So everybody knows that the birthday person gets to pick what they want for dinner. James chose a dish that I had never made. He chose beef stroganoff, a dish that reminded him of home and a favorite meal that his mother used to prepare. I figured I’d give it my best shot and quickly found a recipe on Epicurious.com
It was an unlikely summer dish but one that seemed a good match for the wine I had been instructed to save for a special occasion, that wine being William Cole Cabernet Sauvignon Cuvee Claire 2006. My daughter and James had sent this wine to me from Napa with the command not to drink it until I found an occasion worthy of it. I already knew in my heart that the special occasion would be their return to New York. Finally I would get to crack this baby open.
So beef stroganoff here we go. 
Here is the link for the recipe I used. It is a good one and pretty easy to make.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beef-Stroganoff-102134
I was already loving this dish as it called for mushrooms!!!!shallots!!!and cognac!!!! I figured with these three ingredients what could be bad!
I did do a little adapting and used portabella and porcini mushrooms instead of the button mushrooms that were called for. I also used some of the porcini liquid instead of all the beef broth. That liquid is pure gold in my book! I did follow the instructions for the dijon mustard. I had a bottle of the coarse grain country dijon in my hand and very reluctantly put it down and went with the regular dijon mustard that the recipe called for. Next time I would go with the coarse country style. I just wasn’t sure what it would do to the recipe if I tweaked it a little too much and since I had never made it before I decided in this case to just follow the instructions.
I did however use a little more dill and a little more cognac than specified!! In this case more was good!!!!! and , sorry George, I did have to add something green to counterbalance all that delicious brownness!! Oh and I forgot to add the paprika as a garnish on the egg noodles- no worries- it wasn’t necessary taste wise just as a plate brightener.
And finally the wine I waited a year and a half for!!!!
William Cole Cabernet Sauvignon Cuvee Claire 2006- oh so yummy! Lovely and jammy with plenty of blackberry and cherry. Smoky and peppery with a great long finish. It was worth waiting for!And so were Rachel and James! I loved having them home and wish them well in their new adventure in Chicago’s restaurant scene.
wineonmymind 
Yum!!!!!!