A Quick and Fancy Beef Stroganoff

Sliced beef, egg noodle package, sauteed mushrooms, wine cooking, the start of onions, finished onions, cooked egg noodles

After the meat guy at the grocery store scoffed at me for wanting beef tenderloin for my beef stroganoff, I knew I had to make it a good one!  Apparently he had never heard of using “such a fancy cut of beef” for stroganoff, but this recipe needs it because it turns a slow-cooker favorite into a week-night possibility. It’s another America’s Test Kitchen recipe.  I swear I am not attempting to cook every recipe in there (well, maybe every yummy-looking one).  This recipe is done in about an hour, and that was even with me taking my time and forgetting about veggies until near the end.

I decided on this dish for two reasons: I’d never made it before, and I’ve been having a real love affair with mushrooms lately.  They have been popping up every week for a while.

 

Getting ready . . .

Here are the details if you are cooking 4 servings:

• 12 ounces mushrooms, diced
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1.5 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 3/4 cup dry red wine
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 3/4 lb beef tenderloin
• Egg noodles, 8 ounces (or just make the whole bag)
• Some butter and oil

Start by prepping the beef: slice across the grain into thin slices like for a stir fry.  Pat the beef dry with a paper towel then season with salt and pepper.  Next, in a 12 inch skillet, saute the mushrooms over medium heat in some oil until brown.  Remove them from the pan and place in a bowl.

Around this time you can start bringing water to a boil for the egg noodles.

Add some more oil and cook the beef until browned (be careful not to overcook so it stays tender). Put the beef with the mushrooms.  Add 1/4 cup red wine to the skillet, scraping brown bits up.  Continue cooking it until it gets a little syrupy (a couple minutes) then add to the beef/mushrooms.

Add a tablespoon of butter to the skillet.  Next, add the tomato paste, brown sugar, and onion to the skillet and stir around until browned (about 5 minutes).  Add the flour, stirring for a minute.  Then, add the chicken broth and the rest of the wine.  Simmer for 2 minutes, until thickened.  Now, temper the sour cream by mixing some sauce into a bowl with the sour cream and then add it all into the skillet.  Add the bowl of mushrooms/etc. back to the skillet and let everything heat through.

When the egg noodles are done, you can toss them with some butter, but I didn’t even notice the difference on noodles that had it or didn’t.

Next time, I think I might add some parsley for a little green and flavor.  Not that this dish didn’t have flavor–it was creamy and a little sweet (in a good way).  I just think the parsley might add a little something extra–something to try with the leftovers!

Mmmm. Creamy and saucy.

Unfortunately there were no mess-ups to learn from today.  The food just turned out really well.  Maybe the real lesson is beef stroganoff can be made in a slow-cooker, but if you want to splurge, go with the tenderloin because it was tasty, and you can rub it in the meat guy’s face.  Ha!

Don’t forget to have your S/O make some veggies to go with it! We had asparagus sauteed with garlic, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

By the way, the humor doesn’t escape me that I used kosher noodles with a decidedly non-kosher meal.  😉

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