Tonight was my kind of dinner.  Gusty flavors, lots of vegetables, and rich, red wines.

The main event was a lovely steak of sushi-grade tuna, from Idylwilde, our local greengrocer and much more.  This was done very simply, sprinkled with olive oil and Hawaiian Alaea Sea Salt (thank you, Hank!), and seared in a very hot cast iron skillet.

This was paired with a sautéed/braised artichoke heart, cooked in olive oil, wild Greek thyme, and finished with a little butter (sorry, no photo).

The main accompaniment was a dish of oven-roasted Italian vegetables, compliments of a new (to me) blog, The Mediterranean Dish, and her recipe.

As side dishes just for me (Barbara does not eat peppers), I roasted on the gas grill and peeled one pepper, and I cooked three other colorful bell peppers in a sauté, Puglia-style, with onions, garlic, a little tomato, and chopped parsley.  The roasted pepper was topped with Santorini capers and olive oil.  Now, I am set with Bruschetta toppings for several days ahead.

Which leaves only the wine to discuss.  Last night I had opened a bottle of Aaron’s 2016 Chimera, a blend of 1/3 Mourvedre and 2/3 Syrah from two different AZ vineyards.  It was very good last night with the chicken and kugel Barbara made, and the remainder was perfect tonight with the tuna and roasted veggies.  For my second glass, I opened a bottle of 2013 Linne Calodo Martyr, a blend of Mourvedre, Syrah, Tannat, and Cinsault, from Paso Robles in California’s Central Coast region.  This was very good, too, but the Chimera was an even better match.