Passports, TV, Books,

We had an expensive day today, after lunch we went and had passport pictures taken, $33 and then went to the passport office and paid for one each, $174 – its costly to travel today. Canadian passports only last 5 years, we could have British passports which are for 10 years, but they wouldn’t be as convenient travelling to the States.  Our pictures look absolutely terrible of course, but then I have never, in my life, had a decent passport picture. My very first passport picture, I looked like one of the women who ran the prison camps during WWII. At least it didn’t long in the passport office, sometimes the wait time can be pretty horrendous but I guess the whole thing took about half an hour.

I’ve been watching a programme called Missing with Ashley Judd playing an ex CIA operative who hasn’t been active in 10 years, looking for her son who has been kidnapped. She lost her hubby in the first episode. 10 years later her son is kidnapped and she has no idea why. Its quite enjoyable if a bit far fetched. But then I am able to suspend disbelief very easily. As far as reading is concerned I have been getting a lot of free Kindle books some good, some bad, at present I am reading an Anne McCaffery book about the brain ships. I am not sure if that was a freebie or not, I suspect not. I love the brain ship stories. This contains 2 or three. Mercedes Lackey is also involved in the selection

I like Beef Stroganoff and when I saw a Kraft version, it made me decide to share an actual version of the recipe. This one comes from Epicurious.com which is a great site for recipes. This recipe was, reputedly, invented for a Russian general named Stroganov and was ‘discovered’ by soldiers returning from World War II. This recipe uses tenderloin. The Kraft slow cooker version uses stewing beef which would make the meal a lot cheaper, but somehow not the same.

Beef Stroganoff

• 1 2 1/2-pound piece beef tenderloin, well trimmed, meat cut into 2x1x1/2 inch strips
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
• 1 pound small button mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 1 cup canned beef broth
• 2 tablespoons Cognac
• 3/4 cup crème fraîche or whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 12 ounces wide egg noodles
• tablespoon paprika

Pat meat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat until very hot. Working in batches, add meat in single layer and cook just until brown on outside, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped shallots and sauté until tender, scraping up browned bits, about 2 minutes. Add button mushrooms. Sprinkle with pepper and sauté until liquid evaporates, about 12 minutes. Add beef broth, then Cognac. Simmer until liquid thickens and just coats mushrooms, about 14 minutes. Stir in crème fraîche and Dijon mustard. Add meat and any accumulated juices from baking sheet. Simmer over medium-low heat until meat is heated through but still medium-rare, about 2 minutes. Stir in chopped dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain. Transfer to bowl. Add remaining 4 tablespoons butter and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Divide noodles among plates. Top with beef and sauce. Sprinkle generously with paprika.

Have a great day