What's In A Name?

What's in a name?

Some wines jump out at you, all because of the name. Why is it we respond in such a way to such a simple thing? Good example: Mad Housewife wine. Why is it so alluring to be a mad housewife? Drink the wine and live up to the name, right? I, of course, tried it. In my opinion, it is not very good wine. Sure fun to look at the bottle and laugh about it with your girlfriends.

Another one is Bitch wine. It has a pink label. Not sure why that grabs our attention, but I am sure many of us have tried it. Also, not very good wine. Again, a lot of fun to look at the bottle and laugh about it with girlfriends.

As a side note, there is nothing more fun than trying different wines. For a lot of people that is a scary thing to do. Some  find a wine they like, then are super scared to try anything else. If that is you, go to Great Falls and see Tronny. Wines By Wednesday, Tronny's wine store, is a cool little place attached to his printing business. He likes wine more than he likes printing, so guess where you will find him. He will help you find a different wine that you will like. He will also sell you some really great cheese. A win/win, as I like to say.

Moving on to steak. Petite Sirloin; Flat Iron; Hanger; Skirt. All words that we relate to in a positive way. Who doesn't love a fun new skirt? Who doesn't appreciate a really good flat iron these days; we all need one? Who doesn't love good hangers, one that keeps the clothes from falling off? And who doesn't want a great tasting meal that can be associated with being petite?

We all know that everyone loves a tenderloin because -- duh -- it is tender. Everyone loves the flavor of sirloin but wishes it was a little more tender. Chris and I recently discovered the skirt/hanger/flat iron varieties. They are thin and juicy strips of meat, dying for a little marinade, wanting to be quickly grilled, then cut thinly across the grain. I have no idea where it comes from on the cow. Many of the cooking shows are using these cuts. It works well for fajitas, or you can just eat thin slices next to a bed of mashed red potatoes with horseradish, sour cream and gorgonzola cheese. It would also work well in a daring Vietnamese meal.

Meat Man Dennis

Unfortunately for us, our favorite grocery store doesn't always have skirt, hanger or flat iron steak on a regular basis, even though I throw out subtle hints that they get it in and keep it in. I can't be the only person in Helena that thinks this cut of meat is great. But the meat manager is kind of a grump and must think it bad for business to cater to his customers. Go figure. Yesterday, however, Meat Man Dennis (not the grump, the fun guy) had some flat iron in the back, was willing to walk five feet, fire up the meat saw, and cut off a strip. Yeah Dennis! Chris and I had a fabulous dinner.

If you simply love the flavor of steak, this one's for you; juicy, tender and packed full of flavor.

Grilled Flat Iron Steak

marinate steak in olive oil, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper
refrigerate for a few hours
as with all beef, take out of fridge and let come to room temperature before grilling (about 1/2 hour)
on a medium grill, cook 3 minutes, turn over, cook 3 minutes, turn over, then cook 2 more minutes
tent for 8 minutes

(adjust time for desired doneness - this will be somewhere between medium rare and medium)

Cheers!

If God didn't want us to eat steak, he wouldn't have given us teeth and dental floss. ~ Stella

Is There Such A Thing As Too Many Friends?

Friday afternoon I turned the TV on, just in time to see some lady talking about her "project." She was originally from Manhattan and had moved to Chicago, or somewhere, I can't really remember. She seemed to be having some sort of midlife crisis and needed change -- big change. She was an artist, but her day job was something entirely different. Reason # 1 not to become an artist. Most artists don't make enough money to live on, and usually end up settling for some meaningless job to pay the bills.

So she got to Chicago and realized she had one small problem: She did not know anyone and had no friends. No problem. Go out and make some friends. That is where the project begins. She set out to meet and connect with one new friend every day for one whole year. She took a picture of each new friend, then took a picture of all of her pictures of friends at the end of the year. Some days she made more than one new friend. It turned out to be about 400 new friends. Out of 400 new friends, about 40 have become good friends. How cool is that?

Well, I am thinking about copying her. I want to meet one new person in Helena for a year. I am uncertain whether to tell the new friend they are part of a project. In a way, it seems rather offensive. It may come across that I really don't care about the person, just about acquiring a new friend. Some people may be intrigued by the notion. I don't know how it will shake out, but I am willing to give it a try. Maybe it doesn't need to be a project, just something fun to do. While in Babati, I made it a point to greet every person that I walked by, and some of those people did became a friend. I think it will work in Montana just as well. Tanzania reminds me of Montana. Simple people, simple fun. I will keep you posted.

When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, "Damn, that was fun." ~ Groucho Marx