Antiques and A Stroganoff Recipe

1. knit blouse - thrifted
2. full skirt - thrifted
3. pumps - thrifted

Here are some photos taken from a little visit to one of my favorite antique stores that a certain miss once pointed out to me, The Green Vase. It's a really good one. The kind of place you wouldn't mind hanging out in all day, with good things piled up around you and lots of rooms you can meander through. Max and I ended up spending probably a little too much time there so I ended up buying (yet another) pillowcase- one can never have too many. I could spend an hour alone digging through their vintage linens. As far as what I'm wearing, it's kind of the exact kind of thing I want to be wearing all the time now. None of it happens to be particularly old, and the colors are little funny, but I think clashing is a big part of my style anyway. Anyways, here are a bunch of photos of me standing in front of nice things. You'll have to excuse the quality, these are indeed iphone photos. Stay tuned after the jump for a really glamorous recipe.

I lied about this recipe being glamorous. But I'm putting this recipe here for a few reasons. 1) I'm kind of obsessed with it, in all it's old-school glory. 2) When I talked to different people about it, they BOTH SAID the only beef stroganoff they'd had came from a packet and was eaten while camping.. and it was awful. 3) It's easy, cozy, and it makes alot (leftovers!!) I didn't photograph it because we ate it too quickly. I recommend eating it with a good brown ale.

Beef Stroganoff

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

A few drops of olive oil

1 large onion, minced

1/2 pound white button mushrooms, sliced

Whole nutmeg

Paprika

Salt and pepper

2 pounds beef fillet, trimmed of fat (just the gobs of fat on the outside--not the inner marbling) and silverskin if any, cut into thin strips

Scant 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 8-ounce container of creme fraiche

White rice or egg noodles

Put 2 tablespoons of butter and a drop of oil in a large skillet, and warm over medium to medium-high heat. When the butter is melted, throw in the onions and saute gently, stirring frequently, until soft. Add 2 more tablespoons of the butter and add the mushrooms when it's melted. Cook for another 4-5 minutes. Grate some whole nutmeg over the pan (it's hard to measure, but I think I added about 1/2 teaspoon's worth) and season with salt and pepper. Stir well and remove to a plate.

Add the remaining butter to the pan with a couple of drops of oil and turn the heat up to high. Season the beef with salt and pepper while it's still on the cutting board. Stir-fry the fillet strips for a couple of minutes until it's seared on the inside but still pink on the inside. Return the onions and mushrooms to the pan; stir well. Grate over some more nutmeg and stir in the Dijon mustard and creme fraiche. Sprinkle in a pinch of paprika, add more salt to your taste. 

Take off the heat, and serve over white rice or egg noodles. If you're using egg noodles, put a pot of salted water on to boil when you start cooking the onions and they should be ready by the time you're done cooking. If you're using rice, start the pot before you do your prep. Sprinkle a bit more paprika over the individual servings.

Finally, a shoe shot, for good measure.