As I child, I always loved having dinner at my grandparents’ home, especially when they made beef stroganoff. The creamy sauce and tender beef that topped the egg noodles was so yummy and I especially loved the hint of sherry — it made me feel I was eating grown-up food. I wish I had their recipe for this, but since I don’t,  I’ve been forging ahead with ideas from my cookbooks and the Internet.

While I had early success with the delicious sauce, it took a few tries to replicate melt-in-your-mouth beef. When Brad suggested to braise the meat, I decided to give it a try, and he was right — perfectly tender beef that made this dish completely delicious. While the braising process takes longer to complete, it is so simple to do and definitely worth the time spent!

Ingredients (Serves 4 to 6)

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Sea salt, to taste
• Ground pepper, to taste
• ¾ cup good red wine
• 1½ cups beef broth (maybe more if needed)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium shallot, diced small
• 2½ cups of mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
• ¼ cup dry sherry
• ¾ cup sour cream (I used light)
• 3 cups uncooked extra wide egg noodles
• Flat leaf parsley for garnish

Preparation

Preheat oven for 325 degrees F. Heat olive oil to medium-high in a large Dutch oven (I love my Rockcrok® for this.) Add the beef and briefly brown on all sides.

Add the flour, salt and pepper and stir until the flour has completely disappeared.

Add the wine and simmer for 10 minutes, until it has reduced by half.

Pour in the beef broth and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven.

Cook for about 2½ hours, until the beef is pull-apart fork tender. During this step, I stir the beef a few times and add more broth if needed. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.

While the mushrooms are cooking, begin preparing the egg noodles according to the package instructions and drain.

Add the beef and broth mixture and the sherry to the mushroom mixture. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the sour cream and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Serve over egg noodles, rice or mashed potatoes, and garnish with the parsley.

This goes great with a tossed salad and a nice glass of red wine.

Bon appétit!

Eat, drink and be merry!

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