OWFS 4 Red Rooster Syrah

Here we are on the cusp of fall.  Summer is always so lovely, and it’s tough to let it go, but it’s time to say goodbye.  The kids are back at school, the days are getting shorter and you can feel the bite in the air when you get up in the morning.  For some reason, the approach of fall always makes me feel like I really should be getting up early and running for miles.  Weird.

Luke and I tasted the Red Rooster Syrah together recently and I couldn’t decide which way to go with this wine.  It is so lush and tasty that it really demands a really meaty dish with some substance to it.  So I got to thinking about various meats and methods on the BBQ, since I’m still trying with all my might to hang on to summer.  That line of thought led me directly to my favorite happy accident made out of leftover BBQ’d meats.

The next time you find yourself the lucky owner of some leftover pork and beef steaks, and a bottle of Red Rooster Syrah, try this recipe on for size:

Chop up your leftover steaks, along with some mushrooms, shallots, garlic and onions.  In a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat a combination of butter and oil and toss in your meat, shallots, garlic, mushrooms and onions.  Allow your ingredients to slowly caramelize and break down.  Toss in a little truffle salt and fresh ground pepper.  As the meat and other components cook, alternately add splashes of red wine and beef or veal stock.  Your end game goal is to use up an entire bottle of red wine and 2 to 3 cups of stock reduce down to a rich, flavorful, thick gravy.

As the meat/broth/wine mixture is cooking down to a delicious, tender mess, peel and chop up some potatoes and turnips.  Boil those until tender and make a rough mash.  Remember that everything is better with butter!

Once your stew/gravy is ready, serve over the root mash and enjoy.  I won’t post a picture of it, because it ain’t pretty.  But believe me, it tastes just like heaven.  The last bowl of this stuff is something your family will fight over and it is so easy to make.  As long as you don’t burn it, you really can’t mess it up.