Filet Mignon

After our 63-mile bike ride today, Larry wanted a nice, simple steak dinner. I agreed that this would be a nice recovery meal. I make my usual stuffed baked potatoes, which are hardly any effort at all. They're basically just baked potatoes with a lot of sour cream and a bit of butter and chopped scallions. I like cheese on the top of mine (just a bit of Cabot sharp cheddar), but Larry doesn't. I usually cut back a bit on the sour cream. They can be made with low- or non-fat sour cream, but they just aren't the same.

Larry isn't a big fan of blue cheese, because he thinks the flavor is overpowering. I've been using Stilton instead lately, and he really likes it. Still that blue cheese flavor, but much more mild.

• Pan-Seared Filet Mignon
• Stuffed Baked Potatoes (Knudsen Cooking For Compliments, p. 89)
• Baby Spinach Salad with Red Bartlett Pear, Stilton Cheese, Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar

Wine: Chiarello Vineyards 2002 Eileen Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley, California). A really, really nice Cab. Very soft and well-balanced.