...inspired by being blown off by a friend for the second time in a row....after buying filet mignon for a surprise going-away dinner...I had no intention of making stroganoff that night but made this on the fly instead. The filet absolutely made the dish superior.

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Invest in 1½ lbs of filet and cut into thin, bite-sized chunks
Also invest in a pound of homemade pasta, because it will be worth it
Slice ½ c. criminis
Chop ¼ c. each onion and fresh chives
Pull out a stick of butter from the fridge, but don't worry...you won't use it all
Peel and have ready 2 small cloves (or 1 large clove) garlic
Also have at the ready olive oil, dry white wine, flour, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, dried dill weed, ½ c. sour cream, and tomato paste. (Consider buying a tube instead of a can, as you'll only need 1 T. of it. It's an optional ingredient anyway.)

Melt 2 T. butter into 1 T. olive oil in a deep skillet over medium-to-low heat, and fry the meat in batches, barely cooking them. Leave them very rare because they'll be heated again in the sauce. Once you've got all the meat transferred to a bowl, pour all the juices back into the pan and allow the meat to rest. (And no, you don't season the meat before you cook it.)

[Now would be a good time to start your water for the pasta.]

Heat the pan juices again to medium, melt another 2 T. butter, and sauté the onion, chives, and mushrooms together for about 4 minutes. Press the garlic through a press and cook that with the mixture for about a minute. Sprinkle everything with 1 T. flour, and cook down the flour with the veggies to make a roux. Add ½ c. wine, some grindings of fresh black pepper, and ½ tsp. dill weed, and allow the sauce to reduce a little bit and the alcohol to burn off. Then add the tomato paste, if you want to use it, and start adding the sour cream by spoonfuls and turn off the heat. Stir to incorporate everything. Add 1½ tsp. Worcestershire and ½ tsp. salt, and then adjust the seasonings to your taste. Toss the meat back in, and don't forget to include whatever else has collected at the bottom of the bowl.

Once your pasta is cooked, drain and add right away to the sauce, and serve at once. Enough for 6 but easily serves 3 gluttons.

Love to all!

Sounds really good, Housechef! Stroganoff is one of my favorites.

Here is an easy recipe using Shallots, a delicate flavor difference from onions or garlic.

Beef Stroganoff

1 pint Sour Cream
3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
3 Tbsp Cornstarch
2 tsp Beef Base (Better Than Bouillon)

1 lb prime Sirloin
2 Tbsp Butter

½ cup, 3 - 4 Shallots, minced
2 pts sliced fresh Mushrooms
2 Tbsp Butter
Egg Noodles


Boil a large pot of salted water on stove to cook Egg Noodles later.

Mix Lemon Juice, Corn Starch, and Beef Base with Sour Cream.
Mix well. This will give the Sour Cream a bit more sour flavor, and
the cornstarch will thicken the sauce. Set aside

Finely mince shallots.
Cut Beef steak into 1/2" x 1/2" x 2" fingers.

Brown Mushrooms in 2 Tbsp Butter in large, very hot skillet, until slightly golden.
When Mushrooms stop browning and the liquid starts collecting in the pan,
drain off the Mushroom liquid into the lemon juice mixture.
Return pan to burner and stir-fry Mushrooms until golden.
Remove from heat and put Mushrooms aside in a separate bowl temporarily.

Now, Add Egg Noodles to boiling salted water.

Heat the same skillet, in which Mushrooms were cooked, to searing -
slightly smoking - very HOT!
Add Butter and then add Steak.
Stir fry until Steak is slightly browned or loses its pink color, about three to five minutes.
Add chopped Shallots to Steak. Stir fry a little longer - ab one minute.

Add Sour Cream mixture. Turn down heat under Steak - Sour Cream mixture.
Stir Steak & Sour Cream mixtures until thick - about four to five minutes.
Stir Mushrooms into Stroganoff.

Drain Egg Noodles. Pour into serving dish.

Pour Stroganoff on top of Noodles.

Enjoy !

Even though we're frying out here in SoCal (well, at least in the San Fernando valley we're about to become Crispy Critters), I'm slobbering all over again at the thought of stroganoff. Thank you for providing this alternative....it sounds delicious, and makes up for a lack of wine, something I don't have at the moment on hand. Hmmm...I set aside some filet in the freezer from last time. Woo hoo!