Full Belly Sunday

Call it a throwback to the fifties, but on Sundays I like to cook up a nice big old fashioned meal. Last night after returning from seeing Mitch Fatel (SO FUNNY), Ryan and I came home and flipped through the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook for some ideas. We picked Beef Stroganoff for dinner. For the past 4 or 5 days I have been on a major dessert binge, so I also peeked at the 'pies & tarts' section. Holy crap. I'm not a baker so normally I would avoid this section, but the treasures in that section were bountiful!!! I chose to take on the Peaches and Cream Tart, mainly because it looked so pretty in the picture. (Also, most of the pies called for an oven temperature of 375 F and our electric oven does not register numbers 6-9. The tart only needed 350.)

First off, the Beef Stroganoff. I made it mostly as the recipe called for, with the exception of replacing the sour cream with Greek yogurt on a tip from Ryan. It was very fast and easy to make (basically cooks all in one pan), but if I were to make it again I would probably flavor the beef before cooking somehow. I doubled the recipe below, and there was a ton left over.

Recipe:

12 oz boneless beef sirloin steak

1 8 oz carton sour cream (I used Greek yogurt in it's place)

2 tbsp flour

2 tsp instant beef bouillon granules

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced (I used 3)

2 tbsp butter or margarine

2 cups egg noodles

Start the water boiling for the egg noodles. Slice the beef into bite-size strips (helps if you throw it in the freezer for a bit and partially freeze it first). In a bowl mix sour cream/yogurt and flour. Stir in bouillon granules, 1/2 cup water and 1/4 tsp of black pepper. In a large skillet cook and stir the meat, mushrooms, onion and garlic in hot butter over med-high heat for 5 minutes or until desired doneness. (first picture) Add egg noodles to boiling water--they only take about 6 minutes tops to cook. Stir sour cream mixture into skillet and stir until thickened and bubbly (about 5 more minutes, second picture). Pour the mixture over the noodles to serve. (third picture)

Second, the Peaches and Cream Tart. This involved considerably more time and effort than I am accustomed to spending on a meal or dessert, but was 1000% worth it! I will make this my new go-to dessert for impressing visiting royalty. The crust was sweet and a combination of crunchy and chewy, kind of like a nice granola bar. The creamy center was sweet and tart, just enough of each. The fresh fruit on top was nice, and the glaze was only slightly sweet, not too gooey or gelatin like the tarts you find at the store.

Recipe:

9 soft coconut macaroon cookies, crumbled

1 cup ground pecans (just grind em up in the food processor)

3 tbsp butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons dark rum or orange juice (I used one of each)

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract

2-4 medium peaches, peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced (1 1/2 to 3 cups)

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup fresh raspberries

1/4 cup apricot preserves

2 tsp honey

Chill a medium mixing bowl and the beaters of an electric mixer. Meanwhile, for crust, in a bowl together stir cookie crumbs, pecans and butter. Press mixture onto bottom and up sides of a 10 to 11 inch tart pan with removable bottom or onto a 12 inch pizza pan. ( I had neither of those so I used a 9 inch round pie pan and it was fine.) Bake the crust in a 350 F oven until golden (15-20 minutes). Cool on a wire rack. For filling, beat whipping cream with a mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form in the chilled bowl. (First time I ever did this and it was EXCITING!) In another bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until "fluffy" (I guessed at what fluffy meant, probably 3 minutes or so). Add rum, vanilla and almond extract; beat until smooth. Gently fold in whipped cream. Spoon mixture into cooled crust, spread evenly. Cover and chill for 2-4 hours. Before serving, toss peach slices with lemon juice (I peeled and prepared the peach slices just before serving). Arrange peaches and raspberries on filling in whatever pattern makes you happy. (picture #1--I tried to match the picture but soon realized that level of perfection cannot be matched. Next time I will leave that job for Ryan). For glaze, combine the preserves and honey in a small saucepan. Heat and stir until just melted, then carefully brush or spoon over the fruit (picture #2). Enjoy! (picture #3)