cook: beef stroganoff

I bought a package of white button mushrooms, which I thought I was going to cook for pizza and on impulse turned into beef stroganoff which I thought I was going to make with ground beef, but instead was cooked with chuck beef tips. I had watched an America’s Test Kitchen video of beef stroganoff made with ground beef and where the noodles are cooked directly in the stroganoff rather than boiled separately. And so I experimented. First the mise en place including freshly harvested green and purple string beans from our garden.      

Differently from the video, I didn't cook the chopped onions and cubed beef and sliced mushrooms separately. I browned the beef first and remembered to have the flour, beef broth and wine for deglazing at the ready.

I sprinkled the flour on to the beef and wish I had not because the fond was too much at the bottom of the pan. And so I added the onions and mushrooms next to add moisture back into the pan.

 

And the recipe called for simmering the noodles in an open pan, but I worried that too much moisture would escape and so I used a lid to keep the steam in.

But I noticed that the noodles were softening too quickly and took the lid off and let the casserole continue simmering. And it didn't take long at all for the noodles to cook. The package indicated 6 minutes for al dente noodles, and before I knew it, the casserole was ready for sour cream.

Note to self, no need for lid and omit the flour on the browning meat as there was enough fond for deglazing the pan and enough starch on the noodles to thicken the sauce.

The noodles were a bit too gummy for my taste, and I think in the future I'm okay with cooking the noodles separately though they are more flavorful when cooked with the stewed meat and mushrooms.

Roasted green beans may be an unappetizing color compared to steamed green beans, but they were tender and delicious. Today's Bay Area weather was windy and chilly, and so comfort food and homey smells emanating from a warm kitchen were the right call for a gloomy looking early evening.