With this red, go with red meat too

There's nothing like a well-aged wine to make you feel like a grown-up. And that's just what our Wine of the Week, Burgess Cellars 2000 Napa Valley Cabernet, does. It makes you feel as if you've been invited to the big house on the hill, where the fancy people go, and get to sit next to the host. Or to put it another way, it's like you finally get to move from the kids' table to the adult table at a big holiday dinner.

This is to say the wine is both mature and playful, a tad racy even, with rivulets of dark spice carving through the wine's earthy layers. Pay attention and you'll notice white pepper, black pepper, clove and a bit of dried dried sage, along with a suggestion of allspice, a brushstroke of new leather and mushrooms just poking their heads through the damp forest floor after the year's first rain.

It is a beautifully mature wine that underscores aging as a good thing, not something to be dreaded, feared or denigrated. We should all be so lucky as to age as well as this suave cabernet has.

When it comes to pairing the wine with food, you need to think of what it is you you want to achieve - something that will let the wine take center stage or a supporting role to the food? With older cabs, I tend to prefer the former and I like to pair them with rare beef prepared simply, with a side dish or two that complement both the wine and the meat. Other good matches include slow-cooked venison and wild boar, grilled eggplant, grilled portobellos and halibut with a black olive sauce.

For today's recipe, I've taken inspiration from the fine new book, "Primal Cuts: Cooking with America's Best Butchers" (Welcome Books, 2010 by Marissa Guggiana of Sonoma Direct. One of the butchers profiled is Tanya Cauthen of Belmont Butchery in Richmond, Virginia and this is her recipe, which I find the perfect companion to the wine. Hanger steak is inexpensive and has a wonderfully concentrated flavor that is best showcased in simple preparations. For the best results, buy local grass-fed beef, such as Hick's Valley brand from Oliver's or whatever is available at your local farmers market. Willowside Meats in Santa Rosa is also a good source.

I've kept the recipe for the steak exactly as it appears in the book, but have added sauteed Wine Cap mushrooms. These mushrooms are now available from Crescent Moon Farm; check for them at your local farmesr market.

Pan-Seared Hanger Steak with Pan Sauce & Sauteed Wine Cap Mushrooms

Makes 2 servings

1 basket Wine Cap mushrooms

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon oil or rendered fat (duck fat, lard, etc.)

1 hanger steak, about 1 pound

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

? cup red wine

? cup beef stock, duck stock or veal demi-glace

1 teaspoon unsalted butter, cold

First, cut the mushrooms in half lengthwise. Put the butter and olive oil into a heavy saute pan set over medium heat and when the butter is melted, add the mushrooms and saute, turning frequently, until limp and tender. Season with salt and pepper, cover the pan and remove from the heat.

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed saute pan or skillet over high heat and add oil. When the oil is hot, season the steak with salt and pepper and brown evenly, turning as needed, until it is done to your taste - 6 to 8 minutes for medium-rare hanger steak (remember, the steak will continue cooking while it rests); a minute longer for medium; 2 to 3 minutes longer for well done.

Transfer the steak to a plate and set aside in a warm place while you make the pan sauce.

Deglaze the pan with wine: simmer while stirring and scraping up meat bits until liquid is reduced by half, about 1 minute. Add stock and simmer, stirring, until sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in cold butter. This will thicken your sauce slightly. Adjust salt to taste.

Working very quickly, reheat the mushrooms if needed.

To serve, slice steak on the bias (across the grain) into finger-width pieces, fan out on individual plates and drizzle with pan sauce. Scatter mushrooms over both portions and serve immediately.