We had steak salad tonight. Simple, easy, and something else. I seared the steak on a hot griddle (this cast iron griddle has been seasoning for a couple of years so it’s always easy to clean and smells astoundingly).

I sliced up a sweat onion and slid it beside the steak for blackening on the edges then shoved it all in the 425 oven for about 6 minutes. Lots of salt, lots of pepper, ground at about middle size, and olive oil.

Then the vapors filled the kitchen and I took a couple of sips of this Carmenere, introduced to me by Maggie and John. Smoky, dark fruit at the bottom of the mouth and oak box at the top. Thick purple, juicy, but light nonetheless, like eating berries off the vine with a spoonful of cream. Peppery sear, sweet onion and oil, purple fruit: the combination followed me through the meal, along with a luscious Gorgonzola dressing and crusty carpet slipper. Wow.