Dinner & Dessert

Between work, school, and life, I haven't had much time left over for things like posting to my blog. For this, I apologize. There won't be a lot of substance to this post in terms of personal opinion, anecdotes, or more of what I've learned. Rather, I've decided to post two recipes this week instead of just one. I did get the chance to make a good dinner for Scooter and me last night (including dessert!), so I figured I'd share more recipes instead of cutting this post short. So I have for you, my readers, dinner and dessert: beef stroganoff and creme brulee.

First, the beef stroganoff.
What you'll need:
2 lbs. beef chuck roast
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
4 oz. butter (1 stick)
4 green onions, sliced
4 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 10.5-oz. can of beef broth
1 tsp. mustard (I used honey Dijon)
1 6-oz. can of sliced mushrooms
1/2 c. sour cream
1/3 c. white wine

What you'll need to do:
1. Trim off any fat and gristle from the meat and cut into strips 1/2 inch thick and 2 inches long. Put into a bowl and season with the salt and pepper. Feel free to add a little more salt and pepper if you want (I did).
2. In a large frying pan, melt the butter and quickly brown the beef strips over medium-high heat. Once the meat is browned, reduce to medium heat and put the meat to one side of the pan. Add the onions and cook slowly for 3-5 minutes, then push to the side with the meat.
3. Stir the flour into the juices on the empty side of the pan. Pour in the beef broth, mix well, and bring the pan to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat to low and stir in the mustard. Cover and simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is tender.
4. Five minutes before serving, stir in the mushrooms, sour cream, and white wine. Bring the heat back up to medium for 1-2 minutes, then remove the pan from the stove. Salt and pepper to taste (if desired) and serve over egg noodles.

The original recipe can be found here. I added more sour cream than the recipe called for because I like a creamier flavor. Serve with vegetables on the side and a nice glass of wine (the recipe recommends a syrah).

Now for dessert: the creme brulee!
What you'll need:
4 c. heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. sugar
6 egg yolks
1/2 c. brown sugar
6 custard dishes

What you'll need to do:
1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and vanilla to simmer. Remove from heat and let it sit for 10 minutes.
3. In a bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks together. Whisk in the cream until everything is well-blended. Pour the mixture into custard dishes.
4. Place the dished into a large baking dish. Pour boiling water into the baking dish so that the water level comes half way up the custard dishes.
5. Put the baking dish into the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Take the custard dishes out of the baking dish and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
6. When you're just about ready to serve dessert, top each custard dish with the brown sugar. You can either melt the sugar under the oven broiler until it bubbles or use a kitchen torch to melt it.

Voila! You are finished. I don't remember where I originally got this recipe (I've had it for years), but it's really easy, and creme brulee is such a fun thing to serve. You can also add cocoa powder to the mix before baking it if you want to add a little chocolate flavor. Serve with fruit or a light cookie (like a Madeline or Lady's Fingers) on the side if you wish.

I hope you enjoy these recipes!