Steak Tartare and Bacons Sauteed Brussels Sprouts Paired with two Pinot Noirs and a Tempranillo

Since releasing my eBook - Craig’s Grape Adventure – Loving Life with a Skillet and a Corkscrew - I took a small break from posting new pairings.  However, I was still cooking, pairing, enjoying, and have a number of great recipes and wines lined up in the on-deck circle.  The pace of life (meaning work) is picking up dramatically, but I hope to get back on schedule.

Steak tartare, tuna tartare, salmon tartare, and all the rest of the brothers, sisters, and cousins in the extended tartare family are among my favorites.  I love the basic and distinct flavors these dishes highlight.  Last year when I was working in Israel and Jordan, I went on somewhat of a steak tartare binge.  We would routinely hold “business meetings” at the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem.  I did not expect to find steak tartare on the menu, but sure enough, it was there - and it was spectacular.  I never got around to sampling the rest of the menu.

Another wonderful experience with steak tartare came from my visits to Ethiopic – an Ethiopian restaurant on H Street NE in Washington DC.  It is prepared with traditional Ethiopian spices and is worlds away (well at least a continent and a big ocean) from my experience in Jerusalem.  If you happen to be in Washington DC, or Jerusalem, I recommend you give these folks a try for a memorable serving of steak tartare.

The trips to the American Colony hotel and Ethiopic inspired me to try my hand at steak tartare.  The result was terrific and I’m glad I did.

Pairing wine with steak tartare presents a broad range of possibilities.  In the raw, steak has a much brighter flavor than when cooked.  Add to this the spicy components and capers - the range of wines can vary from medium bodied and fruity to bold, full bodied, and spicy.  We decided to try the medium bodied end of the spectrum with the intent of matching the body and flavor intensity in complement rather than the contrast of a spicy Shiraz or Zinfandel.  Mission accomplished.

We started with the 2008 Cloudline Oregon Pinot Noir.  We found the tasting notes from the winemaker consistent with our experience.

“On the nose, there is an immediate burst of bright, fresh red fruits, including strawberry and raspberry, followed by an earthy quality. On the palate, the wine has fine texture, soft tannins, good acidity and a strong core of fruit. It is a wine that offers immediate pleasure, on its own, or better yet, in the company of a delicious meal.”

The acidity and distinctive fruit flavors were key in our judgment of success for the pairing.  The body, intensity of flavors and acidity not only make this a great paring with steak tartare, but a great pairing wine in general with a noteworthy range of possibilities.  At $18, it is an excellent value.

We next moved on to the 2008 Xwinery Carneros Napa Valley Truchard Vineyard Pinot Noir.  Tasting notes from the winemaker:

“Bursting with raspberry and red cherry aromas, this austere 2008 Pinot Noir from Truchard Vineyards in Los Carneros is both clean and elegant. This wine offers bright fruit flavors of strawberry, red cherry, and raspberry as well as notes of cola and prune. It finishes with nutty, oaky flavors and offers minerality native to the Los Carneros region.”

We found the the 2008 Xwinery Carneros Napa Valley Truchard Vineyard Pinot Noir to be comparable to the Cloudline, yet a bit more intense, complex, and featuring slightly darker fruit flavors.  The acidity and body were well matched to the tartare and we gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up.  At $25, it is yet another good value and a versatile pairing wine.

Finally, the 2009 Trader Joe's California Petit Reserve Tempranillo.  The 2009 Trader Joe's Tempranillo Petit Reserve is a wine purchased in Virginia, made from a Spanish grape grown in California and sold by a Germany company.  The wine industry is really stretching its geographic legs these days.  Here are the tasting notes from the bottle:

“Our rendition of this native Spanish grape displays distinctive, focused aromas of blackberry and dried currant with a hint of smoke on the finish.”

We found it to be fruity and smooth with a bit of tartness in the finish.  It was not as complex as the Pinot Noirs, and the tartness was not ideal for the pairing.  I would not recommend this wine for your pairing with steak tartare.  On the other hand, at $6 this is an economical daily drinker.

As a final note, we added bacon sautéed brussels sprouts, egg noodles and Swedish meatballs to the menu for a certain someone in the crowd who is not pleased with the idea of raw anything. 
While on the subject of raw, prepare this dish at your own risk.  Regardless of what I say about raw food, seared food, medium rare steaks and anything short of cooking the hell out of something, follow the USDA guidelines for safely cooking meat. Your choice, like mine, to live on the edge with less than fully cooked meats is exactly that – your decision.

Recipe

Steak Tartare

Ingredients

For 2 servings

• Assorted fresh greens (optional)
• 12 ounces beef tenderloin or sirloin
• Worcestershire sauce
• Trinidad pepper sauce (or your favorite pepper sauce)
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup minced red onion
• 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
• 2 egg yolks
• Toast points drizzled with olive oil (optional)
• Extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

1. Finely chop the beef with a very sharp knife - a dull knife is frustrating and results in something more akin to ground beef.
2. Season to taste with Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, Dijon mustard, salt and black pepper. I used Trinidad Pepper Sauce.
3. Gently fold in the onions, capers and parsley
4. Shape the meat into 2 patties and form a small bowl in the center to place the egg yolk.
5. Center each on a plate - putting on a bed of fresh greens is a nice optional touch.
6. Carefully break the 2 eggs, and gently place only the yolk in the "bowl you formed in the patty.
7. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with additional pepper sauce, Worcestershire and olive oil on the side. Optionally, include toast points.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Craig's Grape Adventure - Loving Life with a Skillet and a Corkscrew – Official Release of the eBook

You can now have Craig’s Grape Adventure with you all the time!  Craig's Grape Adventure - Loving Life with a Skillet and a Corkscrew is now available in eBook form.

Before I get into all the promotional goo – all the great reasons you should have a copy of this book – I will start with the details of how to get your copy.  Easy stuff.

1.       Click on the “Donate” button up to the right – throw me a bone – or a bunch of bones.  There is no set price for this book.  You name the price.

 

2.       Send me an e-mail at craigcorl@yahoo.com to let me know you have donated and would like your copy.

3.       I will send you a link to download the file.

4.       Follow the instructions below for putting the book on your iPhone, iPad, or Kindle.

5.       Read, cook, have a glass of wine, and enjoy.

When I ask Chef Sue out for an evening that includes a movie, it is always a love story.  Transformers, Cowboys vs. Aliens, Abduction, Contagion, Drive, Killer Elite, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, 300, Green Lantern, Gladiator, Batman, all romances.  Like these movies, this book is a love story.  It is also filled with perilous tales from the kill zone we know as the kitchen, psychological thriller elements, and an ample serving of explosions and expensive special effects.  I promise.

But wait, there is more.  I would not call this a cookbook, but yes, there are recipes.  Lots of recipes – nearly 100 tantalizing creations to fit any mood and any palate accompanied with nearly 50 wine pairings.  But if you want to call it a cookbook, have at it.  One of my objectives is breaking the cookbook mold.  First, as a photographer, I hope you find plenty of pleasing photography designed to bring the food to life.

Layered over the beautiful photography and recipes are stories about the food.  Not history, or the origins of food, but real stories you can relate to.  Along with the wine pairings and stories you will read about why a particular wine was selected, and why it worked or did not.

This book also breaks the traditional “cookbook” mold by virtue of its electronic format.  You will find this a convenient advantage as you prop your laptop, iPad, iPhone, or Kindle on the counter and prepare your next great meal.

With links to all the recipes finding the next recipe is just a touch or click away.

The eBook format works well because the book will always be with you, and finding the recipe is as easy as pointing to the pairing you wish to create.  And of course, the book is filled with great photography for those of you who sadly prefer to look at great food rather than eat it.  Any way you look at it, it will be a fun read.

And here is the best part – the price.  You get to name your price.  I have yet to be disappointed.  I have sold prints, shot family portraits, shot events, and made personal and professional portraits based on this model and have been more or less fairly compensated in every instance.  Those who could not afford what might be considered “market rates” were balanced by those who were grateful enough to be generous.  I find that people want to be treated fairly and generally feel the same obligation to treat others fairly.  So until I am consistently and dreadfully proven otherwise, I plan on sticking to the “pay what you can” philosophy.

Meredith noted that most books on Amazon sell in the $10 range.  Cookbooks even more with many in the mid $20s.  She prefers that I set a price.  So here it is: One Million Dollars (with pinky in place and the voice of Dr. Evil).  Sorry Meredith.  I’m sticking with my belief that people want to be treated fairly and will do so in return.  The price remains the same – anything you want.

After you download, you can read it on your computer, iPhone, iPad, or Kindle (and maybe other devices – I have not tested others so cannot be sure).

To move files to and from Kindle:

1. Connect your Kindle to your computer. Your Kindle should appear on your computer in the same location you would normally find an external USB drive.
2. Use your computer's file browser to drag and drop or copy and paste the file to the “documents” folder on the Kindle.
3. When finished, use your computer's undock, eject, or unmount feature to remove your Kindle.

To Open in iBooks

1. Either download the file directly to your device, or download to your computer and e-mail it to yourself and open the e-mail attachment on your device.

In the upper right corner of the screen, touch the envelope with an arrow and select “open in iBooks.”

I want you to love this book, and I want you to donate according to your judgment of the value.  To help with your decision, you can download a free sample chapter.  Just follow this link.

Here are some screen shots of the table of contents.