beef stroganoff

after celebrating my friend andrea's birthday at schiller's, where i consumed a very tasty beef stroganoff, i was inspired to make a homey version of my own. true to my seven dollars a day principle, i eschewed the now upper-west-side-inflated brisket cut and went for the cheapest chuck roast stew beef, at about $2 a pound. i also opted for a few big onions as opposed to the pricier pearls, and bought dry egg noodles instead of fresh (though do get fresh if you can; they're delicious). already had heirloom tomato puree on hand from the csa, and some chicken broth, which i used instead of beef stock. (it's always better to go with stock you made yourself than store-bought, which tends to be oversalted and otherwise flavorless.) in the end, despite the cheap shortcuts, it was an impressively comforting dish: the stew was thick and rich, the beef fell apart at the touch, the mushrooms, quartered, were wonderfully tender-firm, and with a dollop of sour cream mixed in, it proved a tummy-warming, hearth-happy meal. serves 4.

ingredients
2 large white onions, sliced
1 lb large button mushrooms, washed and quartered (don't slice, or they'll just dissolve into nothingness after the long stew)
3 cloves garlic
2 lb chuck roast
1 bay leaf
2 cups tomato puree
2 cups beef stock
1/2 cup flour
1 lb egg noodles
2 tbsp butter
olive oil
sour cream

steps
1. generously season beef chunks with salt and pepper. heat olive oil until very hot in large saucepan and brown the beef on both sides. set aside.
2. in a large pot (in this case, i used my roommate's thermal cooker, for slow cooking), heat butter. add garlic and onions, and let the onions soften and caramelize. add the mushrooms and continue to cook until they soften a bit.
3. add beef into the pot and stir. then sprinkle the flour in and stir the ingredients together, letting the flour coat everything evenly.
4. add bay leaf, tomato puree, and beef stock so that the liquid ingredients just cover the beef. let cook on lowest heat possible for 3 hours, until beef is tender and just falling apart.
5. cook egg noodles in salted water and drain. serve stew over noodles with a dollop of sour cream to mix in.

cost calculation
2 large white onions, $1.00
1 lb large button mushrooms, $2.99
3 cloves garlic, $0.10
2 lb chuck roast, $4.00
2 cups tomato puree, $1.00
2 cups beef stock, $0.40
1 lb egg noodles, $2.00
sour cream, $1.00
total: 12.49 divided by 4 = $3.13