Free The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook by Rick Rodgers

and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sweet Hungarian paprika
4 cups canned reduced-sodium beef broth
Hot cooked noodles, for serving
Sour cream, for serving
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in a Dutch oven or flameproof casserole over medium-high heat. Season the beef with 1½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. In batches, adding more fat as needed, add the beef and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer the beef to a plate.
3. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons bacon fat in the Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, bell pepper, and garlic and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the flour and paprika and stir well. Stir in the broth. Return the beef to the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Cover the Dutch oven.
4. Bake, stirring every 30 minutes, until the beef is very tender, about 1¾ hours. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot, on the noodles, topping each serving with a dollop of sour cream.

COLD WAR BEEF STROGANOFF
    MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
    The American political situation with Russia didn’t stop American moms from cooking up Russian food like blini, strawberries Romanoff, and beef Stroganoff. Many households made their Stroganoff with canned mushroom soup, but just as many made it from scratch. In either case, it scored big with busy cooks because it’s ready to serve in no time. Even gourmets embraced Stroganoff, as it prominently featured mushrooms, which were about as exotic as one got (vegetable-wise) in the Cold War era.
1½ pounds boneless top loin (shell or New York) or sirloin steak
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
1¼ cups sour cream
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Chopped fresh parsley or chives, for garnish
Hot cooked noodles, for serving
1. Cut the steak across the grain into ½-inch-thick slices, trimming and discarding excess fat. Cut each slice into pieces 2 to 3 inches long. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. In batches without crowding, add the beef and cook, stirring often, until seared, about 3 minutes. The beef should be rare at this point.
3. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and butter together to the skillet (don’t add the butter alone, or it could burn from the retained heat) and cook, stirring often, until the onion softens, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until their juices evaporate and the mushrooms begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add ⅓ cup water to the skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits in the skillet.
4. Return the beef to the skillet. Add the sour cream mixture and cook, stirring often, until the sauce comes to a simmer. (The cornstarch will keep the sour cream from curdling.) Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the parsley. Serve hot, with the noodles.

PAN-FRIED STEAK WITH BUTTER
    MAKES 2 SERVINGS
    While backyard barbecues were popular in the suburbs, for most people, especially city dwellers, a steak at home meant taking out the cast-iron skillet and cooking the meat on the stove. (Broilers were not very efficient yet.) Pan-frying creates a deep, dark crust on the steak. The finishing touch is a thick pat of butter melted in the pan to collect the juices. So turn on the stove’s vent (hint: you can expect some smoke), bake a potato, and get sizzling.
2 boneless top loin (shell or New York) or rib-eye steaks, about 14 ounces each
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1. Trim off some of the fat that surrounds the steaks and reserve. Season the steaks with the salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high