Nurturing my inner... dinner for dad

Father's Day is always kind of sad for me.  My father has been gone for some time now.  Nearly half my life.  I often wonder as an adult woman what it would be like to have your daddy around.  To have worked past those obnoxious late teen/early twenties battles and move into a less argumentative, less combative stage.  To be able to go out to lunch, just the two of us, and speak more as equals.  Have substantial conversation.  Appreciate each other as friends.  Ask him for advice.  My father unfortunately passed away at a regretful, highly-charged time in my young adult life.  When I was working, very unglamorously hard, at growing up, but not having actually grown up quite yet.  Transitioning from newly graduating from college to being completely on my own with my very first corporate job.  A far cry from the old days.

Note my round, chubs belly that made it
easy for my father to grasp me like a
basketball and ensure I didn't roll anywhere.

To remember my dad, I made a hearty, meat-centric meal.  My mom used to make this now and then.  So I decided to take my own stab at it.  My father wasn't flashy, so I kept it simple.

Beef Stroganoff

1 lb beef cubed, then sliced
1 can of beef broth
1 package onion soup mix
1 package sliced mushrooms

For roux

2 tbsps butter
2 tbsps flour

To finish at the end

2 heaping tbsps sour cream

It's nice that you can buy a package of stew beef mostly ready for you right out of the package.

Comes in large cubes.

I sliced each cube into about three strips.

More bite-sized and cooks faster.

Then I browned it in a saute pan.  Just to sear it.

Until the juices ran clear.

Though I do feel I can attribute more of my adventurous tastes to my patriarchal side than the other, I do know that my dad was still a pretty basic guy.  So just a few ingredients would do the trick.

Stroganoff doesn't have to be super
complicated. Good family food.

Simple flavors are made exponentially better by one thing: cooking low and slow.  A slow cooker really is the way to go when desiring deeply-infused, well-favored meat that is incredibly tender.  I put the meat in, then added the broth, onion soup mix and mushrooms right on top.

Easy as 1, 2, 3.

A quick stir, cover and set aside for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

You should stir occasionally. It will make
you feel like you actually did some work.

After ample hours have passed and you've had time to vacuum the entire house, reorganize your sock drawer, write a letter to your favorite aunt, and your beef is fork tender, then it's time for a couple finishing touches.

First, to thicken the mixture and make a gravy, into a saute pan goes a little butter and flour.

Fast way to thicken a sauce.

The butter will melt quickly and the mixture should be lightly toasted until the flour is slightly brown.

Such a simple and magical concoction.
It transforms in mere moments!!!!

That gets added right into the crock pot and stirred around until it's fully incorporated.  Give it a minute or so and watch how a fast the brothy liquid begins to get thicker and creamy.

Looks good as is, but one more thing for
extra pizazz.

It wouldn't be beef stroganoff though without a couple of dollops of sour cream to create that unmistakable tang we all know and love.

Watch the dark brown change...

The sour cream makes it just that much more decadent.  And it doesn't take much.

... to a lighter tan.

Don't forget, this lovely mixture has to go on top of something.  I'm a big fan of egg noodles.  And I got these wonderful crimped bow ties up in CT from Durante's.  Fresh, dried, homemade egg noodles.  Can't be beat.

And only like $2.50 a pack.

Boiled about six/seven minutes so I kept them aldente.

Nontraditional shaped pasta for this dish, but
I know my dad would have been okay with
me adding my own personal spin.

A pile of bow ties, then a scoop of stroganoff with mushrooms and gravy on top.  No skimping on this serving.  A hearty father-sized plateful in honor of dad.

Classic cooking at its simple best.

I know that some people who read my blog still have their fathers.  And some do not.  I encourage those who do to spend some time with their dads on random days other than Father's Day, really getting to know them as people and not just parents.  For every encounter will one day be remembered as precious.  And for those whose dads aren't here with them, I hope you have been comforted by sweet memories between the tears and that you are cared for at times by other fatherly men in your lives.