WELCOME to my first blog on “Unforgettable Recipes for festivities, grand and small.” In these recipes that I share, I hope the imaginative and inspired, acclimation of my cherished traditions inspire your cooking creations. Some of these recipes, I have acquired since my husband and I got married, whereas the others are from my southern heritage, grandmother, mother and sister. All the beloved foods that graced our table at our home as I grew up in our family of 9. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do! 🙂
This first recipe blog is actually ‘ part two’ of a blog I wrote ‘just for the guys,’ called “Men, surprise the one you love one with a romantic dinner for two.” This blog is located under the ‘Acts of Kindness’ category and ‘Hey guys, the way to a woman’s heart is…’ category. But it is for all to enjoy! It’s an entire dinner for two, with all the fixings … ENJOY!
THE DISTINGUISHED QUOTE CORNER
” Red meat is not bad for you. Now blue-green meat, that’s bad for you.” ~ Tommy Smothers
“One of the nicest things in life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” ~ Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright
“When baking, follow the directions. When cooking, go by your own taste!
This is a special recipe blog page for all the “guys” who are looking for the Beef Stroganoff and all the fixings recipe. Here is all you will need and the directions to make your romantic meal for that special lady of yours! Have a great time!
YOUR APPETIZER. (Shrimp Cocktail with fresh sliced lemon.)
You can either buy the cooked, (large prawn) shrimp at the market or buy uncooked shrimp and boil it yourself. (Purchase the amount of shrimp you think you would need for two.) To cook your shrimp, bring the water to a boil in a 7-8 quart pot. (You may add some seasoning to your water if you like…again, we don’t use a lot of salt but feel free to salt and pepper the water or add your favorite seafood seasonings. (Old Bay, Italian seasonings, garlic, etc.) Add your shrimp, allow the water to return to the boiling stage. When the water is back to a full boil, your shrimp are usually done, but make sure your shrimp are a bright pink color to know they are fully cooked. Remove from water and allow the shrimp to cool. You can place them in a bowl of crushed ice or put them in the refrigerator to get cold, after they have cooled off a bit, right before it is time to serve them, fill a pretty glass bowl with the cocktail sauce and place the shrimp around the edges with the fresh lemon slices to create a scrumptious presentation.
For your sauce, You will need, 3/4 to 1 cup of ketchup, a teaspoon of “Extra hot” horseradish sauce, (add more to taste,) 1/ 2 tsp. of Tabasco, 1/2 to 1 clove of minced garlic, ( equaling about a 1/2 of a teaspoon,) salt and pepper to taste and a squeeze of lemon. I recommend a chilled glass or two of Sparkling cider to go along with your appetizer. (While making this recipe, as well as the ones below, keep tasting it to lesson or add to the amounts of seasoning I am sharing….) Everyone’s taste buds are different. My husband and I are connoisseurs of hot , spicy foods!
FOR YOUR FIRST COURSE, Caesar Salad with warm sourdough baguette and butter.
You will need fresh and cleaned romaine lettuce, Parmesan cheese, Ken’s steakhouse creamy Caesar dressing and Texas Toast butter and garlic or ‘Caesar’ croutons, fresh ground pepper, a baguette of baked Sourdough bread and butter.
***I always use fresh peppercorns that I grind atop our cuisine as to regular pepper, but it’s up to you.
Break your lettuce up into bite size pieces and place in a pretty salad bowl. Season with a little pepper on top as well as a small amount of cheese and put in the refrigerator until ready to toss. When it is time to serve your salad, pour the amount of dressing you prefer on top of the salad, add more ground pepper, Parmesan cheese, ( I use plenteous amounts,) and your croutons… toss it all together and serve on chilled plates. While you are you are working on your final touches with your salads, place the baguette in a preheated, 375 degree oven and allow to heat up for 8 minutes. Slice and serve warm with butter, along with your ambrosial salad.
Don’t forget to open the wine and let it breathe…this a good time to serve the wine. I recommend Toasted Head Merlot…Delicious! (If you are a white wine drinker, the Toasted Head Chardonnay is superb as well!)
FOR YOUR MAIN COURSE, BEEF STROGANOFF, you will need 1 pound of sirloin steak, butter, 1 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup, 2 cloves of garlic, (chopped finely, equaling about 1/2 to 3/4 of a teaspoon, ) 1/4 cup finely chopped sweet red onion, 1 cup of sour cream, (I use more to taste,) one box fresh sliced mushrooms,Tabasco to taste, Merlot wine, salt and pepper to taste, one package egg noodles.
In a good size sauce pan, place one to two TBSP of butter and allow it to melt on medium low. When butter is melted, place your mushrooms in the pan and saute. When they are almost done, add the chopped garlic and onions in pan and saute over low heat, stirring occasionally until mushrooms are completely done. (Do not allow the heat to be to high, perhaps setting it on low, (everyone’s stove top is different,) as you do not want the butter, garlic or onion to burn. (Just be lightly sauteed.)
Slice your sirloin steak into long, bite-size pieces. In a large pan, melt 1 to 2 TBSP of butter and place your meat in the pan to cook. I put the heat up to about medium to start the steak and turn it down after it gets a little brown on both sides…then turn to low and allow for it to simmer. Test your meat after about 20 minutes to see if it is tender enough for you. If you have a lot of liquid in the pan, you can pour some out but otherwise, leave some in the pan. Add the cream of mushroom soup, slowly stirring, mixing it with the the steak and it’s juices.. Allow it to come to a simmer…add your ground pepper and Tabasco to taste, and your mushroom, onions and garlic. Stir together. Add about 1/4 cup of your Merlot wine, (or to taste,) and continue stirring. Now add the sour cream and stir, blending all your flavors together and be sure to keep your stove on low heat. You can always add more sour cream. wine, seasonings, it is up to you…The cream of Mushroom soup has a lot of sodium in it, so be careful with your added salt! Be the “taste-tester’ and when you think it all tastes just right, turn off your burner and cover with lid. You can heat this up , stirring frequently right before you serve your Stroganoff.
While you are making your sauce, prepare the egg noodles according to package, drain in colander and then run under hot water so your pasta will not stick together. When pasta is drained again, it is ready to serve. Only use the amount of noodles you want, (put the rest in a container in the refrigerator and use with your favorite pasta sauce at a later time. ) My husband and I prefer more sauce than noodles so we use less noodles as to more…It is entirely up to you….Also, you can stir the noodles into the Stroganoff or serve it hot over the warmed noodles. The Toasted Head wine(s) go very well with this dish, enjoy another glass with your hot meal, if you like.
FOR YOUR FINALE, hot fudge sauce over ice cream, you will need, 1 pint of Haagan-Dazs Vanilla Swiss almond ice cream, 10-15 squares of Unwrapped Dove Dark chocolates, butter and either homemade whipped cream or your favorite ready-made in a can. (They both taste delicious to me! ) 🙂
In a small pan, over the lowest heat possible, melt your chocolates, (after taking the red wrappers off of course! ) 🙂 as the chocolate melts, add 1 to 2 TBSP of butter and stir until it too melts into the sauce, making it creamy and thick. Serve it hot over the ice- cream and top with whipped cream.
For fresh whipped cream, buy heavy whipping cream in the deli section at your grocer, and pour the cream into a glass bowl. (I usually buy the smallest container of it as it whips up an abundance of beautiful, lush, white peaks of cream…) Use your electric hand beaters to whip up the cream until it is stiff, yet still creamy….add 1 TBSP. of sugar and 1 tsp. of vanilla extract. Stir and serve.
My husband and I only drink decaf coffee in the evening so we usually buy a Hazelnut decaf and serve it with White Chocolate Caramel Latte creamer , made by Coffee mate in the bottle. Other nice coffees are Pete’s coffee beans , (If you have a coffee grinder,) of course Starbucks and Folgers coffee is always great!
ENJOY YOUR EVENING! Let me know how it goes or if you have any questions.
PHOTOGRAPHS: In placing your computer mouse upon any photo or graphic, it will display where the picture originated from.
LINKS: to come! 🙂
