November 12, 2014 Sautéed Rib Eye Steak, Roasted Vegetables and Bulgar Wheat

At around 5:00 I started sautéing about 1 cup of No. 3 Bulgar wheat, ¼ onion, pecans (I could not find the sliced almonds) and raisins and then added hot water, covered the pot and intended to simmer it for about thirty minutes, but when Suzette arrived, she checked the Bulgar and announced it ready and turned off the heat to let it continue cooking without heat until dinner after twenty minutes.

I had taken a PPI baked sweet potato out of the vegetable crisper in the afternoon.  Suzette was hungry, but did not want to grill the steak outside because the grill does not heat to a high enough temperature on cold windy days, so she started sautéing some PPI roasted root vegetables and the sweet potato in olive oil in a large skillet while I ran to the garden to pick a handful of thyme and the last of the tarragon and, inadvertently, due to the darkness,four leaves of garlic greens.  I laid the thyme in another large skillet destined to cook the steak and Suzette started sautéing the steak in a bit of olive oil, while I minced the garlic greens and put them in with the vegetables.    

I then went to the basement and fetched a bottle of 2007 Wellington Estate Grown Zinfandel to welcome the first winter storm with a heavy wine.  I uncorked the wine and set it on the table with glasses, while Suzette was sautéed vegetables and steak in the kitchen.  In a couple of minutes everything was ready.  Suzette had made a sauce with a bit of red wine in the steak skillet, so we poured that over the strips of steak and spooned sautéed vegetables and Bulgar onto our plates. 

Suzette fetched the aerator and put it into the bottle and poured glasses of wine. 

The steak was cooked to medium, which is the way I prefer it and the sautéed vegetables were crunchy and crisp, which I loved.  Suzette’s German tradition makes her want to sauté lots things that I never thought could or should be sautéed like spaghetti and baked potatoes, but which I now find delicious, such as our roasted vegetables.  The Bulgar was a little moist but still flavorful and quite fruity from the fully re-hydrated raisins.  Since I have sworn off sugar, I now find it enjoyable to add fruit to our meals, like the apples in the pork dish last night and the raisins in the Bulgar tonight. 

The wine was zesty and fruity, with enough tannins to make an immediate impression on the palate.

I smeared a little Béarnaise sauce on the steak, but it was really unnecessary, except it did add a little butter fat and vinegar flavor to the steak, which broke up the olive oil dominance of the meal.

Bon Appétit