Well, so, I haven't been the best at updating. In my defense, I'm planning a wedding, working 46 hour workweeks and trying to cut costs in every aspect of my life. Geh. I'm tired, guys. But, I AM cooking!
A while ago, Mike and I went to dinner with some friends and he saw beef stroganoff on the menu. I think I convinced him to order lobster so I could eat some (hah!) and ever since he's been obsessed with the idea of the big "s". So, I kept telling him, "Don't worry, I'll make it better for you.", and well, I never did. This week, when I saw creminis were on sale at the grocery store, I grabbed a bag and told him it's finally here; it's stroganoff time.
I've never made it before, but I've seen it made and I've eaten it, so I basically did what I always do; take the elements of the dish I do like, take out the ones I don't and make my own butchered version stealing the name. Oh, and it was good.
The main idea when you're making a vegetarian stroganoff is you need to brown those mushrooms. I mean it! Both sides, dark brown, caramelized and basically murdered. There are very few things more disgusting than a spongy, steamed mushroom and if you want this to taste even remotely "meaty", you're gonna need a whole lot of patience.
I heated my pan with a little earth balance and put in my halved mushrooms with a good amount of space between each other. Don't crowd them! I used two pans, because while I do enjoy good mushrooms, I really hate standing over the stove for longer than ten minutes. I would have used three but then I only own two. God, I cannot wait for wedding gifts. As the mushrooms brown, push the more done ones to the outside of the pan and add in your raw friends in the middle. (If your pan is small you can just empty them all out and add in all new) When they're finishing up, I added in fresh thyme, salt, a good amount of fresh pepper and some smoked paprika. I let that cook a minute, emptied out the mushrooms and added in a tiny bit of oil and two chopped shallots or one small onion. When that is softened, I added in three table spoons of earth balance to melt and two tablespoons of flour. I whisked it to create a roux, let that brown a couple minutes and put in about a quarter cup of white wine. After that absorbed and cooked a minute, I slowly added in, whisking feverishly, about two cups of mushroom stock. I feel like this is crucial to the dish, vegetable stock isn't as pungent as the mushroom, this stock really carries through the meaty beefy flavor. While that came to temperature I added back in my mushrooms and boiled my egg noodles next door (if you're vegan you can use fettuccine or some other wide pasta that will soak up sauce). Add the almost cooked noodles to your sauce and let it cook for a couple minutes to absorb the gravy.
I have to say, this is amazing the first night, but the second day for lunch it's ten times better. Mmmm.
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