This month’s meal was a simple affair, but no less
tasty. The wine was a Sonoma Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon which said on the label it was good with grilled rib eye or
braised lamb shanks. We had braised lamb
recently and I wasn’t really in the mood for a big rib eye, but some strip
steak fit the bill. I don’t really have
any recipes this month except for the dessert, but I think it’s mostly self
explanatory.
Menu
- Mushroom Bruschetta with Parmesan Cheese
- Grilled Strip Steak with Sautéed Mushrooms, Turnip Puree and Purple Broccoflower
- Green Salad with Walnuts and Steamed Beets
- Apple Fritter Rings
Wine
- 2006 Kunde Family Estate Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
I started out early in the day by
marinating the steaks in olive oil, garlic and a little salt and pepper. When I was ready to start dinner, I baked a
small baguette and sautéed some chopped mushrooms. I sliced the baked bread and brushed olive
oil on both sides of each slice. I
rubbed some garlic on each side as well and then topped the bread with the
mushrooms and a little parmesan cheese.
I put these in the oven and let them bake at 350 degrees until the
cheese melted thoroughly. I had already
decanted the wine and Christine and I sat down for the appetizers.
After the appetizer, I started the
main course. First I started boiling the
potatoes and turnips for the puree.
After these were cooked, I put them in a food processer with a little
butter, buttermilk, salt and pepper. You
really just have to experiment to get the right consistency. Mine was a little loose, but it worked out
okay. I threw the steaks on the grill
since they did not need a lot of time to cook and started steaming the
broccoflower. Once I brought the steaks
in and the broccoflower was ready, I sautéed some more mushrooms and plated it
all up. Now, you may ask yourself, what
is broccoflower? Well, it’s a cross
between broccoli and cauliflower. I was
planning on having broccoli as the side, but when I was in the grocery store I
saw the broccoflower in purple and orange and green and decided to have a
little fun. I think it added a nice and
unusual splash of color to the entrée.
After the main course, we had a
green salad with lettuce that Christine grew in our community garden, steamed
beets from the local farmers market and walnuts from our local…grocery
store. Okay, so the walnuts probably
weren’t that local. In America the salad
is usually before the main course, but Christine likes to have it the Italian
way after the entrée as a little bit of a palate cleanser, particularly with a
nice vinaigrette dressing. I agree that
it does make for a nice transition. Give
a try sometime to mix things up.
Finally, I prepared the dessert. This recipe actually came from the December
issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food
magazine. We had some Northern Spy
apples from Hidden Valley Fruit
Farms near Lebanon, OH that are delicious cooking apples. I first cored, peeled and sliced two apples
to make little apple rings. I dredged these
in a batter and dropped into 350 degree vegetable oil in a cast iron
skillet. They cook really quickly with
one turn half way through. After they had
a chance to dry a little on some paper towels, I tossed them in a little
cinnamon/sugar mixture and served them warm.
The batter gives them a nice crispy texture and the cooked apples inside
are like apple candy. And the best part is
that they actually came out looking like the picture in the magazine (well,
enough of them did for this picture).
As far as the wine, it was an
excellent pairing with the bruschetta, the steaks and salad. The richness of the wine nicely balanced the
earthiness of the meat, mushrooms and the root vegetables. However, as you might expect, it did not go
so well with the apple rings. They were
far too sweet to go with the dryness of the wine.
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