Beef Stroganoff

We have a holiday tradition at the Sherman's. The family goes up north to Iron Mountain the week before New Years and I stay home because its a very busy week for me at work. (New Years Eve is a huge day in Restaurants.) So I usually cook something for everyone the day they return. My mother-in-law, Joyce, one year suggested Beef Stroganoff but I ended up making something else. Next year she said the stroganoff was great and could I make it again? I don't know what I made but it wasn't stroganoff. Well, now its a running joke. If I ever did make beef stroganoff this is how I would do it:

Serves 8-10

3 lb round steak, cut into 1/2" strips

1/2 c salad oil (more if needed)

1 1/2 c flour

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

 2-3 c white wine for de-glazing

1 1/2 c onion, minced

1 lb mushrooms, quartered, stems removed

3-4 nice size cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp herbs provence

beef stock

2 tbsp butter1 pkg pearl onions () frozen

8 oz sour cream

1/2 c cornishons, sliced

Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot. Combine the flour, salt and pepper; dredge the meat to coat and shake off the excess. Saute the meat until nicely browned. Work in small batches so the meat sears properly and discard any oil that remains in the pot. Set the meat aside for a bit.*

Now sweat the onions over low heat in a small amount of butter until soft. Add mushrooms and raise the heat. Cook until mushrooms start to brown. Add the garlic and herbs and cook a couple minutes to let the beauty out. Add the reserved meat and beef stock. Cover and cook over low heat for an hour or so until the beef is pretty tender. Stir it every once in a while so it doesn't scorch.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, melt the butter and cook the pearl onions over medium heat until soft and nicely  browned. Set aside.

By the time the meat is tender the liquid in the pot should be pretty dense. Finish by adding the rest of the cast- including the pearl onions. I like to reserve some cornishons and pearl onions to sprinkle on the top for style points.

*You're going to get a nice brown fond going on the bottom of the pot- be careful not to let it burn. For a recipe this size you'll likely want to de-glaze a couple times with wine and/or stock. After de-glazing I usually clean the kettle before proceeding.