Corned beef

I mentioned to my friend, Destri (the same one mentioned here) that I should do a corned beef post, so here it is.

I've noticed a lot of my friends wouldn;t know how to cook corned beef, even if the piece of meat and a boiler (with the pickling brine in it) were put in front of them.

This is a recipe similar to what my husbands grandmother used to make, but developed for our personal tastes.

• A decent sized chunk of silverside or "corning" beef
• 1/2 cup vinegar for each kg (2 lbs) beef
• water to cover
• sugar, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves and cloves to taste

1. Place heavy pot boiler or stockpot on stove top with the above ingredients
2. bring to boil
3. reduce and simmer for a minimum of 2 hours

Serve with cabbage, mashed potatoes and white sauce

Beef Goulash

Beef goulash is one of my all time favourite winter foods. Not that I've had it all my life. My mother is the reason I learned to cook (that is, she can't cook...). So, this recipe is allegedly a traditional Hungarian goulash. I can't remember where I got the recipe from, but it's so damned easy that you don't even really need a recipe for it.

1 tablespoon canola or other flavourless oil
3 large onions, finely diced
2-3 heaped tablespoons paprika (smoked is the one to use in this recipe... its also knows as Hungarian paprika)
1 kg round steak (that's 3 generous steaks)
1 good, home grown, sun ripened tomato (I don't grow my own. I refuse to add a watery tomato to this recipe. So, I substitute a tablespoon of tomato paste)

• Heat up a heavy based saucepan. Add the oil when the saucepan is hot. Add the onions, and gently saute until transparent. Take the saucepan off the heat.
• This is very important. If the saucepan is left on the heat, this next step will make the goulash bitter
• Add the paprika, and stir through. Add the meat, and coat it well with the paprika and onion mix. Put the saucepan back on the heat, and cover the meat with boiling water. Do not over cover it. The meat should be only just covered
• Bring the meat to a simmer, add the tomato (or tomato paste). Simmer this away for a few hours, until the meat falls apart, and the water has almost evaporated.
• Serve with buttered noodles, or creamy mash.

Note: I'm making the goulash in a slow cooker right now... I'll tell you how it turns out, 'kay?

Edit: It worked, thou it was slightly wetter than I like.

Next time, oven top+patience

Beef Stroganoff

• Slice one large onion finely
  
• Slice 1 kg mushrooms thinly
• Slice 500g beef thinly
• Combine 2 tabs sugar with 1 tab mustard powder. Mix with just enough water to make into thick paste

Cook onions off in a deep, heavy based pan (okay. I cheat. I use an electric frying pan. shoot me, and get it done with?)
Add sliced beef. Stir this around until all is browned on the outside.
Cook down until almost no liquid remains.
Add sliced mushrooms.
Cook down until almost no liquid remains.
Add mustard and sugar paste.
Cook down until almost no liquid remains. (It should now be a dark, thick, sticky brown goop coating the meat, onions and mushrooms)
Slowly add 500 mL sour cream. (Add it 1 tablespoon at a time, or it will curdle)
Stir through 5(ish) cups of cooked pasta (1 cup when uncooked. DO NOT add uncooked pasta to this. Please cook that one cup uncooked pasta first)

Serve with warm crusty bread, and freshly blanched snow peas .