Menus On The Fly - A Roger Bertholf Recipe



From The Artful Roger:

Panic time--what to fix for dinner? Calmed my nerves with a Busch Light, and weighed the options. Marsha had thawed some cut up chicken, and my intuition said she had chicken pot pie in mind. I ran the idea by Abby, and got a lukewarm response. It was time to improvise. I espied the leftovers from the pot roast I put in the crock pot Sunday morning for our pre-conference championship repast--it's nice when the games start at 3 o'clock (EST) because it allows an extra couple of hours to get everyone fed before kickoff. Not that the games involved any particular loyalties. But they were, after all, two of the last three NFL games before the long wait for the 2005 season to start next August, and they would decide who would visit Jacksonville for the Super Bowl, a matter of unique interest to me. But I digress.

Then it hit me: Stroganoff. Here's the plan:

1 lb. (or so) meat*, cut into 3/4 in squares
1 large onion, sliced but not diced
1 10-3/4 oz can beef broth, thickened slightly with corn starch
1 10-3/4 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
Another beer for the cook
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil (extra virgin--I just found out what that meant a few weeks ago)
What's left of a 16 oz container of sour cream, after Abby made dip the previous night (about 8 oz.)
Salt and pepper
8 oz medium egg noodles

*Stroganoff is usually made with a better cut of beef--top sirloin or something like that--but the pot roast leftovers worked just fine.

Brown the meat in the olive oil and set aside. Sautee the onions and garlic in the same pan with the remainder of the oil and beef drippings. Add the beef broth, mushroom soup, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.. Boil gently and then reduce heat to simmer. Cook the noodles per instructions. Fold the sour cream into the simmering beef mixture, and reduce heat to low. Serve stroganoff over drained al dente noodles.

Might serve a family of six, unless the family includes a 17 year old boy, in which case it will satisfy four, maybe. A little steamed and buttered brocolli on the side finished it off. I got compliments, even from the real chef, so I've added this improvisation to my repertoire.

Oh yes, I would have added some sliced fresh mushrooms, if we'd had them. Maybe some chopped parsely next time, too. And another beer for the cook couldn't hurt.

Posted: Wed - January 26, 2005 at 04:58 PM        

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