It’s Christmas Eve! The parcel I was expecting yesterday arrives this morning at 10:00am. The forwarding service actually threw in some unexpected, complimentary gift wrapping. Since they were all items I had purchased for myself, this made it feel like Santa had brought them. The shipment also included 3 teddy bear style Christmas stockings that I bought on a whim; they were customisable so I chose to go with the names Bobo (the nickname for Bowdoin College), Boo Boo (from the Yogi the Bear cartoon), and Paddy (as in Paddington bear, while also a nod to the Irish… it’s the green one of course):
I’m making beef stroganoff for dinner tonight, and I start on that early in the day to get the beef slow cooking.
Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic, thyme and bay leaves, then cover with water and slow cook on high for 4 hours until the beef is fork tender:
My friend J comes over around 1:30pm to hang out before dinner. We re-watch The Mandalorian finale (which he hasn’t seen), then I pop some of the frozen spanakopita bites I made yesterday into the oven for a snack. They do seem to turn out a little better when baked from a fully frozen state (unfortunately I forgot to take a photo; they held the square shape better instead of melting into a splat).
Assemble final ingredients — shallot, garlic, roasted mushrooms and the beef (picked out from the slow cooker, other veggies get tossed); sautée until soft, then add reserved water from slow cooking dish and heavy cream:
Cook tagliatelle pasta in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain, then incorporate it into the sauce:
Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche and chives:
I think it turned out very well! The cream sauce reduced a lot more than I expected, especially after adding the pasta. The beef was very flavourful and tender — well worth the effort of slow cooking. As a side, I heat up some store-bought potatoes au gratin that turn out probably better than I could have made them from scratch. I pair the meal with a bottle of bordeaux wine, which may not be the proper choice but seems to work fine by me.
After dinner, my friend J and I exchange Christmas cards and gifts. He’s been my longest known friend here in Dublin and a key part of my “support bubble” during the lockdowns, so it was nice to share Christmas Eve dinner with him. He heads back home early since tomorrow is a big day with his family. With my cooking ambitions out of the way, I’m looking forward to relaxing for the rest of the evening and watching some Christmas specials.
Until next time…
