Red Meat and Red Wine for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is truly a retailer's dream-come-true. I don't mean to be cynical, but we're all guilted into getting something for our true love, our kids, our mother. So we do. And the florists respond by jacking the price of roses up to two and three times normal. And then there's the special "Dinner for Two" packages at local restaurants. Uninspired three-course meals with a complimentary glass of inferior Champagne for upwards of a hundred bucks. Boooooooo.

Won't you join me in a Valentine's Day protest? Let's fix a "true red" meal at home. The best red meat you can afford--sirloin or ribeye or filet. Seared on a grill or indoors on a grill pan. If you use the tips below, you'll think you're eating at a steakhouse. And serve a great red wine with it. I've got a Cabernet-based California red that I think you'll like. Then supplement with your favorite sides: baked potatoes or garlic mashed potatoes. A salad. Maybe creamed spinach. Light some candles and put on some jazz. THAT's a Valentine's Day to remember. Just don't spend your hard-earned bucks on over-priced roses, OK?

Red Meat: Perfect Steak at Home

Start with high-quality meat from a butcher shop or gourmet-type grocery. You'll pay a little bit more, but will be glad to when you taste the final results. And no need to buy a whole side of beef. You only need 6 or 8 ounces a person, so split a steak if you need to. Makes things more romantic, huh? I am a sucker for a ribeye well-marbled with fat, but you could also try tenderloin filet or more value-priced sirloin.

Not much preparation is needed. I give mine a good slosh of Worcestershire sauce and a generous sprinkling of kosher salt and grind of black pepper. A wine-friendly tip is to add a little thyme to the pan. Let it sit and marinade for a bit. You can do this covered on your counter if you'd like. You want the meat to come to room temperature before you grill it anyway. Just be sensible and don't leave out all day. An hour should do it.

Get your grill or grill pan good and hot. Really hot. No need for oil. You want the dry meat to sear to the hot metal, giving it those great grill marks. Let the steak sit there for two minutes without touching it. Then, I turn the heat down to about medium-high and check to see if the steak is getting to brown. If not, let it sit for another five minutes or so. If it is, go ahead and turn it. Put the lid down on the grill and let it go until it's done. Total cooking time will probably only be about ten minutes if you have the fire hot enough.

Now, how do we know when it's done? Well, there's the whole "touch test" that I, quite frankly, have never mastered. So, I use this. A great digital thermometer that lets you set the kind of meat and degree of doneness. Mine even counts it down to let me know when to pour the wine. I think it's a sin to cook good beef past medium-rare, so I watch for the internal temperature to get to 120 degrees. Then I pull it off the grill and put on a plate tented with foil to rest. Ten minutes later, I can cut into the tender goodness.

Wine Pairing
I don't always enjoy Cabernet Sauvignon wines. They are bigger than I usually like. BUT I can't imagine drinking anything but Cabernet with a steak. The fattiness of the meat cuts through the firmer tannins and mellows the wine. It still packs enough punch to stand up to the big flavor of beef though. And adding thyme to the marinade makes it even more wine-friendly.

How about opening a bottle of Coppola Vineyards Diamond Claret? Claret is just the British term for a Cabernet-based; this one also has Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. It's a beautiful ruby color with a dusty dark cherry nose in the glass. I also smelled a little sweet leather. When you take a sip, you'll get smoky, brambly fruit--dark cherry and blackberry. There's also a touch of pepper and firm tannins that would make it great not only with steak, but also lamb or even a braised dish. And it's a bargain at less than $15.