Gold Medal Stroganoff

Photo courtesy FoodNetwork.com

What's both warming on a snowy winter day and festive for PJ-clad Sochi Olympics viewing on aforementioned snowy day? The Russian-turned-50s-American-dinner-party-classic, Beef Stroganoff.

Now, I admit I had a rocky start with Beef Stroganoff. As a kid, this dish appeared at the dinner table perhaps once every two months, and that was far too frequently for me. I never saw how it was made, but I quickly and at a young age came to associate Beef Stroganoff with click-jaw. The beef was somehow always dry and impossibly chewy, and this association followed me stubbornly into my young adulthood.

I needed a Stroganoff intervention. 

Like most interventions, mine came unexpectedly and from someone I trusted. I was on the set of Tyler's Ultimate, and Tyler Florence was cooking Beef Stroganoff. Before we started taping, I casually and quietly (I thought) mentioned to a coworker that I had never tasted a Stroganoff I liked. Tyler appeared from nowhere, put his arm around me in his sweet way, and said, "Wait til you try mine." I nodded and smiled, secretly wondering how I was going to get out of eating his dish after the show, and/or whether I could deliver a better “Yum, this is delicious!” performance than my 8-year-old self.

Well, I didn't have to wonder long. Pretty much as soon as Tyler started searing the short ribs, I knew this was not my mama's Stroganoff.

According to beefstroganoff.net and whatscookingamerica.net, the origin and history of Beef Stroganoff dates backs to 19th century. Although not a new recipe, at that time but a refined version of an even older Russian recipe, it had probably been in the family of Count Pavel Stroganoff's for some years and had become well known through his love of entertaining. Count Pavel Stroganoff was a celebrity and a known gourmet, but since the recipe was included in the 1871 edition of the Molokhovets cookbook, the recipe pre-dates his fame as a gourmet.

It turns out Beef Stroganoff won the first prize award in the 'L'Art Culinaire' competition in 1891 where it was presented by Charles Briére, an employee of the rich and powerful Stroganoff family. This original recipe had beef, mushrooms and sour cream, just like today's version. Legend has it that his patron Count Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganoff had lost all his teeth and his chef had especially prepared this recipe to overcome the Count's handicap.

I'm not sure Count Stroganoff would have found the stroganoff of my childhood any easier to eat than I did, but luckily for all of us, I have not one but two recipes for this classic dish which are both easy to chew and wonderfully delicious. The first, of course, is this breakthrough-inducing recipe by Tyler Florence.

If you’re in the mood for something less chef-y (though I really encourage you to try Tyler’s, it’s simpler than you may think and is evidence of why the dish earned a spot at elegant ‘50’s dinner parties), Laura Zimmerman, a huge Stroganoff fan, shared this recipe as her go-to when she can’t have her Grandma’s.

Recipe courtesy bettycrocker.com

Do you have a great Stroganoff or Russian recipe? Please share it with us!

Приятного аппетита 
Priyatnogo appetita

Enjoy!