Sketchbook Wednesday - Beef Stroganoff

After a lengthy blog break, I thought I'd try to start up again.

After a month of #inktober sketchbook journaling, (you can see them all on instagram. My instagram name is tlchang37 if you want to see them, or follow along) with requests for things like actual recipes and instructions, so this month, I will attempt to do so.

However, much of my cooking uses things like recipes as a guild line, rather than rules. I'm listing the ingredients I use and some directions that may help, but outside of baking, the rest of my cooking is more by taste and what ingredients I have on hand.

That said, this is what I did for this latest batch of Beef Stroganoff.

Stroganoff happens at my house when we have leftover Sunday roast.

I started off heating some olive oil in a large frying pan and added a few cloves of crushed garlic. 

When they turned golden I added a diced onion and continue sauteing until they were golden brown.

Add some butter to the pan, and then add sliced mushrooms.  Saute until they are as done as you would like (I like them very done. Browned and starting to caramelize). Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Add roast beef (cut into bite-sized pieces), and just cover with beef stock. If you don't have any stock, use beef bouillon dissolved in warm water. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. (If you are using raw beef, rather than pre-cooked, you need to simmer long enough to cook it through before proceeding further).

While this is simmering start adding the dairy. Many recipes use milk or cream. We like it really tart in our house, so we add sour cream. A bunch. Sour cream is quite thin though, so I also add cream cheese. Up to an entire brick. Stir until it melts and incorporates.

Add a generous splash of Worcestershire sauce.

If this is not tart enough for you (which it never is for us), add lemon juice - to taste. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Play with spices!  You can also add other veggies you have on hand.

It will thicken up as it cools. Serve over rice, pasta, quinoa (my favorite) or greens (I had leftover stroganoff over sauteed zucchini tonight).  

Let me know in the comments what you do with stroganoff, or let me know if you try this out and how it works for you.

At the very least, let me know if this is a useful thing, and if I should blog more of it in the future..?

Happy cooking!