Beef Stroganoff

I had lots of sour cream to use up so I thought a stroganoff would be perfect. I found this recipe on the foodnetwork website and it's by Rachael Ray which is one of the cooks I liked to watch when we had a TV in our hotel in SF! Click on the recipe title to go to see Rachael Ray's original recipe.

I have tweaked her ingredients to suit our taste and I've altered her method so you only need one frying pan! Although her recipe says it feeds 4 people, Steve and I like a lot of sauce so it comfortably fed us 2. Delicious served over fluffy white rice.

Serves 2 who like it saucy!

Ingredients:
Enough steak to feed 2 (I used 3 small thin frying steak pieces, but use better quality if you can)
Salt and pepper
1/2 small onion, sliced
4-5 mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup sour cream, eyeball it
1 tablespoon extra-virgin or vegetable oil


Directions:

1. Heat a large frying pan or skillet until smoking hot, then add a little oil. Season your meat with salt and pepper. Add the meat to the pan and quickly sear on both sides, then remove from the pan and set aside on a plate. Don't worry that the meat is still undercooked at this point as you will add it back to the pan later. When the meat is cool enough to handle, slice it in thin strips.
   
2. Next saute the onion and mushrooms for 3-4 minutes in the same pan you seared the steak in. You want the onions to become a nice golden colour and the mushrooms to be cooked through. Remove from the pan onto the same plate as the steak.
3. Now make the sauce in the same pan - you will get all the nice flavours from the meat and veggies. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and add the flour and cook for 1 minute stirring constantly to make a roux. Whisk in your chicken stock and simmer for 1 minute until nicely thickened. Stir in the mustard and sour cream and continue to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
   
4. When your sauce is ready add the steak, onions and mushrooms back to the pan. Simmer for another couple of minutes until the meat and veggies are heated through (I'd say 1 minute max to keep your steak rare)
   
5. Remove from heat and season sauce with salt and pepper.

Panko Chicken Nuggets

 

It's been a while since I've blogged on here because I've only recently had a kitchen to do any proper cooking! The hotel we stayed at for our first month in San Francisco only had a microwave and toaster so creating culinary delights was pretty limited. Two staple meals were Jacket Potato with Canned Chilli and Packet Rice with chopped up Frankfurters.

So here is the first recipe I've made in our new apartment which is worth blogging. I'm a big fan of Panko breadcrumbs which are impossible to get hold of in the UK unless you visit an Asian supermarket, but they're everywhere in the US so I might stock up and take some home with me! They're really worth getting as they give a really crunchy coating - if you've ever had Chicken Katsu Curry at Wagamamas then you'll know what I mean.

This recipe also calls for buttermilk which is used in a lot of American recipes but also difficult to find in the UK. However after watching a programme over here called Good Eats (a new favourite!) I learned you can make your own buttermilk. Just add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to every 1 cup of milk, mix and leave to stand for 15 mins until slightly thickened and then use.

I have also made this recipe without buttermilk by simply coating the chicken pieces in a little bit of oil (I used olive oil for flavour) so that the breadcrumbs stick to the chicken.

I know I said before that I hated the cup measurement system, but that was before I had measuring cups! Now I really like using this method as it's so much quicker and easier than using scales. I do have a conversion page on my blog but it's not very comprehensive so I'll try and add to it. However if you see some measuring cups then I recommend you get some - I saw some in Sainsburys for about £3 before I came to the US.

Serves 2 greedy people (served with potato wedges and veg)

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 pound (that's 3 small) boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breast), cut into bite size pieces
• 1 -1.5 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Whisk the egg and buttermilk in a medium bowl. Soak chicken pieces in egg mixture while you gather remaining ingredients.
2. Meanwhile, in another shallow bowl combine panko with paprika, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Lift chicken from buttermilk, letting excess liquid drain back into the bowl, then dip into panko and turn to coat on all sides.
4. Carefully place chicken in oil and cook until they are golden and crispy and cooked through, about for 5-10 minutes per side.
5. If you have the oven on to make potato wedges then you can transfer the chicken onto a baking sheet and pop them in the oven to keep warm/finish cooking whilst you cook your veg.

TIPS:
The buttermilk and egg mixture is enough for 1 pound of chicken. Adjust amount of breadcrumbs accordingly.

Yasai korroke (Japanese vegetable cakes)

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

This is a recipe from the Wagamama cookbook which I've made before but not actually tried in the restaurant.

In San Francisco it's easy to find ingredients like Panko Breadcrumbs, I got mine in Safeway so I didn't have to make a special trip to Japantown for them.

• Makes: 6 cakes

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil, for deep frying
• 1 large potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• salt and white pepper
• 25g (1oz) frozen peas
• 25g (1oz) canned sweetcorn, drained
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped (or use spring onion and skip step 4)
• 1 red chilli, trimmed and finely chopped (or some chilli flakes
• 3-4 tablespoons plain flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 50g (2oz) panko breadcrumbs

Directions:

1. Put the potato and sweet potato in a pan of boiling water and cook for 10-12 minutes until tender. Add the peas for the last 2 minutes.
2. Drain, return to the pan, then crush slightly with a wooden spoon to create a lumpy mash.
3. Stir in the sweetcorn.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion and chilli over a low heat for 6-8 minutes until soft.
5. Combine the onion and chilli with the mash in a large bowl, season and mix evenly.
6. Allow to cool slightly, then divide into 6 equal portions and shape into flat cakes.
7. Place the flour in a bowl, the beaten egg in another and the breadcrumbs in a third.
8. Dip each cake first into the flour, then in the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs.
9. Fill a pan two-thirds full with oil and heat to 180C/350F or until a cube of bread added to the oil browns in 30 seconds.
10. Deep fry the cakes for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and crisp, then drain on kitchen paper. Alternatively you can shallow fry them, carefully turning them on all sides until golden brown - takes a bit longer but just as tasty!