Red on Red Overindulgence

Once in a while one needs to overindulge - and today that opportunity presented itself.

The local market had a special on porterhouse steaks so one rather large one left the market on a 'permanent loan.' The beef is a Coleman steak from Colorado. Totally natural, no antibiotics or hormones are used in raising the calves. They are grass fed and then fattened at the very end on corn. With the price of corn skyrocketing thanks to most of it going to ethanol production, a steak like the one pictured here may be out my price range soon. Sprinkled with a pepper mix, it was tossed on the grill until medium rare. The smoke perfumed the entire neighborhood and even the new, cat owning neighbor was sticking her nose out of the door and sniffing the wind. Scott and Ellie were waiting for the cat to make an appearance, but she was a no-show today.

There was a baked potato with Greek yogurt and fresh chives and an ear of local Silver King sweet corn to complete the meal.

Looking for something big in the wine department I opted for a 2004 Cascabel Shiraz from Australia, a wine that has been resting in the cellar for two years.

Ripe, bordering on over-ripe, the wine smelled of dark plums, blackberries and raw meat. Sadly, I found it over-extracted and too low in acid to really compliment the steak. A good, ripe, impressive wine that would have been better served as a stand alone wine rather than with a meal. It was too low in acid to clear the palate between bites of the steak. The food and the wine fought with each other to see which could produce the biggest flavors, and there was no respite.

The wine was well made and probably was accomplishing what was intended by the winemaker. A little more acid and a little less fruit and the wine would have been great. Not a bad wine - just not my style. The second bottle in the cellar will wait for a couple of years.

The steak? Earthy and full flavored with the correct amount of fat to make the taste linger. There are several slices left over and they will make a great appetizer before oysters go on the grill tomorrow afternoon.