In Honor of the 2014 Winter Olympics

Classic Beef Stroganoff

Today is the opening ceremony for the XXII Olympic Winter games which is being held in Sochi, Russia. My family is very excited about the Olympics this year. I think they are so excited because they are such avid skiers now, plus when you ask them what they want to be when they grow up they say a professional skier in the Olympics. They've gotten to be such good skiers it wouldn't surprise me if they did make it to the Olympics. It also helps that the resort they ski and train at, Holiday Valley, is where Olympian Travis Mayer grew up skiing. Travis proudly took the Silver for Freestyle Skiing in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and he also participated in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. So tonight, in honor of the 2014 Winter Olympics, I am making Russian cuisine. I wasn't sure what to expect when I looked up russian recipes but surprisingly Beef Stroganoff is a dish from that region. Maybe that was a well known fact to most but I honestly had no idea it was russian.  I also found out that Borscht Soup is part of the russian cuisine!!! Which don't forget I made borscht soup last week for our Polish themed Gourmet Club! When I looked on a map I see that Poland and Russia practically border each other....yep, you guessed it, I wasn't scoring any A's in high school geography class. I guess it also makes sense now that Dave said he was 99.9% Polish and .1% Russian!

For our Olympic themed dinner, I decided to make Beef Stroganoff. I love this dish because it's so simple but so rich in flavor. I served it over buttery egg noodles. What a classic combination. And to top it off, I made a Black Russian Cocktail over Ice Cream for dessert!  Oh my gosh this dessert cocktail was absolutely amazing! (I used my Aunt Sandy's homemade kahlua and it's the best! She makes kahlua and baileys for us every Christmas. It's such a treat!) The boys equally enjoyed their kid friendly version. Salute to the 2014 Winter Olympics!

Black Russian Cocktail over Ice Cream

Classic Beef Stroganoff (Click for printable recipe)

Serves 4 

Ingredients:

2 lbs. strip steack, sliced 1/2 inch pieces
4 tb butter
2 tb olive oil
salt n pepper
8 oz sliced white mushrooms
1 cup of finely chopped onion
1 tb flour
2 cups beef stock
1 cup sour cream
1 16 oz. package of egg noodles
1 tb thinly sliced chives

Boil egg noodles.  Meanwhile season the beef with salt n pepper and heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Brown beef in oil about 1 minutes per side...do not overcook. remove beef from skillet and add butter to skillet until melted. Add onion and mushrooms and cook until tender and until moisture is evaporated. Add flour to the mushroom mixture and stir until coated. Stir in the broth and bring to a simmer and stir. Add the sour cream and whisk until smooth and creamy. Add the beef and their juices to mushroom mixture and stir. Cook until the sauce is simmering, a few minutes. Season with salt n pepper. When egg noodles are cooked, then strained add 2 tb of butter and stir until coated. Also add salt n pepper to taste. Ladle Mushroom mixture over egg noodles and sprinkle with chives.


Black Russian Cocktail over Ice Cream

Serves 2:

2 oz vodka
2 oz kahlua (I used my Aunt Sandy's homemade)
2 scoops of vanilla ice cream

In a shaker with ice, mix vodka and kahlua. Place one scoop of ice cream in martini glass and pour mixed vodka and kahlua over top. Enjoy!

Food Impressions:

Nate: "I want more, and lots lots lots more."

Tyler: "Great dish to celebrate the Olympics. Good idea mom."

Zachary: "I love the steak sauce over the noodles."

Dave: "Beef Stroganoff is typically too creamy and lacks rich flavor but your recipe really has distinct peppy flavors and the scallions add a nice touch."

Andrea (me): Very easy dish to make, it really took no time at all. The flavors of the sauce were delicious and the steak was tender.

Tyler and Zachary made the Ellicottville 
local newspaper, The Villager, today!
Always exciting when they make it in the paper! Tyler is on left and Zachary is the third from the left!