Last week the hubs got home earlier than I did from work and since he is a super star, he decided to cook dinner before I got home! Cue the collective “awwwww”. It was such a good treat for me, and since I wasn’t home for most of it, it was much more pleasant for him than his usual cooking. (He fondly (and sometimes not-so-fondly) calls me “Kitchen Boss”, I’ll let you imagine what that entails.)
I’m not a huge Beef Stroganoff person, possibly because I wasn’t raised in the 50s, but I do like some delicious stroganoff on some delicious egg noodles every so often on a cold winter’s day. Last year I tried the ravely reviewed Beef Stroganoff III recipe from allrecipes.com and… nothing. It was ok. Or maybe even almost ok. I wasn’t a fan of the flavours, or the consistency, or anything much about it.
But, in the spirit of cleaning out our pantry before the move, I decided to give stroganoff another shot. Because when I think egg noodles, I automatically think stroganoff. Even though I’ve made it once in the last two and a half years.
I certainly wasn’t going to try Beef Stroganoff III. But I did find a highly reviewed stroganoff from epicurious (the Bon Appetit recipe from September 1999). And off the hubs went!
This recipe is not your basic super simple kind of recipe if you are in a hurry. It requires a bit of leg work, but it is delicious.
This doesn’t look like your regular stroganoff, it is less thick (in our case, likely largely in part to the fact we used milk instead of cream), but the flavours in this stroganoff are pretty delicious. And I’m pretty sure they were extra delicious because they were made by the hubs :) (Who, by the way, likely won’t be a fan of this picture. I think he looks cute).
Beef Stroganoff
From Epicurious, adaptations and comments in [square brackets] my own.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 2 1/2-pound piece beef tenderloin, well trimmed, meat cut into 2x1x1/2 inch strips
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
- 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots [we used onion, it was fine]
- 1 pound small button mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 1 cup canned beef broth
- 2 tablespoons Cognac [we used red wine]
- 3/4 cup crème fraîche or whipping cream [we used milk, this would have been better with cream]
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill [dill would have been amazing, we didn’t have any]
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles
- 1 tablespoon paprika
Directions
- Pat meat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat until very hot. Working in batches, add meat in single layer and cook just until brown on outside, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet [or a plate with a lip].
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped shallots [or onions] and sauté until tender, scraping up browned bits, about 2 minutes. Add button mushrooms. Sprinkle with pepper and sauté until liquid evaporates, about 12 minutes.
- Add beef broth, then Cognac [or wine]. Simmer until liquid thickens and just coats mushrooms, about 14 minutes. Stir in crème fraîche and Dijon mustard. Add meat and any accumulated juices from baking sheet. Simmer over medium-low heat until meat is heated through but still medium-rare, about 2 minutes. Stir in chopped dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain. Transfer to bowl. Add remaining 4 tablespoons butter and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Divide noodles among plates. Top with beef and sauce. Sprinkle generously with paprika.