December 08, 2010

All or Nothing

Sumptuous and Speedy Beef Stroganoff


Sometimes I watch my little girl in wonder. She will decide that we are having "party night" and goes about the house making decorations, invitations, signs, and appetizers (cheese and crackers and cereal mix). She'll even make or find little trinkets to put in goodie bags! Then after dinner the rest of us are herded into the living room to join her party.

My bright eyed seven-year-old does this sort of thing regularly. She plans to play a board game and either pulls out ALL the games and makes it an event, or spends hours creating a new board game. She chooses to play "restaurant" and turns our house up-side-down in order to design the perfect dinning room and kitchen. She even makes room cleaning an elaborate affair!

Where did she get this extreme all-or-nothing quality? Oh, yes...the fingers are pointed in my direction. My parents would tell you I was exactly like that when I was little. Hmmm... pretty sure I've simmered down a BIT.


We don't cook a lot of heavy, starchy meals. It's not that we don't enjoy potatoes and pasta dishes. I guess I'm just always trying to compensate for the abundance of desserts in our house! However, when I do make a carb-acious meal, I don't want to cut corners on flavor (or fat!)  I figure, as long as you're making a heavy meal--make a HEAVY meal!

The only area I am ever willing to cut corners on is time. My time is precious to me. Although I love to spend it in the kitchen, the more I do, the less imaginary parties I get to go to!

This is a recipe I developed specifically for my cooking class. The ladies always requested quick, fresh meals they could throw together once they got home from work. I took my slow-cooking traditional Beef Stroganoff recipe, and revamped it for speed.

The result? A full bodied, full flavored, all-or-nothing dish in a fraction of the time!


What really speeds up the stroganoff is the cut of meat. Most Beef Stroganoff recipes call for a lower-quality cut that needs to be slow-cooked to breakdown and tenderize. By simply using a better cut of beef, you cut out hours of cooking time! This recipe can be made in less than 30 minutes if you're a good chopper. (Or you could buy pre-sliced mushrooms, I won't tell!)

Sommer

Nothing is as far away as one minute ago. ~Jim Bishop


Beef Stroganoff with Butter Noodles

1 ½ lbs. thick steak (NYstrip filet, ribeye…)
16 oz. wide egg noodles
2 Tb. olive oil
4 Tb. butter, divided
3 Tb. flour
3-4 shallots, thinly sliced
2 lbs. mushrooms, sliced (I like to mix varieties)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 Tb. fresh thyme
2 Tb. Dijon mustard
3 cups beef stock
½ cup cognac
¾-1 cup sour cream
2-3 Tb. chopped parsley

Place a large pot of water on high heat and bring to a boil. Start slicing...


In a large saucepan combine oil, 2 Tb. butter and flour over medium-high heat. Mix well to eliminate clumps. Add the sliced onions and stir for 2-3 minutes.

 

Add the mushrooms, garlic, thyme and ½ tsp salt. Move around the pan continuously for 5 minutes or so, until the mushrooms have started to soften.

 

Add cognac, beef stock and Dijon—mix well. Let the sauce simmer another 10 minutes—stir occasionally.  


Meanwhile, preheat the grill or skillet to high heat. Rub the steaks with oil, salt, pepper and thyme. Grill 3-5 minutes per side, depending on thickness (1 ½ inches = 5 mins. per side.)


Boil the noodles according to package directions. After draining, add 2 Tb. butter, 1 Tb. parsley and salt to taste.


After the steaks have rested 5 minutes, slice into thin strips. Add ¾+ cup sour cream to the sauce--whisk well. Salt and pepper the sauce to taste.


Immediately plate noodles topped with sauce. Then lay the steak across the top. Garnish with extra parsley! Serves 4-6.


Attention Friends~ I'll be away for the next few days and won't be able to respond to comments until Monday.
Have a GREAT weekend!


40 comments:

  1. Your daughter sounds so sweet! I love the idea of imaginary parties and all the other fun games she comes up with :) This dish also looks like a great shortcut, yum!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love meals that are quick to prepare and big on flavor...this one looks to be just that!

    It sounds like your daughter is going to be quite the social planner...better watch out! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love this dish! Looks so good!
    Your daughter is so sweet!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh how I love beef stroganoff. That was an absolute favorite dish of mine growing up!

    Enjoy your weekend and your time off!

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's funny - personalities come up pretty quickly! I used to play restaurant all the time...only I did it UNDER the kitchen table. This recipe looks fantastic. PS passing you a blogger award - see the photo of the day. =)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice quick recipe for stroganoff! I always use filet mignon for mine, as it was intended by the original chef :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I always want some tricks to lower the cooking time of meals. Thanks for sharing this great recipe with us!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I absolutely love beef stroganoff and it's been so long since I've made it. I think it's about time now after seeing your delicious meal! Thank you soooo much for the recipe!
    How cute is your daughter?! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. WOW this dish looks absolutely amazing. I love that photo of the mushrooms cooking! Just looking at it, I can taste the mushrooms.
    Your daughter is so cute... adorable. children have such amazing imaginations. I keep going back and forth on when to have kids, but when I read things like this it makes me want to hop instantly on the baby train.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have to agree with Roxan - those mushrooms look amazing cooking in the pan. Great looking dish with the better cut of beef and I do like the wide egg noodles you've used.

    So cute about your daughter. You are a positive influence on her and what she enjoys! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I like these simple dinners lovely presentation

    ReplyDelete
  12. Absolutely delicious. Your photography is stunning and makes the food look like it can be grabbed through the screen (which I really wish I could do).

    ReplyDelete
  13. About your little girl and her "parties," that's the cutest thing I ever heard!! She must be very, very bright. Don't let anybody ever stomp on that creativity!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your version looks delicious, and lighter than others I've seen. Great pictures! Thersea

    ReplyDelete
  15. Loved hearing about your daughter's imaginary parties. That is the cutest! This looks so tasty and I love how quick and easy it is. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  16. This is a very modern take on stroganoff and I LOVE IT. It is still relatively straightforward and I can see it would be delicious. My carnivour thanks you!
    And, so do I!
    :)
    Valerie

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love stroganoff - I also love the idea of using a better cut of meat. Makes so much sense... I imagine your little girl gets her entertaining skills from her momma!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I love this dish - it's almost retro these days! You never see it - but I still make it.Like the better cuts of meats. My kids used to play "Coo-Coo-Crazy Restaurant." The menu (and we had to pay to eat the food we paid to buy!) is still on my bulletin board! Treasure these times!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hey Sommer, this really does look wonderful! I don't make dishes like this that often either, but I always love them when I do get the chance to enjoy something like this. Oh, and your step by step photos are stellar-love that;)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Beef stroganoff is my husband's favorite meal, and I love how you upped the quality of meat. I'm bookmarking this recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I adore the beef Stroganoff, but never try making it myself...thanks Sommer, for sharing the recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I recently made a meat-less stroganoff. And I have a recipe for pork stroganoff (DELICIOUS!). But can you believe I have never actually made BEEF stroganoff yet?!? I do want to make it soon... the one bummer though is, as always, I can't make it with mushrooms because of Mr. Picky Pants. Sigh. And they look sooooooo good in your pictures, too.

    ReplyDelete
  23. My oh my! This looks and sounds delicious. And I'm with you...if you are going to make a heavy meal...you should go for it! Thank you so much for sharing with me today. I hope you have a lovely weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Well I think I am going to have to go to the market your stroganoff looks so good, my husband is going to be a happy man tonight, thanks so much.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Your little girl will make a great even planner when she grows up! Your stroganoff looks so good; all those wonderful mushrooms!!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. your daughter sounds like such a cutie! I see event planning in her future!

    That is great!

    Also, wanted to remind you Merry Monday's theme is Mint! Hope you can join!

    http://clearlyclaireblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/anyone-care-to-join-merry-mondays.html

    ReplyDelete
  27. Beautiful photography, I think you've really captured the essence of this luscious dish, great job:)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Love the addition of the cognac! We've always used wine in stroganoff so this gives me a new twist to try :-) Your daughter sounds like she's certainlly taking after her mom!! Enjoy your weekend, Kate @ kateiscooking

    ReplyDelete
  29. I could almost taste all the BIG flavors you've infused together here. Your pictures are jumping off my screen. I love those mushrooms being drizzled with cognac.. mmmm good!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Your daughter is so cute...haha. Love your pasta dish....simple, comforting and delicious...yum

    ReplyDelete
  31. Your daughter sounds adorable! And your stroganoff look incredible!

    ReplyDelete
  32. your daughter sounds like mine :). love easy dishes like this one...

    ReplyDelete
  33. love hearing the story about your daughter...no doubt she will go far in life. Recipe looks great, but I don't like beef. might work for venison tho! thx

    ReplyDelete
  34. Looks wonderful! I think Cook's Illustrated also recommends using a better cut of beef and if you like the flavor profiles in the dish then doing so will give you much more satisfaction. The first meal I EVER cooked was Beef Stroganoff in a pressure cooker when I was 12 so it has a special place in my heart (stomach).

    ReplyDelete
  35. I love your daughter, how fun!! I can imagine she is as spunky as you sommmer..what a delight! I have not had beef stroganoff in what seems like forever, how luscious..thanks fro tempting me again!!
    sweetlife

    ReplyDelete
  36. I've never had beef stroganoff before and didn't know exactly what it was, and this looks perfect for this chilly time of year. Your daughter sounds so cute!!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Sommer, check out my post today...

    ReplyDelete
  38. Imaginary parties...the very best kind :) How adorable! This dish looks perfect, and ever so impressive. Lovely and detailed post Sommer!

    ReplyDelete
  39. This sounds fantastic! Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for taking the time. If you have a question, I'll get back to you ASAP!