MSGID: 2:5064/54.1315 5faa511a   
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   TZUTC: 0300   
   TID: hpt/w32-mgw 1.4.0-sta 30-03-12   
    The weather wasn't bad, so I could get a nice enough crossbreeze to cook a   
   piece of meat without smelling it for the rest of the day, so I elected   
   to do that, to Andrew's delight.   
      
    There was one more nice giant sirloin strip in the freezer, so I pulled it   
   out only to find that the vacuum sealer hadn't been totally right, so there   
   was a touch of frost inside the bag. It was also slightly unevenly cut, but at   
   least it didn't have bone shards in the bottom the way most of the ones from   
   this Auchan come with (the other store has more expertly cut meat, but I get   
   my prescriptions here).   
      
    Thawed it pretty much, browned the edges (it was as most of the steaks are   
   thick enough to stand on edge in the pan), and cooked so the thick part was   
   rare.   
      
    The thin end had had some of that frost and might not have been the   
   tenderest, so being a relatively nice guy I took that for myself.   
      
    A pan sauce out of leftover Norton Malbec, the thickened juice from the   
   Bourguignonne deliciousness, and, because it was there, a bit of rendered suet   
   taking the place of butter. It transformed my end of the steak and might have   
   improved Andrew's.   
      
    He also had a big baked potato, into which he shoveled nearly a stick of   
   butter in two goes.   
      
    Considering the fragility of life, I pulled out the currently best wine in   
   the house, Sarget de Gruaud-Larose 15. Back when, Talbot was my favorite, but   
   for a while I took its stablemate Gruaud-Larose by preference (when my brother   
   and b-i-l offered it), and latterly, life being what it is, it's the cadets   
   Connetable Talbot and Sarget that are within my budget.   
      
    This was quite a fine (but not AS fine) wine, its blackberry blackcurrantness   
   taming down with intriguing spice including a little clove and pepper coming   
   out, worth sipping with the meat. It was almost as good and delicate a wine as   
   to call for poultry (i.e., a pairing where the meat takes the back seat).   
      
    Andrews's carrot cake for afters, which was excellent, not too sweet, though   
   she had frosted it with Martha Stewart's cream cheese frosting recipe, which   
   calls for too much fat and not enough sugar.   
      
      
      
   Next day was one of the fifty four F high days, and I took my walk extra   
   early, being whipped around by the wind; this guaranteed the dearth of   
   insects, though some of the flies have evolved into formidable fliers.   
      
   The plan was to have leftover pizza, so I put it out to come to room temp. I   
   figured a couple slices out of 5 (for some reason the parlor had cut it into   
   nine wedges, which takes some thinking) would do me with a beer, but about as   
   soon as I made that plan the lights went off.   
      
   Andrew got on the Internet via his phone (I think that costs extra, but this   
   seemed justifiable) and found that the situation involved 73 customers. As it   
   was lowery and unpleasant, I decided that an early retreat would make sense so   
   had the covers up over my head by late afternoon. Andrew gave up as well an   
   hour or two later, as her phone battery had pretty much given out.   
      
   SDGE had predicted the outage would be over by 1930, but it turned out to last   
   until past normal bedtime. At about 2230 I smelled burning pizza and found the   
   same ready for consumption, but I turned it down in favor of more rest. But   
   hark, what was that in the distance? I heard large glucks of liquid and   
   surmised that it was the remaining half bottle of Sarget from the night   
   before. I rushed out and managed to get a last sip before it went away. I was   
   just a tad sore that Andrew treated it as though it were $5 plonk - I'd not   
   have been upset if he had consumed it all in my absence, if he'd done so in a   
   slightly more aware manner than if it had been Diet Pepsi or Almaden. And   
   Bordeaux does not go with pizza.   
      
   If I have told his once, I have told his a thousand times.   
      
   --- GoldED+/W32-MINGW 1.1.5-b20120519 (Kubik 3.0)   
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