Hanger Steak Sandwich on Grilled Ciabatta with Cabrales, Sauteed Spinach in Duck Fat, and Aceto Balsamico

A fun example of playing with great ingredients. Cabrales is new to me, so I grabbed a little hunk from Whole Foods which I planned to use half on the sandwiches and half for a late night snack with a nice glass of red wine. I was craving a good blue cheese after a conversation earlier in the week with my friend about roquefort. He's inclined to ignore all blue cheeses since they haven't yet appealed to him, which was surprising because he is a cheese geek. I encouraged him to try a few more and to pair these with red wines of equivalent austerities. As an example, I mentioned Mountain Gorganzola, which itself is not that interesting and is very intense, but with a full bodied Zinfandel or balanced Petit Sirah is something that will satisfy even the discriminating gourmand.

From gastronomic guesswork

The sandwich form factor I'm sure did not do full justice to the Cabrales blue cheese (a cave aged cheese from Spain that is made with a combination of goat's, sheep's, and cow's milk), but it was really delicious nonetheless. Playing with the established ideas for pairing this cheese with sweet sherry or red wine made me think a drizzle of aceto balsamico di modena (the good stuff version of balsamic vinegar) would really accentuate the flavor of the cheese. That it did.

For this preparation, the ciabatta was pan grilled with a little olive oil, the hangar steak was similarly pan grilled with grapeseed oil. The spinach was flash sauteed in a teaspoon of duck fat, and this idea turned out well on its own, but the flavor was less pronounced against the flavors of the steak, Cabrales and balsamico. Can't wait to dig into a little more of that Cabrales later tonight.