I purchased a whole round steak (2 lbs.). Trimmed all fat. Cut into
strips. Browned it off nicely in butter. 2 batches. Butter was
brown, but not black. I added a little olive oil to the butter 2nd
batch. Browned one yellow onion + 1/3.(chopped medium coarse)
Slowly. Until nice and brown. Added some Hot Hungarian Paprika (not
too much, just enough for a little oomph). Added some mild Hungarian
Paprika. Let it slowly saute' for about 10 minutes. Added browned
beef. Coated with the onion and spice mix. (Note: no tomatoes or
paste added, I didn't have any on hand). Added liquid. One small can
chicken stock, and about 3/4 can water. Simmered for one hour. I
then tried something new. Instead of quartering mushrooms the way I
used to, I put them in whole, and let simmer for another hour. Then
added about 1 1/4 cup sour cream. Let it simmer slowly, very slowly
for about 15 minutes. It turned out nice. I found it somewhat bland
when served over noodles. So add a touch of salt, and it was very
good. This was very simple and good. I personally didn't care much
for the whole mushrooms, but my guest liked it more than if I had cut
them up. I forgot garlic. But it was really good. I don't see too
many recipes that use paprika in beef stroganoff. But that's how I
was taught, and I like it. Note that I did not add anything to
thicken, nor did I coat beef with flour. The sauce was a wee bit
thinner than usual, the paprika does help to thicken a bit. But I
don't mind a thin sauce. I think that all of that flour; who needs
it? You can do this with white wine, or a mix of wine and chick
stock, or beef stock. I've done that before, and it's good. I always
use white, and never red wine in a stroganoff. Why? I don't know. I
think it belongs here. It's a light colored sauce...? Oh yeah..I
deglazed pan very thoroughly with a bit of cider vinegar, really
scraping stuff off the bottom, between batches of meat, and also after
onions were browned. You can use vino here too. Lemon/Lime juice...