Steak

"Man cannot live by bread alone." He must also have the occasional steak! As a matter of fact he must have a dry aged, prime, rib steak like the one pictured above dusted with a little black pepper before going on the grill.

It was a bright, sunny, but windy day here with temperatures falling for most of the day. We started in the mid 40's and by the time the fire was ready in the very late afternoon it was down to the upper 20's. It's going to continue to drop to down near 10 tonight and tomorrow will be cold all day. That said, if something was going to be grilled it would have to be today. An early morning run to the market found a special today on rib steaks so a large one came home.

The dogs both got their heads and necks trimmed since it was still nice outside and since they were getting extremely shaggy. It's always a battle to see which one can get on the grooming table first for my undivided attention. Ellie was first today because she was the shaggiest.
There was a baked sweet potato and a small salad to go with the steak and the results are pictured here. A pan of mushrooms finished off the steak, and the whole thing made for quite an enjoyable meal.

The dogs love the rib steaks because they got most of the fat visible in the top picture.

We hit the cellar for a big wine and found a near perfect one in a 2005 West End Estate 96 Point Durif. (Australia, New South Wales, Big Rivers, Riverina). The wine was a screw-cap and was decanted for about 45 minutes. It had a huge nose of dark cherries and plums with some vegetables going on as well. All that followed through on the taste, along with some good acid and tannin to cut the fat on the steak. Lengthy finish and for $13 a very impressive wine. The best glass was at the end of the evening so the remaining two bottles will see a little longer decanting. The wine will probably age for a few years but I suspect it may not get any better. Good wine, not the 96 points that label proclaims, but a very good wine for a steak.

With a cold Sunday coming it's now back to braising weather so tomorrow it's lamb shanks.