Beef Stroganoff

This is a meal I had a lot when I was growing up and it was without a doubt one of my favs.  I totally forgot about how much I loved it until I came across a recipe and it took my back to my childhood.  I used Tyler Florence's Beef Stroganoff recipe as my "skeleton" as Kate calls it, but did a couple of things differently.  The results were INCREDIBLE.  THIS, my friends, is blog worthy.  Monday night's dinner, not so much, but Tuesday night's dinner- YES.  you people must have this recipe.  I went all Pioneer Woman on you and took pictures of pretty much every step I took.  Humor me here, friends. Let's begin.

prep time: up to 15-30 minutes

cook time: Tyler says 3 hours, so we'll go with that (give yourself enough time to make this!)

serves: about 6 (meh, I'd say 4-5 realistically)

Ingredients

• 3 cups beef stock
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme, removed from the stem
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 pounds chuck roast, cut into 2-inch cubes (you can use "stew" meat to make this easier on yourself unless your just in the mood to butcher a chuck roast.)
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons cognac (I used cooking sherry)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (I stuck to olive oil for my heart's sake)
• 1 pound mushrooms, sliced (please use a damp kitchen towel and wipe off the dirt off of those little guys!)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons sour cream (i used more like 3-4)
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard (i definitely used about 3 if not 4)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
• 1 (1-pound) package wide egg noodles

 get the beef stock in a pot with your thyme, bay leaf, and carrot.  I only had matchstick carrots, so I estimated how many matchstick carrots equal one carrot. 

pat down the beef with paper towels to absorb any moisture.  this step is CRUCIAL if you want a good sear (nice brown crust).  season your beef liberally with salt and pepper.  then mix it all together.  use your hands, don't be afraid.  you want it well distributed. 

this is my assembly line for cooking the beef.  two plate on both sides of the stock pot.  add about 3 tablespoons of olive oil and turn the pot on medium high.  with tongs, add your beef in batches.  let them cook on each side for about 1-2 minutes, or until they can be easily removed from the pot (you'll know when they're not done searing because they won't unstick from the pot when you try to move them).  once all sides are brown, put them on the other plate. do this until all of the meat is cooked.  

that's what seared beef should look like.  nice and crispy brown crust.

while your meat cooks, however, please chop your onions. (not too many recipes ask you to do things with a "please," do they?)

i like my onions largely chopped in this recipe.

once all of your meat is cooked  turn the heat down to medium and add all of your meat back to the pot along with the onions.  let them cook together for about 5 minutes.  add a good pinch of salt. 

the recipe calls for cognac, which you can use if you have, but i didn't, so i used sherry.  same effect.  add your 2 tablespoons of sherry at this point (a little more if you think it needs it).  let this all cook together for another 5 minutes, stirring the meat and onions to combine. 

strain your simmering beef stock into the pot with meat and onions.  partially cover the pot, put the heat on LOW, and let this cook for 1 1/2-2 hours.

you can boil your noodles at any time and set them aside to wait for the stroganoff to cook.

in the meantime, chop some mushrooms, the 3 cloves of garlic, and get your thyme ready.

let me say something about mushrooms for a sec:  i used to ABHOR mushrooms (until my precious husband kept making me try them til i liked them) I couldn't even touch them much less CUT them.  but once you sautee them, get them nice and browned and eat them with other things, you don't notice them and they add PHENOMENAL flavor.  i always think of my precious college roommate, sarah adams, because the first time i chopped a mushroom i was disguisted but i did it for her to help her make dinner one time :)  love you, sarah.

sautee your mushrooms, garlic, and thyme in a pan with about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.

if you're not a mushroom lover, you're thinking "wow, there's a lot of mushrooms.  i don't know if i can commit to this yet" but wait....after cooking for about 7 minutes, the mushrooms look like this:

now look at all that space in the pan!! SEE! the mushrooms shrink!  you won't notice them, you non-mushroom people, I promise.  you'll thank me later.

once the mushrooms are cooked, turn off the pan and put the 'shrooms in a container in the fridge if you've still got some time left for the meat to simmer.  if you cut the mushrooms and sauteed them toward the end of the meat's simmer time, let them hang out.

when the meat is done, turn off the heat.  now is the time to add the mushrooms, sour cream, and dijon.

i know that you all know how to follow instruction, but i just took the pictures for the sake of taking them.  bare with me here.

ok fold the dijon and sour cream in and then check for seasonings.  i had to add more salt to bring out the flavors.  oh- add your chopped parsley in, too.

it was also a bit too soupy for my liking, so i did the following:

i put some corn starch in a mixing bowl thingy and added some of the juice from the pot, then i whisked it all together vigorously with a fork and added it back in to let it thicken.  

have your boiled your noodles yet?  you might want to start thinking about it since this baby is ready for serving.

ok, tyler likes to butter his noodles, and i don't do that- i just sprinkle them with a bit of olive oil and then slather them with this glorious beef stroganoff like so:

again, i know you all know how to serve things, but i was just taking pictures for the sake of taking them.  scott was poking fun at me but I DON'T CARE!

ok enough ranting, TIME TO ENJOY!!!! GO MAKE THIS!!!