Atrifact Description
The artifact is a small book, about 8in by 6in with a pale blue cover that says "Heavenly Cookery" by St. Alban's Episcopal Church. The pages are pale blue and light tan in color. Each page has about 3 recipes on them, written in a black, typewriter font, possibly written on an actual typewriter. The pages are spiral bound with a metal wire. The age of the book is unknown, ranging from 1920 to 2000. St. Alban's is located in Bexley, Ohio, near Columbus. The Bexley historical society has no knowledge of the cookbook. St. Alban's also has no records of the cookbook from their library collection.
Beef Stroganoff History
Beef stroganoff started as a peasant dish in Russia, being a common way for peasants with enough money to buy meat to use it and make it last. The dish is served with cubes of beef in a cream sauce, spread over wide noodles.
The dish's name has unknown origins, but it may be named after the prominent Count Stroganov.
The recipe spread throughout Europe as immigrants came west from Soviet States, bringing their staple dish with them. As Germans, French, Austrians, and other Europeans moved to the new world, beef stroganoff moved with them. The dish is now very popular, with the freezer brand Lean Cuisine making a beef stroganoff with noodles that is sold across the world.
The dish has since spread all over the world, being a staple dish in most of Europe, and has even gained popularity in Brazil and Japan. These versions are slightly different, replacing the noodls with rice.
Beef Stroganoff and Ohio
The tradition of making beef stroganoff from a recipe in a little, green, Slovak cookbook has been passed down in my family for generations. Immigrants such as my Great-great-great grandmother who came from Czechoslovakia are the reason we have such recipes. Many French, German, and Russian immigrants who have brought this dish into the midwest, especially in Ohio.
http://www.mybestgermanrecipes.com/beef-stroganoff-recipe/
https://natashaskitchen.com/2011/04/03/marias-russian-beef-stroganoff/
http://flavorsofbrazil.blogspot.com/2011/02/recipe-brazilian-stroganoff-estrogonofe.html
http://dinnerwa.blogspot.com/2012/06/beef-stroganoff-japanese-style.html
Various. “Beef Stroganoff.”Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Oct. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef_Stroganoff.
Waggoner, Susan. “As Russian as It Gets: The History of Beef Stroganoff.”ForknPlate, 5 Apr. 2015, forknplate.com/2014/12/01/as-russian-as-it-gets-the-history-of-beef-stroganoff/.
Eremeeva, Jennifer. “Around the World with Beef Stroganoff.”Russia Beyond, 5 July 2011, www.rbth.com/articles/2011/07/05/around_the_world_with_beef_stroganoff_13111.html.
