I hope all of you had a pleasant Easter, taking time to reflect on what the importance of the day was for you, in whatever that was, spiritual, candy, bunnies. Regardless of your own personal reflections for the day, I'm sure this lock down made it a unique one.
In anticipation of the day, I set to marinating a chuck roast on Saturday, letting it sit overnight. When it was time, I tossed it in the oven on a low heat, and let it go for a few hours. Accompanying it was a batch of homemade scalloped potatoes. Once everything was all cooked up, I took the pan drippings and made a quick gravy. The end result of everything was quite tasty.
Of course, there were plenty of leftovers, which meant I was quick to thinking about what to do with all of it. Sure, I could throw it on a plate the next day and have round two, but nah. That's no fun. My girlfriend actually ended up keeping the potatoes for herself, so I didn't have to worry about those. However, had I, they would have been the start of a hearty potato soup.
The meat, on the other hand, that was mine to do with as I pleased. And do, I did. Before I was even done with dinner, I had the plan of stroganoff in my mind as a tasty way to zsoosh up another meal.
First and foremost, I needed a sauce. For this, I sliced up an onion and threw it in a pan with a bit of butter. As those got tender, I tossed in two tablespoons of chopped parsley and a teaspoon of thyme. To that, I added 1/4 a cup of white wine, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, a tablespoon of minced garlic, one can of beef broth and 1/2 a cup of heavy cream. I seasoned all of this to taste with a dash of salt and a whole lot of pepper.
I tossed in the leftover meat, slapped a lid on it and let it simmer on low for an hour, letting all those delicious things hang out and get acquainted. This also served the purpose of slow cooking up the meat to make it moist and tender.
After an hour, I took my leftover gravy, which was about a cup, and threw it in the pan. The lid went back on and it simmered another forty minutes. This was probably the smartest thing I did with this dish, because that gravy blasted it with a hearty beef flavor.
Now stroganoff needs noodles. But you know what's great about noodles? They'll cook in any liquid you put them in. Best of all, they'll absorb the flavor of what they're cooking in. You guessed it. In the pot they went with the sauce and meat, lid on to avoid evaporation. Another nine minutes of simmering, and the end result was well worth the wait.
Delicious! See how the noodles are brownish from absorbing all of that sauce, versus the yellowish white they would have been if cooked in water? That's flavor town! Always cook your noodles in the sauce they are for.
Mushrooms typically go in stroganoff, but I didn't have any. Honestly, I didn't miss them either. This was perfect the way it was.
There are several serving left in this pan, and I have to admit, I'm way excited to have another plate for lunch tomorrow. This was delicious! Much more so than round one. There may be something to this leftovers thing.
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