Charles’ 
Slide of the Week: January 19th, 2006
The Steak Lady, Danbury, Connecticut, 1953
A woman posing proudly with a fatty porterhouse steak, loosely wrapped in plastic, is letting all of the cold air out of the hardest working appliance in the house – it never stops! Between the big slab of meat, wheel of cheese, two jars of mayonnaise, bottle of mystery sauce, single tomato, bag of carrots, can of apple juice and quart of Borden’s homogenized milk the food pyramid is well represented here. A refrigerator’s job is simple – to preserve food. General Electric introduced the first in 1939.
I stood in front of my refrigerator/freezer combo this week holding some meat too. That’s because I was getting ready to do some cooking. I made an Americana Classic - Beef Stroganoff. According to several of the vintage recipe books I consulted before concocting my own version of the recipe, Beef Stroganoff is a dish that comes to us from Russia. I’ve never been to Russia nor have I ever eaten in what I would call a Russian Restaurant. Let’s face it, Russia is not known for its cuisine and Beef Stroganoff is about as Russian as Sweet and Sour Pork is Chinese.
Anyway, my recipe was inspired by the Beef Stroganoff that my brother’s high school choir teacher brought to a potluck at our house in 1977. It was SO good I knew the moment that I took that first bite I would never forget that sensational savory blend of beef, mushrooms and dairy over noodles flavored beer. This week in the Phoenix Test Kitchen nearly three decades later I finally recreated my brother’s high school choir teacher’s Beef Stroganoff. Try it, you’ll LOVE it!!!!!
Beef Stroganoff
the ingredients:
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 large onion
- 2 lbs USDA Filet Mignon
- 1 lb of mushrooms
- 1 stick of salted butter
- 1 pint of sour cream
- 1 can of beer
- 3 Tablespoons of Wondra flour
- 1 lb of egg noodles
the steps:
- Boil salted water for the noodles in a big pot. Mince the garlic, chop the onion and slice the mushrooms. Cut the filet mignon into 1/8” thick strips.
- Sauté the garlic and onion in half the butter in a biggest skillet you have over a medium to high flame. Add the meat as the onions begin to get translucent. When the meat is just about cooked add the mushrooms.
- By this time the water for the noodles is boiling so pour them in.
- Back to the skillet, stir in the sour cream, the rest of the butter and the beer. Breathe deep – it smells REALLY good! Thicken with Wondra. Combine the drained noodles with the skillet mixture. Bring to a quick boil then cover and simmer over a low flame for ten minutes.
Serve with enormous pride and a big smile by candlelight on your best dishes on the dining room table. To go with it a simple green salad with salted, seeded tomatoes tossed with oil and vinegar and a couple of bottles of your favorite red wine. For dessert - Neapolitan Ice cream.
Cheers to the Steak Lady, the Beef Stroganoff and YOU!
Charles Phoenix
Los Angeles
January 2006
Sets this Slide belongs to:
Food & Recipes
12 Comments on “The Steak Lady, Danbury, Connecticut, 1953 ”
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January 21st, 2006 at 1:11 pm
Hi Charles. Long time reader, first time commenter. The site looks fantastic! I look forward to your slides every week. The’ve become an institution to me. Thank you! BTW, I have a fridge JUST like that one.
January 22nd, 2006 at 1:18 am
The Steak Lady looks scary.
Reminds me of an Alfred Hitchcock episode where a woman kills her husband with a frozen leg of lamb. The Police can’t find the perpetrator or the weapon. In closing, the Detective in charge visits the woman who invites him to enjoy the wonderful leg of lamb she has prepared. “Why thank you” he responds, “If we only had a weapon”.
If I could say one thing to her it would be :
“Close the goddamn refridgerator door! Are you trying to air condition the whole neighborhood!”
January 22nd, 2006 at 9:47 am
Hey Charles,
Really enjoying the improved website. But I am curious as to whether the date on this slide of the week is correct. I’m not sure that the milk carton that’s shown in the fridge dates that far back… I thought those “Pure-Pak” or “Pour-Pak” containers weren’t around until the 60’s. I am not completely sure, but that was my recollection.
Anyone?
Best,
Rich
January 22nd, 2006 at 5:32 pm
Dear Charles,
Checked with my husband who was born and raised in Danbury, CT to see if he recognized the Steak Lady. Alas he did not.
One thing is for sure, you can’t get big honking pieces of beef (such as SL is showing off in the slide) without it costing a small fortune these days!
Looking forward to trying the recipe!
Your pal,
Las Vegas Lynn
January 23rd, 2006 at 9:25 am
Charles,
Love the new look of the web site! Very cool. I am also digging the fact that we can post little comments now! To all the readers out there. I can tell you that the Phoenix Stoganoff is top notch. Follow the recipe and you won’t be dissappointed. Another variation is to subtitute a couple cans of Campbells cream of mushroom soup for the butter and the sour cream. It comes out a little more gravy like, less creamy, but equally yummy.
January 23rd, 2006 at 12:34 pm
Welcome to the wonderful world of websites, Mr. Phoenix! Yours looks faboo!
Hugs!
L.A. Ell
January 24th, 2006 at 10:51 am
Phoenix!!
The site is fantastic! I love it. The little Charles head that appears in the URL line is hilarious!
- Rick
January 24th, 2006 at 4:19 pm
We tried this recipe. It was a good start, but was missing flavor! We looked in the Joy of Cooking, found a similar recipe, and borrowed the additions. This new recipe called for some nutmeg, salt and pepper. Adding these made all of the difference! Bon appetit!
January 24th, 2006 at 5:52 pm
Rich,
The milk had a flat top with a flip up stopper. You’re seeing the label of the can behind the milk.
January 25th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
The Steak Lady looks like she’s about to say “Now, I’m going to cook this steak and you’re gonna like it.” It’s always a pleasure to visit this webpage. It rocks! Keep up the good work.
January 25th, 2006 at 5:13 pm
Mr. Charles,
In my pursuit to spread the gospel of old fashioned etiquette and good ol’ cookin’, I figured posting a comment here would allow me to speak to you (of course!) and the masses.
This slide inspired me to search through my cookbook collection for my cache of cookbooks geared toward things men like to eat. Thus I am the possessor of recipes for the pies, cakes, and various meat dishes men like! Handy! (Hint: they like chocolate, meringue, and meat of all walks).
The Lovely Steak Lady led me to _Dishes Men Like_ (pub. 1952) whose cover is dotted with drawings of everything from Oyster Bar Stew to something called London Loaf (it’s shaped in a ring and has something steamy inside). I like to imagine that posed here at fridge, La Steak Fixer is perhaps mulling over the following helpful exhortation for housewives inside the _Dishes Men Like_ cover:
If you have a husband who likes to cook pamper him. Encourage him! You are lucky indeed, even though you find yourself only a fetch-and-carry handmaiden while his genius glows. But men are wise, not one in a thousand really wants to take over the job. They usually have a few specialities to produce on occasion and leave the rest of the cooking to us.
So, what do we do? It goes without saying that most women chooses dishes men like. And men have quite definite likes and dislikes about food.
For instance, they like Lea & Perrins, the Original Worcestershire Sauce. So — to please a man — what easier way to season his food at home the way he likes it!
So, perhaps, our lady’s expression comes from the realization that she’s forgotten the Lea & Perrins?
xoxo!
Miss Sharon
April 23rd, 2006 at 5:39 am
Can’t be 1953 - no way. Milk is in carton in refrigerator, not bottle. I’d say more like 1963.