Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff

This is a creamy Russian beef dish, another quick winner-dinner in my recipe book. It is traditionally a beef dish, but can be substituted with any other protein of choice. Beef stroganoff is traditionally served with pasta, however, it is just as good with rice or mashed potatoes. As the dish tenders to be very rich, you can also choose to serve something green alongside, such as steamed green beans, sautéed broccoli or a crisp salad.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb boneless beef, cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
  • 1 tbsp flour (optional)
  • 1/2 onion, sliced
  • 1 tsp cornflour
  • 4 tbsp water
  • 1/4 cup sour cream (can be substituted with greek yogurt)
  • 1 tbsp heavy cream
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp red chilli pwd or cayenne pepper pwd (adjust as per taste)
  • 1 tomato, pureed
  • 1 tbsp walnuts, crushed to a powder
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
  • 4 tbsp chopped coriander or dill, or both
  • 1/3 tsp garlic paste
  • 1 tsp tomato paste
  • 2 tbsp oil

Directions:

  1. Pound and flatten the 1-inch beef cubes slightly. Sprinkle the meat with some black pepper powder and cut into strips. Dust a little bit of flour over the strips and keep aside.
  2. In another bowl, mix together the tomato puree, tomato paste, water, cayenne powder, salt, garlic paste, powdered walnuts and chopped herbs. 
  3. Heat oil on high heat, and once hot, fry the beef strips until golden brown
  4. Once the strips are golden on the outside, add the sliced onions and continue frying until they turn golden
  5. Now add the tomato mixture prepared in step 2. Mix all the ingredients in the pan evenly and lower the heat to medium heat
  6. Cover and let it cook for another 15-20 mins or until meat is tender and sauce is cooked through
  7. If you feel like you need to let you meat cook for longer, add some water and continue cooking until meet becomes tender. Add mushrooms now and cook for about 3-4 mins.
  8. Once the meat is soft and tender, mix cornflour with 4 tbsp of water and heavy cream. Add this mix to the stroganoff. 
  9. Give it all a stir and cook on low for another 5 mins. 
  10. Finally add the sour cream, stir it and let it cook for a couple of minutes before turning off the heat. Taste and adjust salt if needed. 
Hope you guys enjoy this recipe! This is definitely a winter-comfort dish for me and my husband, as we bundle up and devour the calories. Please feel free to comment any questions or suggestions you may have. Until then folks, Live, Love, Laugh and Eat.. Oh Yes, EAT! 



Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Conversational Cheesecake hearts!

Hey guys, I'm sorry for being MIA for a couple of months, but I'm back! And with new and improved will to continue adding content to this blog.. We are a day away from Valentine's Day and wanted to share a dessert that worked out great for me in the past. These conversational cheesecake hearts 💕  Guess I'm cheesy like that ;) I made this for my husband, then-boyfriend, when we first started dating. It was our first valentines together, I decided to impress him by baking his favorite dessert in the world! Those of you who already know him, know that this New Yorker loves and craves a good cheesecake, so the pressure was totally on me!!!! I am actually taking a short cut, and linking the recipe for a regular cheesecake below, and adding the twist that I added, to modify them to be my valentines-ready cheesecake hearts.

Conversational cheesecake hearts

Conversational Cheesecake Hearts:

Ingredients and tools: 


  • Wilton Heart Shaped Silicone Molds
  • Fine Tip Paint Brush
  • Food coloring - in a couple of colors, I used red and yellow (to create, orange, pink and red cheesecake hearts)

Directions:

  1. Follow basic cheesecake recipe up until you add the batter to the tin pan for baking. (Before putting it in the water bath
  2. Before baking, divide the batter into equal parts depending on the number of colors you choose to use. In my case, I divided it into 3 parts. 
  3. Add the food coloring to the batter to create your own colored cheesecakes. I used orange (1 drop yellow + 1 drop red), pink (1 drop red), and red (2 drops pink)
  4. Pour batter into the silicone molds and add in water bath. Bake as per instructions in the Basic cheesecake recipe
  5. Let them cool before you remove them from the mold
  6. Once cool, remove from the molds and paint conversation heart phrases onto the tops of the cheesecake using food coloring. 

I wish you guys enjoyed this recipe. If you do try them, please let me know. Wishing all you sweet readers a happy and loving Valentine's Day! Until then, Live, Love, Laugh and Eat.. Oh yes, EAT! 💕 ❤️