Monthly Archives: February 2010

Is it cheating to use canned soup in a dish? I have always looked down on the practice but the Paula Dean recipe for Beef Stroganoff that I used last night called for it. It was with great trepidation that I scooped the globules of cream of mushroom concentrate out of the can. It felt a little less like a culinary cop-out because I did use fresh mushrooms and beef stock as well and sautéed the onions and mushrooms in the meat drippings, making a roux with a sprinkling of flour and a few pats of butter. Still, though, the soup did give it a generic quality. I think the fact that I couldn’t control the seasoning as much was also a negative. It was good but not great which I guess is not too bad for a quick weeknight dinner.

This past Sunday Andrew was invited to go mountain biking with a friend. We had to clean the house (after several month’s accumulation for kitty hair, my hair and other detritus) and take the Christmas tree to the dump (yes we waited until the end of January…) so, outdoor exercise was once again put to the wayside. What better way to make up for not practicing personal fitness than eating the weight of a small cat in butter and cheese sauce? Croque Madames are magical things. Rustic bread slathered with tangy dijon, encasing ham and nutty Gruyère and topped with a cheese sauce of whole milk, butter, flour, parmesan, Gruyère and a pinch of nutmeg and finished with a perfectly cooked egg, sunny side up. so simple yet so delicious and a great way to kick off a day of toilet scrubbing and stair vacuuming.

For food, for books, for wine, for adventures…