. Stay tuned!
This light and spicy tomato crab bisque is one of my all-time favorite "need something gourmet at the last minute" emergency recipes. It's easy to shop for, requires very little effort, and only takes about 10 to 15 minutes to pull off. Of course, none of that would matter if it didn’t taste any good, but that's really not a problem here.
Besides its ability to impersonate a special occasion soup, this crab bisque also tastes fantastic…if you use a decent, preferably all natural brand of soup. There are lots of choices, especially if you are shopping at stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joes.
I'm using Pacific Natural's Organic Creamy Tomato Soup, which seems to be easy find. The ingredient list isn't the least bit scary, and it has a nice rich flavor that pairs perfectly with the sweet shellfish.
The green onion and Old Bay butter sizzle at the beginning is the only real work, but it's two-minutes very well spent. By the way, this isn't a thick style bisque, so if you do want something sturdier, then add an extra spoon of butter and 2 spoons of flour to the green onion step (be sure to cook out the raw taste of the flour).
For the crab, you could use canned in a pinch, but most of the larger grocery store chains (the ones with the good soup) will carry 8-oz tubs of lump crabmeat, and it really is worth the extra cash.
After the crab, and a healthy does of cayenne, the only other decision is whether you use cream. It is technically optional, but highly recommended, and as you'll see, I like it swirled on top. You can also stir it in with the crab and save a step, but you'll miss out on the, "random fractal of butter fatty goodness," I mention in the video. Enjoy!
