Rehearsal Dinner

Jody, Anna, and Isabel joined us for the weekend, and a party started to coalesce around Monday afternoon, so we kept it simple for their first night. A 28-day dry aged top sirloin from Fleisher's was the centerpiece- this is one of the great steaks of the world, with intense flavor and the perfect balance of tenderness and chewy character; normally we don't eat much beef, preferring the more flavorful lamb and duck or pork, but this meat is insane. Insanity was well abetted by mash, purple rice, sautéed chard, and yellow squash, which all enhanced certain aspects of the meat and its red wine reduction. We drank a 2006 Hacienda Monasterio and a 2005 Château St. Jean Cinq Cépages; two takes on Bordeaux from two places not Bordeaux. A great prelude to Sunday's Bacchanale.