Friday, October 31, 2008

Victor, Meet Spoils

The show is not up, but the hard part (painting the wall piece, building the frames for and framing the drawings) is done. I don't love hanging shows on the day of the opening, but that is often the way it works out happening. I missed out on the big town Halloween event, but it was worth it, and I ended up making dinner too- two whole days earlier than I thought would be possible.

It was super-simple, but oh so good. The first red meat I've had in two weeks, and the first wine also. You betcha, gosh darnit, also. And worth the wait. A fat top sirloin, rubbed with salt, pepper, and herbes de Provence, seared hard on both sides in a little butter and then covered, on low, for a couple of minutes more (there was no time to sous-vide it) and served atop our own potatoes steamed and mashed with whole local yogurt, olive oil, parsley, and truffle oil, plus a flourescent green mash of frisée and endive with lots of garlic, lemon, and more truffle oil. I drooled the pan drippings around the plate to finish it.























And the wine... I rummaged through the boxes I liberated from the cellar in Vermont, and happened upon a bottle of 2000 Château Giscours (two, actually.) So to celebrate, I opened one. And a humble yet refined meat and potatoes meal like this never cavorted so sportingly with vinous escort as did this one. I don't buy Bordeaux any more- my taste has moved on, and the stash will keep us in special occasion bottles for a good time to come- but for sheer grapey, cedary, boisterous steak-humping hedonism, nothing else delivers quite the same level of elegance and impact. This one has the lovely stony Margaux quality, and the tannins are soft but can clearly go for years more. Delicious. I got out the big glasses to amplify every nuance. It's a 3ème cru, but punching above its weight.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is a beautiful meal! :)

Zoomie said...

I always love your wine descriptions - they make me smile!

cookiecrumb said...

"drooled"
Perfect.

Brittany said...

God that steak is ridiculously perfectly cooked.

If I had a dick, it would be hard.

Anonymous said...

AHH! I have a few bottles of that 2000 Chateau Giscours in reserve too. When all you crave is a big satisfying meal it doesn't get much better than this.. a perfectly cooked sirloin, potatoes and a loud Margaux. Nice!

The Spiteful Chef said...

What I wouldn't give to be that glob of mashed potatoes, smothered so delectably in strips of steak that are giving off rays of awesome that are visible to the naked eye...

peter said...

Maryann: It was just what I needed.

Zoomie: The wine made me smile. A lot.

CC: I got hungry again writing the post.

Brittany: You can borrow mine.

Zen: Il faudra qu'on se rencontre un jour pour boire un verre. Ou six.

Kristie: You're the steak, dear, not the spuds. Aim high.

michael, claudia and sierra said...

absolutely lovely
beautiful
wonderful
i never make sirloins - hmmm

mary never got back to me and i was wanting to buy her wine, finally.