Red Meat and Red Wine

If you've been following my travels via this blog, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, you've seen the way I've been eating over the last few months. Wine dinners are indulgences which most partake in on rare occasions. Wine with dinner is far more manageable. When I return to Napa after a trip I quickly revert to my regular diet, one that is heavy in vegetables, lean proteins, and just enough wine to bring it all together. Kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, spinach, and asparagus form the base of almost all my vegetable dishes. Typically I sauté them with just a touch of olive oil and add any mix of sauces, wine, and spices to flavor them. Occasionally, a dash of Manchego or Feta cheese adds another layer of flavor. For proteins I gravitate towards chicken, wild caught fish, and bison or grass fed beef. Grains are always whole, with Faro a favorite. Being in Napa Valley, wine is a component of any meal. Pairings can run the full spectrum. Wine adds to the enjoyment of the dish and compliments the flavors. Really, it just forms another component of the meal. One has their protein, vegetable, grain, and wine. Its place is on any dinner table, in a glass just above the fork on the right hand side of the plate.

Tonight I made my cooked red meat, bison. I also made a mix of green, leafy vegetables. Of course, it was paired a glass of Cornerstone Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ingredients:

Bison steaks
S&P TT

1 1/2 tbls EVOO
1/2 white onion, diced
6 white mushrooms, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1/2 cup pine nuts
12 Brussels sprouts, quartered
1 large broccoli crown, chopped
1 bunch kale, chopped
3 cups spinach
1 cup red wine
1 generous squeeze Sriracha
2 tbls Willow Ranch BBQ Sauce (the best BBQ sauce I've had. Been enjoying it for 6 years now)

-Sear the bison, finish it in the oven at 375 degrees. Cook to rare allowing 10 minutes to rest, bringing final temperature to medium rare.

-Heat large sauté pan over medium high and add EVOO
-Cook onions until golden brown on edges
-Add the mushrooms and cook until wilted.
-Add the garlic and continue to cook. When the garlic aroma fills the kitchen
-Add the Brussels sprouts, cook for 3 minutes
-Add pine nuts and sauté for 1 1/2 minutes
-Add broccoli crowns, kale, & spinach
-Hit it with 1 cup red wine & sauté. The red wine will act as a cooking medium to cook the vegetables.
-Add the Siracha & Willow Ranch BBQ Sauce, folding everything together. As you fold, the remaining vegetables will cook themselves.

Pull the cork on a bottle of 2008 Cornerstone Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon (decanted for an hour if possible) and enjoy!