Beef Stroganoff w/ Bacon Bits

I was craving pasta but didn't want another bolognese/carbonara/lasagna/aglio-olio. So this my 2nd attempt making Beef Stroganoff. I changed it up with wine, beef stock and best of all... crispy bacon bits! K didn't really fancy sour cream base (his brain keep thinking carbonara!) but he liked the mushroom & meat. His real complaint is not enough bacon bits. Sigh. Tough critic.

      Serves 2 pax

• Bacon bits or 2 bacon strips (never seems to be enough bacon!)
• Some olive oil
• 150g fillet of beef, cut into strips
• Some flour for dredging beef
• 100g white button mushrooms, stems removed & sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic,  sliced (i love garlic)
• 150ml sour cream
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 beef stock cube, dissolved in 8 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp butter
• Handful of flat leaf parsley (i prefer this to thyme), roughly chopped
• Cooked linguine
• Salt and pepper to taste
• (Optional: Pinch of nutmeg)

1. Boil a pot of water. Once it comes to a rolling boil, add a lot of salt and linguine. Keep the heat med-low so it would slowly cook while you make the sauce. (Always check that your pasta is not overcooked, in between the steps below)
2. In a saucepan, fry the bacon bits with some olive oil until crispy. Dish out the bacon for garnishing later, and keep the bacon oil for the next step.
3. Dredge the beef strips with some flour and fry them in the bacon oil (dredging with flour absorbs any moisture in the beef so it doesn't splatter oil on you). Once it's cook, dish it out. 
4. In the same sauce pan, saute the onions until soft. Add garlic & saute for 1 minute (before it turns brown).
5. Add in the white wine and let it cook until the mixture thickens, stirring it from time to time.
6. Add in the beef stock and mushroom, give it a few quick stirs to submerge the mushroom in the stock. Once the mushrooms shrinks a little in size, season with salt and pepper.
7. Pour in the sour cream & butter (i read somewhere that adding butter makes the sauce a little bit glossy). Keep stirring until it just begins to simmer. 
8. Return the beef strips into the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (If you find it too sourish to your taste, add some sugar. Or add a little more beef stock & thicken it with cornstarch mixture if too diluted)
9. Add half the parsley in and give it a few quick stirs. Turn off the heat.
10. Plate your pasta first, pour over the mushroom beef sauce. Garnish with the remaining parsley and bacon bits. Serve warm!

    Tip 1: Place your serving plates in an oven while cooking, so your meal is served warm.
    Tip 2: If you do not like sour cream base, switch it with heavy cream.
    Tip 3: Ensure your white wine has not been kept too long, or it would taste a bit sour.

    Tip 4: Most importantly, ensure your partner like sour cream. ;p