Food and Wine: Govjadina Po-Stroganovski (Wild Mushroom Beef Stroganoff)

I've been wanting to make beef stroganoff for a while now.  I don't know how I get these ideas in my head; they just seem to pop up one day and won't leave until I do something about them.  No, I'm not crazy.  Yet.  Although I'm sure the clerk at Central Market thinks I am after ringing up five different bags of mushrooms.  Hey, what can I say, I like mushrooms.  This particular mixture was cremini, shiitake, hen of the woods, and oyster.

Govjadina Po-Stroganovski (Wild Mushroom Beef Stroganoff)
Adapted from Food and Wine magazine, December 2012

5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound mixed wild mushrooms
Salt and pepper
1 pound sirloin steak, sliced across the grain into ¼-inch strips
¼ cup all-purpose flour
⅓ cup dry white wine
1 small onion, cut in half and then thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1½ cups beef broth or stock
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Pinch of dried thyme
1 tablespoon brandy
½ cup full-fat sour cream

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter until melted.  Add the mushrooms and cook over moderately high heat until softened, about 3 minutes.  Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute longer.  Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl.

Generously season the steak with salt and pepper.  Toss the steak with the flour until evenly coated; gently tap off the excess.  Heat another 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet.  Add the steak slices, without touching, and cook until richly browned, about 5 minutes.  Transfer the steak to the bowl with the mushrooms.  Add the wine to the skillet and stir to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.  Add the wine to the mushrooms and steak.

In the same skillet, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter until melted and bubbling.  Add the onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Return the contents of the steak bowl to the skillet.  Stir in the broth, Dijon mustard, and thyme, and simmer over moderate heat until the pan juices thicken slightly, about 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the brandy and sour cream.  Season the stroganoff with salt and pepper and serve over buttered egg noodles.

Makes 4 servings