A good steak and a bottle of wine

The prairie is known for beef. Many farmers grow beef here and as we leave our little town, you'll see many pastures full of cattle.

So we love our steak. We happened to go to the little town south of us yesterday and were able to stop at our favorite meat market. It's an old fashioned butcher's shop that, when you step inside, you feel as if you're in an earlier decade. They sell the best beef and it is the place to buy steak, roasts, lean hamburger, fresh never frozen chickens.

Our cut of choice is Kansas City strip and we prefer our steaks grilled. Husband Jim does them to perfection. Topped with a pat of chive butter from the freezer, it is a meal worthy of any expensive steak house.

Sometimes we accompany our steak with the traditional baked potato but last night we decided that out of season roasted asparagus and sauteed baby bella mushrooms would be the perfect accompaniment.

And what is a steak without a bottle of wine? Husband Jim chose a great cabernet -- from Gallo. It was the perfect wine for the steak.
The mushrooms were my adaptation of The Barefoot Contessas Sauteed Wild Mushrooms which I assume is in her new cookbook, Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics, and which she demonstrated on her show last week. Since the wild mushrooms on the prairie come in little boxes, I chose to use only baby bellas. It is the perfect accompaniment for a steak.

Barefoot Contessa Sauteed Wild Mushrooms

2 pounds mixed wild mushrooms, such as cremini, shiitake, porcini, and portobello
1/2 cup good olive oil
1 cup chopped shallots (4 large)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped garlic (6 cloves)
1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

Brush the caps of each mushroom with a clean sponge. Remove and discard the stems. Slice the small mushrooms thickly and cut the large ones in a large dice.
Heat the olive oil in a large (11 - inch) Dutch oven or saucepan. Add the shallots and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until the shallots are translucent. Add the butter, mushrooms, salt, and pepper and cook over medium heat for 8 minutes, until they are tender and begin to release their juices, stirring often. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Toss in the parsley, sprinkle with salt, and serve warm.