May 19, 2021 Lunch - Sashimi and Sushi rice. Dinner - Filet Mignon with Creamed Spinach

 May 19, 2021 Lunch - Sashimi and Sushi rice. Dinner - Filet Mignon with Creamed Spinach

I ate maple flavored granola with yogurt, milk, blueberries, and mango for breakfast.

Today I had a doctor’s appointment at 10:15.  I worked and talked to Luke until then.  Everything went well but I have a circulation issue.  

Afterwards, I drove to El Super to buy produce, because today was its bargain day.

I bough cauliflower, Roma Tomatoes, yellow onions, green onions, cilantro, parsley, two small avocados, a papaya, a pineapple, carrots, Brussels sprouts, limes, mangos, two bunches of spinach, a bag of black beans, sour cream, dried oregano, mangos, Lecheria, chocolate cookies, smoked pork chops, and chicken quarters.

When I returned home and unloaded it was nearly 1:00 and I was hungry.  Suzette arrived at 1:00 as I was slicing daikon, scallops, tuna, and salmon for sashimi. I added rice wine vinegar and Aji Mirin to the PPI rice and heated it in the microwave to make sushi rice. I brought in the bottle of pickled leeks from the garage fridge I had bought at the 99 Seafood supermarket and opened it.  I filled a bowl with pickled ginger and filled small dipping bowls with soy and wasabi sauce and we were ready to eat.

I was so hungry I forgot to take a photograph.  I ate a bit and then made a cup of green tea and kept eating until everything was gone, except some slices of daikon. 

Suzette said she wanted steak for dinner, so at 1:00 I thawed a filet mignon

Suzette had stopped well before me and gone to the post office to fetch a box full of mail that had accumulated during our trip and started opening it.

I worked for a while and then at 4:00 we drove to Lira’s to pick up the two chairs from the bedroom that Lira’s had re-upholstered with African indigo dyed fabric Suzette bought from an African trader at the Earth Day celebration in Nob Hill. 

When we returned it was starting to rain, so we watched the news until 6:30 and I started de-stemming spinach and then rinsed it and spun it.

Suzette heated the grill and I sliced and diced 1/2 onion and seven white mushrooms and Suzette chopped several cloves of garlic.

I went to the garden and picked several sprigs of thyme and two sprigs of tarragon and chopped them. We then sautéed the onions and garlic and then the mushrooms and herbs and Suzette put the steak on to grill.

I asked Suzette what type of wine she wanted and she said, “A light red.” 

We discussed what grape and she indicated a cab or merlot, so I opened a 2017 Chateau Roudier from the Montagne-Saint Emilion Appellation that I had recently bought at Trader Joe’s for $13.99.  I have been buying this wine for several years and we liked the 2017 better than several prior vintages.

Here are a professional critic’s tasting notes.

The nose is fruity. It reveals notes of small wild berries, cassis and small notes of iris, bulb associated with touches of red fruits (cherry, strawberry) as well as hints of licorice and discreet hints of spices. The palate is fruity, well-balanced and offers a juicy frame, suavity, fat as well as roundness. On the palate this wine expresses notes of fleshy cassis, fleshy blackberry and small notes of crushed strawberry associated with very slight touches of flowers as well as hints of licorice, chocolate, a subtle hint of cardamom and an imperceptible hint of underwood (in the background). Tannins are well-built.

Note (Score): 15/20

Note (Score): 89/100

When Suzette brought the grilled steak in I sliced it.  The steak seemed a bit rare, so we covered it with aluminum foil to allow it to continue cooking while we finished the Creamed Spinach dish. 

We added the spinach to the skillet and covered it with a wok cover to steam and cook the spinach.  Then Suzette added a combination of heavy cream, milk, and sour cream to cream the spinach, mushrooms, and onions.

After stirring and cooking the sauce with the ingredients, Suzette plated the creamed spinach and lay the steak slices on top of the creamed spinach for a very attractive presentation and I poured glasses of red wine and we ate a really lovely dinner for out first official beef dinner after our return from our trip.

I later ate a slice of brie and a bit of chocolate with the last glass of the wine and enjoyed those items with the wine also.

Suzette drank a sip of cognac and later I drank a sip of French 15 year old Calvados.

Bon Appetit