The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming

What is popular in Iran, Japan and the United States, is sometimes served with egg noodles and was first created in Russia by Elena Molokhovet in 1861?

Beef Stroganoff! 

Traditionally made with cubes of beef, onion and sour cream, the version I recently tried included carrots, peas and vermouth and was baked in individual pie cups with the help of a muffin pan (or two).

The name Stroganoff likely derives from the Stroganovs, a family of rich, Russian merchants, industrialists, landowners and statesmen. The richest family in the Tsardom of Russia since the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the beef Stroganoff pie cups I made in honour of a recent visit from the beau were anything but! 

Instead of trying a traditional, Russian recipe I went with a version made famous by the woman with "the best a$$ in Hollywood," as a (slightly inebriated) friend of mine once famously said.

Ye old Betty Crocker.

The trick to getting the pie cups out properly, and in one piece, is to wait for them to cool completely (which I unfortunately didn't do the first night we ate them).

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

It is interesting to note that the first lady of food never actually existed (and thus also likely never had the best a$$ in Hollywood). 

The name Betty Crocker was created by General Mills' predecessor, the Washburn Crosby Company, to personalize responses to customer inquiries. The name Crocker comes from William G. Crocker, a recently retired company executive. The name Betty was chosen because it sounded "warm and friendly."