By January 2025. Winter in Memphis, 66 years old, and the cold has settled into the house on Deadrick Avenue the way cold settles into old bones — persistently, without malice, just the physics of aging and December. Rosetta has the thermostat set at 74, our eternal compromise, and I cook warming things: stews and soups and slow-braised meats that fill the house with steam and flavor.
Marcus and Angela in Whitehaven, building their family, their house full of the sounds I remember from our own early years — a baby's laugh, a spouse's voice, the daily music of people learning to live together. Naomi growing with the speed of childhood, each visit revealing a new word, a new capability, a new expression that catches my breath because it echoes someone I lost.
Baked beans on the smoker — navy beans soaked overnight, simmered with onion, brown sugar, molasses, mustard, and my BBQ sauce, then smoked uncovered at 250 for two hours. The hickory settles into the sauce and transforms ordinary beans into something that belongs at any table, any gathering, any moment when people need to be fed and comforted and reminded that simple food, made with patience, is the best food there is.
Another week in the book. Another seven days of tending fires — the one in the smoker, the one in the marriage, the one in the family, the one in the church. Each fire needs something different: wood, attention, food, faith. But the tending is the same for all of them: show up, add what's needed, wait patiently, trust the process. Low and slow. Always. Low and slow.
The baked beans were already on the smoker by the time I thought about what else the family might need that week — something warm and filling that could come together on the stovetop while the hickory did its work outside. Beef — Bacon Stroganoff has that same quality I love in everything I make: it’s patient food, food that rewards you for showing up and not rushing. The bacon carries just enough smoke to remind you where your mind already is, and the whole thing comes together in a pot the way a good week comes together — one careful step at a time.
Beef & Bacon Stroganoff
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 6 strips thick-cut bacon, chopped
- 1 1/2 lbs beef sirloin or stew beef, cut into thin strips
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 oz cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 cup sour cream
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 12 oz egg noodles, cooked according to package directions
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the bacon. In a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving 2 tablespoons of drippings in the pan.
- Brown the beef. Season the beef strips with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown the beef in the bacon drippings over medium-high heat, about 2 minutes per side. Do not crowd the pan. Remove and set aside with the bacon.
- Soften the aromatics. Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion to the skillet and cook for 4–5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook another 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms release their liquid and begin to brown.
- Build the sauce. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to coat, cooking for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the beef broth, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Add the Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 8–10 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Combine and finish. Return the beef and bacon to the skillet. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the sour cream and heat gently for 3–4 minutes — do not boil or the sour cream may separate. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Serve. Spoon the stroganoff over cooked egg noodles and garnish with fresh parsley.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 520 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 42g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 680mg