Saturday Night before Labor Day

[mrdutton]

Well............. Here's what I did for dinner tonight:

Two 5oz prime filets mignon marinated in a light sprinkle of kosher salt, a somewhat heavey smathering of cracked black pepper, a light coating of extra virgin olive oil and a few ounces of 1997 Guenoc Petite Sirah for about 4 hours.

Seared the steaks in the grill pan with olive oil for 4 minutes per side. Finished them in the oven with a patty of butter on top of each and then a few seconds before removing from the oven the addition of a couple slices of aged white cheddar cheese on top of each steak.

Upon serving a bit of paprika was sprinkled over the cheese. Total cooking time about 20 minutes; steaks were medium.

Sides were simple. Onions carmelized in a mixture of butter and extra virgin olive oil then finished with a few drops of 25 year old balsamic vinegar served on the side of the steaks.

Also a bit of steamed jasmine rice (oh my, but the wonderful pop-corn taste of that rice drives me wild!) with a dollop of sweet butter and a bit of fresh parsley leaves sprinkled on top.

And since the steaks were marinated in Guenoc Petite Sirah, the wine served with the dinner was the very same; 1997 Guenoc Petite Sirah.

Fruit up-front and a somewhat tannic finish (might be said to be a two to three tongue lapper) with a hint of pepper also on the finish.

I thought it was a good match with the steak and the onions. The flavors of the wine, the beef and the sweetness of the onions melded together into a very pleasing taste on my palate. My wife agreed, so that made the meal even better!

I hope you all have a very pleasant weekend to celebrate the end of summer and the start of a new season.

[This message has been edited by mrdutton (edited 09-02-2000).]