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 recipes, July 31, 2011

Today we cooked dinner with Mark's nieces and nephews. The appetizer was Rocky Ford Cantaloupe wrapped in Prosciutto, served with Gruet Brut sparkling wine. Then we had a Ratatouille from AllRecipes.com, and Julia Child's Steak Au Poivre (with less butter than she called for), served with Amethyst Cabernet Sauvignon 2003. Dessert was Crispy Belgian Waffles with Salted Caramel Coulis from Epicurious (pictured here), served with KWV Tawny Port.

The ratatouille gets a 3, the beef a 4, and the waffles with sauce get a 5.

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, 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 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!