Sunday, December 22, 2013

Another birthday

As most of you know, yesterday was my birthday. I was born on the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. That might explain my diminutive stature, although genetics probably has more to do with it. As is our custom, Ken and I celebrated with my traditional birthday dinner of steak au poivre and frites.

A perfectly cooked steak with peppercorn/Armagnac sauce served with french fries.

This year we got slices of rumstek. The butcher sliced them from a rolled roast which was not our preference, but in a crowded butcher shop it's hard to quibble. We asked for thicker slices than he started to cut, so we actually got what we wanted. Once we got them home, I tied them up tighter with a bit of string.

The raw steaks, marinating in crushed black peppercorns.

I marinated the steaks with a generous coating of crushed black pepper (done with the mortar and pestle) before they were sauteed in butter. Ken made a sauce with Armagnac, beef broth, and some more butter. I made a batch of french fries in the fryer.

The steaks, hot off the fire, ready to rest a bit before serving.

Another success! This is my traditional birthday meal. I had it for the first time in 1981 at a restaurant in Nice, France. Every year since then, Ken and I have made it at home for my birthday. And it's always been wonderfully delicious.

We drank a bit of champagne before lunch.

14 comments:

  1. Hi Walt,
    A belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
    We hope you had a great day with delicious food and good company.

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  2. yummy yum! you know how to live it up!

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  3. Many happy returns for yesterday! Many happy steaks au poivre in the years to come!

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  4. Now THAT is a celebration !

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  5. Happy belated birthday! Hope it was a great day!

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  6. How lovely it is to have someone you love to celebrate your birthday with, following many years of a tradition as grand as Steak au poivre. Yumm! The sparkles of the sapin's lights looks great in the background.

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  7. Happy belated Birthday wishes Walt. Didn't log on yesterday - busy getting things done since the weather is getting bad as far as the white stuff, freezing rain or a mix of both are concerned.

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  8. Walt,

    Happy birthday gorgeous!

    Ron

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  9. As always, it looks delicious!

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  10. Happy Belated Birthday to you Walt!!

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  11. The last photo is really NEAT! Love the colors from the tree - they're so vibrant and MODERN! Of course, champagne at lunchtime is AOKAY and perfect for your birthday! Why didn't I order that for mine? Next year...

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  12. Many happy returns! I hope this next year is your best one yet!
    What sort of champagne, by the way?

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  13. Bon anniversaire! I hope it was a good one.

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  14. Walt, today I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so I'm going to wish you a belated happy birthday, and if I've already done that, then it's because you deserve a double dose of good wishes and not because I'm scatterbrained.

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