Some wine fans gathered for our first blind tasting recently. We brought wine (we picked varietals out of a bowl and didn’t share info) that we uncorked out of sight of everyone, and then wrapped the bottles in brown bags with R or W drawn on them.

The night was, as far as I’m concerned, a total success. I didn’t get anything completely right. And probably some of the parts I did get right (a vintage year) were mostly luck. But taking all of the small parts into account and coming up with a whole was a fascinating learning experience and I want to do it again.

After the tasting, we took home the rest of our wines, which meant I had a little more than a half-bottle left of the 2004 Primovoce Arceno wine from Tuscany that I brought (Publix; $20.49). It was a really nice wine and everyone agreed it was yummy.

It had a bolder nose, of course! Made from 85 percent Merlot and 15 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, it’s a lovely ruby/garnet red in the glass. This is a deep wine with a spicy nose and a full taste of blackberries and currants. I opened it about three hours before serving and that was a good idea – it had softened in both nose and taste.

The next night, I decided to serve steak with it and be calorie-conscious at the same time. Out came my Eating Well: 500 Calorie Dinners, by Jessie Price, Nicci Micco & the Eating Well Test Kitchen. I have found everything I’ve made from this cookbook to be easy and delicious – two requirements of mine!

I had some tiny red potatoes at home, so grabbed another recipe from the same cookbook and put low-fat buttermilk and chives with the slightly mashed potatoes. Score! Those and green beans completed the dinner and the wine was fabulous with the steaks.

I’m finding that my “OK, I want to drink XX wine tonight, now what should I prepare with it,” dinners are a big hit. I like that way of cooking! Hope you do, too.

Seared Steaks with Caramelized Onions & Gorgonzola
From “Eating Well: 500 Calorie Dinners,” by Jessie Price, Nicci Micco & the Eating Well Test Kitchen

Time: 30 minutes; Serves 4

2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
2 large onions, sliced (about 4 cups)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
½ cup reduced-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon salt, divided
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 pound beef tenderloin (filet mignon) or sirloin steak, 1 to 1 ¼ inches thick, trimmed and cut into 4 steaks
¼ cup crumbled Gorgonzola or blue cheese

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and brown sugar and cook, stirring often, until the onions are very tender and golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add broth, vinegar and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until the liquid has almost evaporated, 3 to 4 minutes more. Transfer the onions to a bowl; cover to keep warm. Clean and dry the pan.

Sprinkle the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper on both sides of each steak. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add the steaks and cook until browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn them over and top with cheese. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the steaks are cooked to desired doneness, 3 to 5 minutes for medium-rare. Serve with the caramelized onions.

Note from Bold: As usual, I detoured a bit from the recipe, depending on what I had on hand. I used chicken broth instead of beef, and went with the blue cheese. I also didn’t clean or dry the skillet between the two steps and everything went well.