Family, Wine, Travel and The Bombers

Sunday Night Dinner and Wine

There was the smell of Risotto in the air at my place on this past Sunday.

Our first course was Risotto with shallots and asparagus. I started dinner a little bit early, knowing the hour I would need to make the Risotto. As the Risotto cooked I started the salad. Tonight's salad was a mix of Mango, Papaya and Grape Tomatoes over a bed of Mesclun greens. The dressing was a very simple Lime and Tequila vinaigrette. A side of Broccoli florets (the kids love it and would be mad if I did not make it) was also prepared as well as Garlic bread that would compliment the main course... Steak.




I love Risotto and I am trying to get the rest of my family to love it too. My wife just can not be comfortable with rice that is creamy and thick. She likes her rice to be a longer grain, loose and have a buttery taste. My oldest son did not like the Risotto (because he hates Asparagus), but my youngest loved it. I told him it was like Oatmeal and he ate it up. I fear I may not be making Risotto that much in the future, it is just not worth all the stirring for just me. Well maybe it is :)

While all the food prepping and Risotto cooking was going on, my steaks were seasoned with salt & pepper and resting to loose the chill of the fridge. Once the Risotto was just about done, I fired up my biggest skillet and got it as hot as I could. Once the pan had reached "temperature of hell" status I chucked in the beef. Oh how I do love the sounds and smells of a caramelizing steak. Not to long now, just about 2 minutes a side and into the oven went the pan to finish up @ 400 degrees for 5 more minutes. Yep we like our steaks rare with a nice crust on the outside. When they were done, out they came and in went the Garlic bread. The steaks were wrapped in foil to rest and the Broccoli was steamed. Last thing before the bread came out of the oven was to emulsify the vinaigrette and toss the salad.




With the Risotto on the table and the salad being doled out by my wife, I brought over the Broccoli, steaks and the Garlic bread (just out of the oven). The decanted and well aspirated 2000 Chateau Cote Montpezat was poured and I sat. It was a nice dinner and felt good getting back into the kitchen on a Sunday night. It has been awhile since I was cooking on a Sunday night, I had been doing mostly smoking during the daytime and did not want to cook at night as well.

What would I change? The salad need more texture. Maybe some crumbled Tortilla chips next time.

A review on the wine will follow fer sure!