Wine with steak? plus what Starter?

[~Wingnut~]

Hi Everyone! I'm having my Mum & Step-Dad over for dinner Saturday night and thought for a change I would do steak instead of a big fussy fancy meal. Anybody have any recommendations for what wine would be nice to serve with it? Not too pricey tho please. I thought of a white and a red for a choice even tho I know you are suppose to have red with red meat, but hey! Also what starter would go well before Steak? It is a thank you meal for them both so want to try to make it as nice as possible. Thanx in advance :o)

[Ed Strong]

Look around Tesco's wine aisle. They always have decent wines - both red & white - on special offers. Sometimes half price, but more often with a �1 off. You can get really decent reds & whites for about �3.99. I quite like Australian for reds & Italian for whites (serve the white well chilled). For an easy starter what about a pate served with thin pieces of toasted wholemeal bread with mixed salad leaves (for colour) on the side. There's always the old standby of the 70's - prawn cocktail!

[Ed Strong]

BTW I find this website really useful for ideas:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/

[~Wingnut~]

Thanx for the suggestion's Ed :o)

I should have said we only have Morrison's near us, sorry meant to put it in and forgot :o(
I will have a look at the Australian wines tho, thanx.

I did think about prawn cocktail for the starter, might see if I can find any variation's on said starter, off to go look at site you recommended, thanx.


Thanx again for your help Ed :o)

[Ed Strong]

You're welcome. Hubby used to be in the wine trade so I've picked up a few tips along the way. Also, just because a wine is expensive, doesn't necessarily mean it tastes better than a cheaper one! There are too many wine snobs around - just have fun tasting.

[nickmo]

Have you got a Lidl near? they have a 2000 Barolo for �8.99 at the moment - worth 3 times the price - their wine buyer must have been on the bottle. Really good red wine at a steal.

One to lay down as well if you like to have a bit of a cellar thing started.

And as for prawn cocktail - have go at the following for a change:

Get some king scallops. Griddle for 2 mins a side. let cool a bit but keep warm.
Shred by hand a mix of leaves and some herbs and make a little round heap. Dice the warm scallops, drop over the leaves dress with a little sesame seed oil - very very little as its strong - and top with some sesame seeds . Serve with a nice warm bread.

Or get some langoustines and grill them for a couple of mins. on a skewer. Serve them simply brushed with garlic butter and a side salad. - Finger food and looks dead posh.

For a pud just get some nice fresh seasonal fruit and serve with double cream whipped with orange liqueur - easy to do, cooling, not too filling and looks nice too - if you want to get all cheffy, serve in tall glasses with the rim dipped in egg white then coloured sugar crystals.

Have nice meal . .

[~Wingnut~]

Oh wow Nickmo! That just sounds wonderful!!!!! Step-Dad is a trained Chef, so reckon the king scallops would impress him! lol Sounds just delicious!
Unfortunatly we haven't a Lidl near us, although after reading on here about their deals (week or 2 ago) and finding out they were going to build one nearby I got excited but it seems everyone is against it and it isn't going to happen which is probably for the best really.

You 2 are great thank you so much for your help :o)

[nickmo]

Hi wingnut - glad to help - as a suggestion, if you have a fishmonger use them for the scallops, not the s/market.

You will need 2 kings per person as a starter, and the pink 'coral' is the roe. You can keep this on or discard - up to you. Under rather than over cook them too. If you cook for too long they 'split' down the edges and will become tough.

For the salad, try and avoid the mix bags from the shop - if there is a farmers' market or farm shop by you , get the leaves from there - they will be more flavoursome.

Have fun . .

[sinnoc00]

I always go for a Merlot with steak. Nice and rich and seems to complement the steak nicely.

[~Wingnut~]

Thanx sinnoc, that sounds a very good choice.

I am going to pick out the wine tomorrow, unfortunatly we don't have a fishmongers near us Nickmo, supermarket only :o(

Thanx again!

[whitbybabe]

Hi Wingnut, If you want to be just that little bit different,serve a sparkling shiraz(red),Lindemans do a great one.bin 555.
Had it a few times now and always serve it LIGHTLY chilled,not cold,i.e half an hour in fridge max before opening.Had it from Morrisons and also Tesco's.Hope you give it a try and if you do let me know what you think.Think its �7.99 although sometimes on offer at �5.99.

[nickmo]

Wingy wingy wingy - I will not accept the 'no fishmonger' comment - get online and order hen -

http://www.crabmeat.co.uk/scallops.htm
or http://www.super-chef.co.uk
or http://www.lochfyne.com
or http://www.skye-seafood.co.uk/shellfishshop.as p?id=14

I mean, really - the Isle of Skye guys have small quantities. . . rather than buying the whole catch. I know its easy to say just oredr, but I take the stance that if you want to have something nice, its more than worth the extra pound. Anyway, it'll soon be Christmas, and you want to make sure Santa turns up don't you . . !

Have a nice meal though . . !

[Wee Kaz]

Hi Wingnut, I had steak last week and had a lovely Rioja with it, it's a spanish red wine and they range from �4.00 upto �10 and you can get it in Morrisons, Campo Viejo is a particularly nice one at �4.99 or thereabouts.

I had a sweet with my steak rather than a starter, they are much easier to pick up in a supermarket that pre made starters. You could have a lovely rich chocolate gateux with marscapone cheese or even ice cream. Have a nice evening and hope they appreciate the gesture in return.

Any room for one more?? I'm starving and love steak!! ;o)

[~Wingnut~]

Hi Wee Kaz, cool cheers! I have had Rioja from Morrison's, your right it would go nice with steak, think I may get a couple of recommendations from here, you know just to have a choice ;o)

Your great nickmo! Hubby had a heart attack when he saw some prices tho!! He says this time it's to be from Morrison's (he's got to stop on his way home from work) but on your say so (I said you know your stuff & always have great suggestions) we will go to a fishmonger and have a try some time :o)

Thanx xx

[nickmo]

Okey-dokey - so dress up the plate than and get all cheffy - use a square plate who says they have to be round?;

sprinkle some paprika round the edge of the plates;

serve the scallops on wooden skewers over the salad leaves;
use some salad onions that have been immersed in ice water for a while - this opens them up into 'flowers' at the green end and looks all posh;

serve with a dipping sauce rather then dressing the leaves with the sesame - make a couple of flavoured oils, like chilli, sesame, herb, etc. Easy to do - just use a good veg. oil and infuse the flavour you want. Put the oils in the middle of the table and each can add their own taste.

If you want an easy 'between the course' refresher or palate cleanser - freeze a tin of grapefruit in natural juice - not syrup - by chucking it into a freezer bag (the grapefruit, not the tin . . . . ). Make a sorbet by blitzing the g/fruit just before serving up in a nice glass - if s/dad is a chef that will keep him quite . . . .easy and look like you've slaved for hours . . .

Then get stuck in to the steak..

Have a nice one anyway. Ta for now.

[nickmo]

I should say for the onions, slice through the green end into fronds before you put them into the ice water - other wise there is nothing to 'open' . . . .

Cheers..

[gizmo1]

With red meat, I like a meaty wine. Any Pinot Noir variety. St Aubin is a good one.