'08 Caymus Cabernet & Rib Eyes with Goat Cheese, Lemon-Honey Mustard & Watercress

unWine'd with a pour...

2008 Caymus Cabernet - This wine is dark at the core with a ruby-like color at the edge as you tilt the glass toward horizontal. The nose is dark fruit, plum as well as some oak. On the palate the wine is red and black fruits, maybe some dark chocolate with great balance and structure. Mouth feel is ethereal. Just delicious!!! A personal Top-5 wine for me. Cheers to all...

Ingredients:

2 (1 1/2-inch thick) french-boned rib eye steaks
1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard with seeds

1 lemons, juiced
1 small log of goat cheese, softened moderately
1/8 cup (total) finely chopped fresh thyme & parsley
1 tablespoon EVOO, plus more for garnish

salt and black pepper to taste

1 bunch watercress

1 lemon, halved and lightly grilled 

3 spanish or vidalia onions

12-18 oz of sliced mushrooms

4 ears of sweetcorn, husks removed

Steak - Goat Cheese Spread & Vinaigrette

Remove the steaks from the refrigerator 60-90 minutes before cooking and let sit at room temperature.

Preheat the grill for high direct and indirect heat.  I prefer charcoal / hardwood for grilling this steak.

Whisk together the honey, spicy brown mustard and lemon juice in a small bowl and let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld.

Mix together the cheese, herbs and evoo in a bowl until combined and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Refrigerate.  Remove from refrigerator 30-45 minutes before using.

Brush the steaks with evoo and sprinkle liberally with shaved sea salt and pepper. Grill over direct heat until slightly charred, about 7 minutes.  Turn the steak and cook until the internal temp is at 130 degrees for a nice medium-rare.

Top the steaks with the goat cheese spread and drizzle with the honey-mustard-lemon vinaigrette. Add a little watercress over the top of the steak and then finish with a nice drizzle of evoo. Garnish with your grilled lemon halves.

(Recipe inspired by Bobby Flay but edited) 

Caramelized Onions:

Cut the ends from the onions, peel and cut the onions in half.  Cut the onion into 1/4" "half-moon" shaped pieces.

In a large skillet, over med-high heat, add 2 - 3 Tbsp of evoo and 2 Tbsp of salted/softened butter.  Once the butter is melted and the evoo is hot, add all the sliced onions.  Toss onions until all have been coated with the evoo/butter mixture and reduce the heat to low.  Once the onions have softened, about 15 - 20 minutes, add 1 Tbsp of sugar and 1 tsp of salt and stir thoroughly.  Now, let them start the browning process.  Stir, but not too often.  If too often, they will not brown properly.  It usually takes 45 mins to one hour, give or take.  The slower the better.  Just before you remove them from the skillet, pour a little red wine in the skillet and scrap the bottom of the pan to get all the good stuff from the bottom of the pan.

Mushrooms:

In a large skillet, on med-high heat, melt 6 Tbsp of salted/softened butter.  Once the butter is melted, add all the mushrooms, stir and coat with melted butter.  Pour a little Worcestershire, about 1 Tbsp, over the top of the mushrooms and stir thoroughly.  Lastly, add a little seasoning salt (I use Nature's), about 2 tsp, to the mushrooms and stir thoroughly.  Now, reduce the heat to low, stir infrequently and cook for about 25 - 30 minutes or until nicely brown.  Add a little red wine in the last 10 minutes of cooking if you wish.

Ancho Chile Lime Grilled Sweet Corn:

4 medium ears fresh sweet corn
1/4 cup salted butter, softened
1 tablespoon lime juice, fresh squeezed
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon ancho chile pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

Remove husks from corn and rinse with water.  Mix, well, the 6 ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Afterwards, spread a generous coat on each piece of corn.  Next, wrap each piece of corn in heavy duty aluminum foil.  Grill over charcoal (along with rib-eyes) for approximately 15 - 20 minutes, turning every few minutes so as not to char to heavily.  Pull away from direct heat if need be.  Use the remainder of the spread on the corn after cooking is complete.