So Sunday Supper turned into Monday Supper last week. I had my meal all planned and groceries bought but sometimes you just want pizza and a good beer and not have to worry kitchen clean up.

Andrew gave me the challenge to pick a recipe without a picture and it was really difficult for me to find something that I wanted to make. I’m a sucker for pictures, I like to see what my food is supposed to look like, that way I know if I nailed it or royally messed it up. I ended up picking a protein and looking through Mark Bittman’s How to Cooking Everything for a beef recipe, I landed on Beef Stroganoff. I know, not very exciting but I had actually never had it and it seems like something that every 1950s housewife would serve.

I did a little research on the history of the dish and found that it was first made in 1891 by a French chef who had entered it in a St. Petersburg cooking contest.  The French origin makes sense because browning the meat to make a pan sauce and flavoring it with mustard is classically French, while beef in sour cream has long been a Russian favorite.  The flavors in this dish work really well together and I can see why this dish won the contest.

Mark Bittman’s Beef Stroganoff

An addition that I will add next time is to toss the cut beef in flour before browning, my sauce didn’t come out as thick as I would have liked and I think that will help in the future.

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 large onion, sliced
• 8 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
• Salt and pepper
• 1 ½ pounds beef tenderloin or sirloin, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 plum tomatoes (canned are fine), chopped, or 1/2 cup good tomato sauce, optional
• 1 cup beef or chicken stock
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• Chopped fresh dill or parsley for garnish

1. Put the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When it foams, add the onions and mushrooms and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they are soft but not browned, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Add the beef and cook, stirring, for just a minute. Add the mustard and stock and adjust the heat so the liquid bubbles steadily. Cook, stirring occasionally until the meat is just cooked through but still tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the sour cream and stir until it heats through and forms a sauce, careful not to let it come to a boil. Taste, adjust the seasoning, garnish with dill, and serve over egg noodles, rice or potatoes.

Not the prettiest dish I’ve made but it was quite tasty! Until next Sunday, bon appétit!