The Path From Filet Mignon to Tuna Steak

We often aspire to decide on meals early in the day. As the day goes on with dinner up in the air, a general tension builds. Sometimes this tension leads to incredible and ambitious ideas, however more frequently it boils up - leading to arguments and uninspired meals. With this in mind, I opened my laptop to find (already) several recipes sent from my girlfriend sent in the early morning. Mushroom ragu, that popped out to me, given our recent foray into the foraged wild mushroom. “Mushroom ragu and filet mignon”, I suggested. “I’m cool with that, let’s decide on that now!” she exclaimed.

Ha, if only it were ever that simple! By the time we did leave for groceries in the mid afternoon only the mushrooms and an accompanying orange wine were set in stone. Making permanent decisions for a brain and stomach that are constantly changing throughout the day almost always proves impossible. Today it was off-the-cuff remarks about perfectly cooked fish and moules frites (coming soon!) which muddled our best laid plans. We finally decided upon fish, tuna steak - 12oz! I headed to wait in line at the market while my chef procured the ‘sashimi’ level fish. As she arrived I could see the worry on her face. “He cut it...and it was 10oz”. Perhaps it was foolish to be so unnerved by a 2oz discrepancy, but suddenly it felt like everything was in jeopardy! Was 10oz worth cooking?! Would we starve?! The fishmonger’s faux pas ended up being a blessing from Poseidon himself. With our irrational fear of starving, we headed to the cheese aisle, a world of extra calories suddenly available to us. We (not quickly) decided upon a truffled french cheese, setting the stage for a mushroom dominated night. Chanterelles, Oysters, and Chicken of the woods mushrooms would compose the ragu, my chef taking great pleasure in picking each individually and with great care from the market’s generous selection. Tuna and wild mushrooms do not come cheap around here, and this ordinary Friday’s extravagance might seem a bit obscene to you, the reader. However, rest assured that our luxuries were fully sponsored by the morning’s game of poker! A run of luck had yielded us a $50 score, a sum we immediately converted to two-filet-mignons in our greedy heads, when our future still sparkled with seared beef. The cheese would prove divine, a perfect pairing (alongside some apricot jam) with the natural orange wine. The ragu a beautiful parade of mushroom textures, spread upon lightly toasted multigrain bread. It is here, after this first course, that the night can often take a lull. Me, in the command center, with a half-drunk bottle of wine my chef again laboring in the kitchen preparing the next course. This step can often take up to twenty stomach-filling minutes, twenty minutes I’d rather spend enamored in her company. However, the best part of this night was the masterful and thoughtfully structured planning on her part. Between end-of-ragu and beginning- of-beautifully-seared-tuna course I counted a mere 5 minutes and 22 seconds. No lull, no loss in quality, the two of us united again. While our plans inevitably change, we are slowly learning that with patience, love and poker-funded ingredients our nights are always destined for greatness.

Recipes:

Mushrooms: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015198-fresh-and-wild-mushroom-stew

Salad: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018662-radicchio-salad-with-anchovy-vinaigrette

Tuna: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015333-tuna-au-poivre-with-red-wine-sauce