New recipe, September 5, 2015

We did a repeat of the Steak Au Poivre from Evan Goldstein's Perfect Pairings. This is still a 5! The new recipe is the Frisée-Lardon Salad from the September 2015 Bon Appetít--pretty simple to make, but spectacular--another 5!

Wine: Smith Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 (thanks, Rich and Tim!)

New recipe, September 22, 2012

We celebrated the 80th birthday of Mark's dad, Mike Groshek, this evening, so we made a favorite, Coffee and Pepper Rubbed Rib Roast from Evan Goldstein's Perfect Pairings (still gets a 5),

So tonight's new recipe is the Classic Whiskey Smash from the August 2012 Bon Appétit. Yum! We give it a 3.

New recipe, February 12, 2012

Minty Roasted Potatoes (the recipe is partway down the page when you click the link) from The New Basics is the new recipe. We served it with the excellent Steak Au Poivre recipe (partway down the page from the link--read the first part, which is about the pairing) from Evan Goldstein's Perfect Pairings, which we have made before, and a mâché salad with Viandox dressing. We give the potatoes a 3, and the steak is a 5 every time we make it.
Wine: Chateau Les Rosiers Bordeaux 2009. Nice wine, but it is more inflected toward Merlot, whereas a Cabernet Sauvignon inflected wine would probably have been better.

New recipes, August 28, 2011

Tonight's meal, featuring Dwight Davidson's smiling face, is Brazilian Feijoada (sorry, I can't find a link to the recipe, but this is like chile con carne--a million variations are out there), from Perfect Pairings, with sautéed turnip greens with garlic, lemon juice and korean pepper threads (from the garden), orange slices and rice.

Wine: 2009 Predator Old Vine Zinfandel, Lodi Appellation. Nice with this dish!

New recipes, July 2, 2011

Tonight we made Steak au Poivre from Evan Goldstein's Perfect Pairings again, Roasted Potatoes with Chive Pesto from Epicurious (this was new, we had to use green onions as there were not chives in Grand County!), and Garden Lettuce Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette and Onion Blossoms, which we put together on our own.

For the wine, we were privileged to get a bottle of the 1985 Chateau Grand Ormeau Lanade-de-Pomerol. This is a Merlot based wine, redolent of pepper, tar, and blackberry. The steak recipe was designed for a Cabernet based Bordeax, but we though this was wonderful on its own, and with the meal!

New recipe, June 25, 2011 and last day of the Bicycle Tour of Colorado

Tonight's new recipe was Lamb Chops with Greek Inspired Tomato Sauce (sorry, no link available!) from Evan Goldstein's Perfect Pairings, with sautéed potatoes and zucchini, and a salad with fresh lettuce from the garden.

Wine: Barnard and Griffin 2008 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The dish was meant to pair with a new world, olive inflected Cabernet Sauvignon. While I did not get a lot of olive from this wine, it was still a wonderful pairing!

This all came after the end of our ride, of course, which went from Frisco, over Loveland Pass, and all the way down to Hidden Valley. The last 7 miles of the ride were a climb up over 1500 feet back to Central City. We had a great trip, and are happy to be off the bike seats for a day or two!

The long slog up Loveland Pass:

Still skiing at Arapahoe Basin!

Here we are on top of Loveland Pass--almost home!

New recipe, June 4, 2011

Tonight we went back to Evan Goldstein's book, Perfect Pairings. We made a Coffee and Pepper-Rubbed Rib Roast, with herbed roasted potatoes, and a green salad. Hard to believe we have never made a roast beef before, but we haven't. This recipe is designed for aged cabernet sauvignons, and it worked really well! I should add, it was a fabulous roast beef!!!!

So the wines we had with this are the Laird Family Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1999, and the Aresti 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile. The Laird was definitely more mature, with pepper, blueberry, and some meatiness. We thought it was the best match. The Aresti has more red cherry, spiciness and mint. Also very nice, but not quite as good a match.

New recipes, May 30, 2011

Tonight, we are back to Evan Goldstein's first book, Perfect Pairings. We had Pasta with Greens, Chickpeas, Toasted Breadcrumbs and Pecorino.

The wine we had was a 2007 Chateau Peyruchet Sauvignon. Goldstein says this recipe was intended for an herbal, grassy Loire style Sauvignon Blanc. This wine is from Bordeaux, but still has an herbal character, along with a little citrus like grapefruit. It worked very nicely with this dish.

New recipe April 13, 2011

Tonight I made Steak au Poivre, with a recipe from a fun book called Perfect Pairings: A Master Sommelier's Practical Advice for Partnering Wine with Food, by Evan Goldstein (with recipes by his mom, Joyce Goldstein). I couldn't find a link to this specific recipe, but the key to his sauce is a combination or brandy, white wine, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire Sauce. I served it with some roti chapati (you get the uncooked dough at Costco and finish it on the griddle--quite nice!) and a mixed salad with Viandox vinaigrette.

This recipe was intended to pair with a Bordeaux style Cabernet Sauvignon dominant blend, so we had it with a very nice 2005 Chateau Lafon-Rochet. Great pairing!