More adventure in German cooking - steak in yellow goo

So I went to the Edeka yesterday, which is a grocery store in Süsterseel.  I will most definitely go there again, as I had been going to the Rewe in Gangelt, which is farther away.  I have to say the Edeka is more to my taste, as their wine section is organized by country and type of wine.  In addition, I nearly wept with joy when I saw they stocked sesame seed oil, yakisoba noodles, dried shiitake mushrooms, and large bags of Japanese crackers.

They also have an enormous butcher shop section (not to mention dairy section, but it seems all German grocery stores have enormous dairy sections).  I wanted to get something nice for dinner, and spotted  some Rindfleisch (beef) that looked like lean steak, marinated in some kind of yellowish goo with green flecks.  I figured if it had green vegetable-looking flecks, it was probably some kind of herb.   I also went to the wine section and picked up more wine, about four bottles, and no we are not drinking all of them at once!  That would be a travesty, and not properly appreciating the wine.  Among them was a bottle of 2005 French Cabernet Sauvignon, at an amazingly good price.

They also had wines imported from overseas--South Africa, Australia, and the United States.  However, I have to say I was rather disappointed to see only one kind from the U.S.:  Gallo.  I kid you not.  Gallo.  Perhaps there are better than simple low-cost table wines that Gallo usually offers, but I have not seen them in WA.  There are other great California wines, not to mention great Washington and Oregon wines, but I did not see them.  At. All.  I've not seen them in any German grocery stores.  I think the closest I can go to find any is in Bonn.

This isn't to say that I am looking to stock American wines, unless I give in to massive homesickness, in which case I'll assuage it with Heinz ketchup on French fries, and I have to say German pomme frites are top notch, fried to a even crispness, never over-salted, and never limp.  Why they call them pomme frites (French) instead of gebraten Kartoffeln, I don't know.

There are plenty of good wines be had here, in massive quantities and at a low price, and we are keeping notes on each, so that we can revisit the brands and kinds in the future.  We have no idea what is considered a good brand here in Germany (or in France or Spain, for that matter), so we are going purely on taste.  There are even kinds we haven't heard of, so that's an adventure, too.

Anyway, I am glad that I got the beefsteaks soaked in green-flecked yellow goo, because it turned out to be a lovely garlic and butter marinade with parsley flakes.  The meat was lean, but nevertheless very tender.  I'm afraid I had to fry it, as we don't yet have oven racks yet--the bad prior tenants absconded with them, why I do not know, and our landlord has them on order.

I fried them straight on, and when I flipped them, put crumbled gorgonzola cheese on top.  I also decided to saute some brown mushrooms (I suspect they're Crimini, but that's not the name on the package--it just says "brun champignons") with garlic in the steak leavings and added sour cream, and then put this topping on the steaks.  Made a tossed salad, and then sliced some white crusty bread (bought at the local bakery, which is within walking distance) and put  sundried tomato bruschetta spread, a sliver of parmesan cheese, and an arugula (called rucola here) leaf on each.  The wine that John brought up from the basement was a South African Nederburg 2007 Shiraz.

I have to say I paid no attention to the Shiraz after biting  into a piece of the steak.  Dear heaven.  That was one of the most tender cuts of meat I've ever had the privilege of eating.  John's only complaint was that the steak I had cooked was too small.  So much for appreciating wine.  The steak was foremost in our gustatory-flooded minds.

The lesson in all this?  Do not be afraid of meat marinated in green-flecked yellow goo in a German grocery store.  It is a Good Thing.