Beefy Onion-Mushroom Soup

1# Black Angus beef top round steak

fresh ground black pepper

2T aged dark Balsamic vinegar

2T EVOO

Cut the beef, across the grain in 1/2" thick slices.  Cut the strips into 1/2"-1" pieces.  Pepper them, add vinegar and oil, toss in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate a couple hours or overnight.

2-4T butter

2 stalks celery

1/3 lg. bell pepper

1c well cooked crispy bacon crumbles

7-8c cold fresh water - a little at a time

2-1/2# white and baby portabella mushrooms

1-3/4# Vidalia, purple and yellow onions

2T aged dark Balsamic vinegar

2T beef Better Than Bouillon

3/4c sour cream - optional

3T flour + 1/2c± cold water to make a roux

Sauté-stir-fry the beef in a little EVOO and butter, in a 5-6 quart pot. Add a little water to the pan, stirring to loosen all the browned bits, brown again and repeat the deglazing until the meat is nicely browned.

Cut the mushroom stems, flush with the bottom of the cap. Finely chop these, celery and peppers then add with the bacon. This gives the soup more texture and flavor. Sauté this 15 minutes, then add the sliced and onions and mushrooms - separately cooked, vinegar and soup base. I sautéed the mushrooms last and used a baster to pull out 1c of nice dark mushroom broth to add to the big pot before letting the rest evaporate until the mushrooms were cooked. 

Stir all this together, and stay with it during the browning stage. Simmer on low-medium heat until everything is nicely browned, adding a little water or more butter if needed. At the very end you could add a little red wine or Vodka if you'd like, for another dimension of flavor. Simmer and stir another couple minutes. Add the rest of the water and stir gently, cover and simmer for at least an hour on very low heat.

At the end, add the roux and bring back to a low bubble for 5 minutes, to thicken the soup, stirring the entire time.  Serve now, or uncover and cool a half hour before stiring in the sour cream. Heat it back up to serving temperature.

Plate with warm, crusty garlic bread or cornbread and a side of fruit or a mixed green salad. . .Lin