Beef

   , BEEF STROGANOFF, BEEF WELLINGTON, GHATEAUBRIAND

   Beef has been a standard food for many, many centuries. The eating of beef was mentioned in the Greek epics the Iliad and the Odyssey. King James II reportedly was so delighted by a roast from the loin end of beef that he dubbed it "Sir Loin," and from that moment the heavy ends of the beef loin came to be known as sirloin cuts. This, of course, may be apocryphal.

   From the cuts of beef have come many interesting and delectable dishes. One of the most famous comes from the eponym of a man not quite so famous—Count Paul Stroganoff, a nineteenth-century Russian diplomat. He favored thinly, sliced beef fillets sauteed and served with mushrooms and sour cream. Another recipe calls for the beef to be cooked with onions and in a sauce of consomme. Tuleja reports, "As far as Mother Russia is concerned, it is his only memorial: the Great Soviet Ency opedia gives the czarist functionary not a nod." But the dish Beef Stroganoff continues on the menus of some of America's finest restaurants. Beef Wellington is a particularly favorite preparation. It not only honors the "Iron Duke," Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, but also is a gustatory delight of beef eaters. Added to a choice cut of beef are liver pate, bacon, brandy, and condiments, all baked in a golden crust of puffed pastry.

   Those beef eaters who prefer a double-thick tender cut of beef tenderloin might choose chateaubriand, generally served with mushrooms and bearnaise sauce. This mouth-watering dish has been attributed to the chef in the household of Vicomte Francois Rene de Chateaubriand (1768-1848), a writer of romantic novels and travel narratives. debt from gambling and extravagant living, left for France in 1816 seeking a haven from his problems. France did not turn out to be the green