Beef Stroganoff, Martha Ann Talbot

I must admit I was pretty surprised to learn that Beef Stroganoff is actually Russian. I first met the creamy, comforting dish through our old pal Hamburger Helper. In community cookbooks, I’ve come across many recipes, most of which list a series of canned ingredients. I would’ve assumed Beef Stroganoff was some classic American ‘corporate shenanigans’, but I would be wrong!

The earliest recipe appears in an 1871 Russian cookbook, “The Gift to Young Housewives.” The decades encompassing the world wars enabled Beef Stroganoff to travel all around the globe, where it took on countless regional variations. In Nordic countries it’s made with sausage. In Japan it is served over white rice. In Brazil, it’s sometimes made with shrimp.

After WWII, when soldiers returned to the U.S. with a fondness for beef Stroganoff, the shortcuts like canned cream-of-mushroom soup made their way into the dish. Hamburger Helper introduced their version in 1971 – everything but the meat included in the box.

While most versions in the U.S. are generally made with a mushroom and sour cream sauce, my boyfriend grew up eating a version with tomatoes. I’ve come across a few tomato-containing Stroganoff recipes in community cookbooks and decided to give one a try.

*High Point High School yearbook featuring the winning band, 1976*

This recipe, which contained a can of tomato soup, came out tasting basically just like regular beef Strogranoff, but we had no complaints.

The recipe comes from a cookbook put out by my alma mater, High Point High School, in 1974. Although that was decades before I attended, I somehow thought I would recognize names? No such luck. The cookbook was put out by the symphonic band. The intent may have been to raise money for a trip to go to Europe.

*Martha Ann Cotterman Talbott, at University of Maryland (1944) and as a teacher at High Point High School (1973)*

The Stroganoff recipe was contributed by Martha Ann Talbott (née Cotterman), a guidance counselor and teacher of home economics, or as it was apparently known in the 1976, “Bachelor Living.” (I’m not making this up, I found it in a yearbook!) Martha passed away in 2009 after many more years of teaching in Maryland.

The fund-raising efforts of this book seem to have paid off handsomely. In 1975 the High Point symphonic band won a competition in Vienna. Announcements appeared in U.S. newspapers from Maryland to Arizona.

During the trip, the band also did public performances on the streets of Vienna. The whole episode sounds far more glamorous than anything that happened during my time there, but we did have a pretty cool Go-Go band, so who needs Europe? We’ve already got the Stroganoff anyhow.

Recipe:

1.5 Lb sirloin steak
2 Tablespoons flour
salt
black pepper
garlic clove
.25 Cup apple juice (Sherry, if preferred)
2 Tablespoons shortening
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 medium onion, diced
.25 Cup diced green pepper
.75 can tomato soup
.75 can beef consommé
1 Pint sour cream
2 cans mushroom stems & pieces

Dice Sirloin Steak – remove fat. Dredge meat in flour, salt and pepper. Marinate meat by adding apple juice (Sherry) and clove of garlic. Let stand while you cut up green peppers and onion. Saute meat in shortening. Add Worcestershire Sauce – medium onion and green pepper. Simmer for few minutes and add: 3/4 can tomato soup 3/4 can beef consomme. Cook for 20 minutes. Add sour cream & mushrooms and simmer for 10 more minutes.

Recipe adapted from “Our Home Recipes,” High Point High School, 1974