A Good Dinner

Had a single NY strip steak -- grass-fed, from Ron Gargasz farm, via McGinnis Sisters -- and some Point Reyes bleu cheese. So chose to make a steak salad.

It was, I can say with confidence, a good decision -- even if the picture from my Droid doesn't quite live up to that description.

Nothing too fancy about this. Arugula was the green. Thinly sliced some red onion, lightly carmelized. Sauteed some shitake mushrooms, cooked 'til tender.

Standard balsamic vinaigrette, but used an aged balsamic, which I think you need to hold up to grass-fed meat.

Coated the steak in a rub of fresh oregano, thyme, sage, salt, pepper, olive oil. Seared in cast-iron and finished in the stove.

Accompanied the salad with a Pinot Noir, which I guess you usually wouldn't do -- at least I think -- but I thought it worked. Tasted good to me! The wine was also a good accompaniment for the desert of a salted caramel from Edward Marc.

Who Knew Perez Hilton Could Make Sense

I know very little about Perez Hilton. From what I have seen, he seemed a little... off, somebody who desperately wanted to be famous. And he succeeded in garnering some fame. And now, it seems, he's putting it to good use.

A warning, though, some graphic images in this video. It ain't pretty. But then again, that's the point.

Scrapin' Up the Bits... Quicky Style

Busy days, and busy nights, I suppose. Little time for superfluous things, like blogging, but some really interesting items for your consumption:

First, help the fine folks at Legume get a beautiful kitchen. Kick them $5 or $10, eh?



Next, uh, that "fresh tilapia" you just ordered? Yeah, good chance it was previously frozen and came from China (where who knows what they fed the thing). A must read, IMO.

Finally, all this debate about gas prices and energy. One of the biggest sources of energy consumption: food production.

And in the middle of this article, a really intriguing -- and disturbing -- question: Why in a state like Iowa, flush with great farmland -- are produce sections replete with produce grown a couple of thousand of miles away?