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This was a perfect weekend! The weather was nice and I spent most of it outside, cooking, and sipping wine. My grocey bill for this weekend was about $220. Sounds like a lot, but here is what we had..
Friday night {first three pictures} - (cooked for my wife and my niece Irena)- Romane, acacado, and strawberry salad in a basalmic vinegrette, bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, rice pilaf, sweet corn (rather small and pathetic). Everything done on the grill (even the rice). Note the juices as the tenderloin rests and the pinkish hue after I cut it. Came out perfect!Man, was that good!
Saturday Night {The next four pictures}- During last year's fall crush, My niece's (Nadia) boyfriend was such a big help that I promised him a special meal. Saturday was the day that I paid up. When asked, he could not decide if he wanted seafood or steak. My suggestion was "why not have both"? Not surprisingly, he agreed... They came at 2pm and stayed until around midnight.
Appetizer: Fresh tomato bruschetta (diced tomatoes, green onions, with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and a S%^T load of fresh chopped basil (harvested from my deck). We eat this "salsa style" spooning it out of a bowl and onto thin, mouth sized slices of fresh crusty bread.
First course: A soup/stew... in a case iron pot (on the grill) I sautéed onion, celery, bell pepper, and smoke Cajun sausage in a little bit of olive oil. when soft, I added 2/3 of a bottle of white wine, 2 cups of chicken stock, and some thyme (again, cut right from my deck garden). let that come to a full boil and continue to cook for about 15 minutes. I then added a 50 count bag of little neck clams and continued to cook for 5 minutes. I then stirred in a 1/2 pound of jumbo shrimp, and continued to cook for another 3 minutes. Served in a bowl with plenty of crusty bread to help sop up all of that lovely broth. was yummy!
Entrée: 2" thick Filet Mignon (bacon wrapped) and 6oz lobster tail cooked on the grill. served with dirty rice. First time ever grilling a lobster tail and MAN, was that good. The filet may seem burnt, but it was not. The bacon gives the filet (a very lean cut) a buttery flavor and a nice dark bark (on the outside).
Dessert: A blueberry/strawberry crustad with crème anglais. Made from scratch right down to the crust.
Sunday: The family gathered at my folk's house (they have an in ground pool and TWO bbq grills). There were 15 of us. We ate, swam, and played bocci ball. I cooked again (in honor of my mother's birthday this Thursday). (sorry, I was too busy to take pictures). What a great time!
We had simple grilled London broil (two of them), baked potatoes done on the top rack of the grill, a large pork tenderloin, a goat cheese salad, Mac and cheese (for the kids), and mushroom/onion kababs.
I made the most of this weekend. Slept solidly on sunday night and I was actually smiling on the way into work!
Friday night {first three pictures} - (cooked for my wife and my niece Irena)- Romane, acacado, and strawberry salad in a basalmic vinegrette, bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, rice pilaf, sweet corn (rather small and pathetic). Everything done on the grill (even the rice). Note the juices as the tenderloin rests and the pinkish hue after I cut it. Came out perfect!Man, was that good!
Saturday Night {The next four pictures}- During last year's fall crush, My niece's (Nadia) boyfriend was such a big help that I promised him a special meal. Saturday was the day that I paid up. When asked, he could not decide if he wanted seafood or steak. My suggestion was "why not have both"? Not surprisingly, he agreed... They came at 2pm and stayed until around midnight.
Appetizer: Fresh tomato bruschetta (diced tomatoes, green onions, with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and a S%^T load of fresh chopped basil (harvested from my deck). We eat this "salsa style" spooning it out of a bowl and onto thin, mouth sized slices of fresh crusty bread.
First course: A soup/stew... in a case iron pot (on the grill) I sautéed onion, celery, bell pepper, and smoke Cajun sausage in a little bit of olive oil. when soft, I added 2/3 of a bottle of white wine, 2 cups of chicken stock, and some thyme (again, cut right from my deck garden). let that come to a full boil and continue to cook for about 15 minutes. I then added a 50 count bag of little neck clams and continued to cook for 5 minutes. I then stirred in a 1/2 pound of jumbo shrimp, and continued to cook for another 3 minutes. Served in a bowl with plenty of crusty bread to help sop up all of that lovely broth. was yummy!
Entrée: 2" thick Filet Mignon (bacon wrapped) and 6oz lobster tail cooked on the grill. served with dirty rice. First time ever grilling a lobster tail and MAN, was that good. The filet may seem burnt, but it was not. The bacon gives the filet (a very lean cut) a buttery flavor and a nice dark bark (on the outside).
Dessert: A blueberry/strawberry crustad with crème anglais. Made from scratch right down to the crust.
Sunday: The family gathered at my folk's house (they have an in ground pool and TWO bbq grills). There were 15 of us. We ate, swam, and played bocci ball. I cooked again (in honor of my mother's birthday this Thursday). (sorry, I was too busy to take pictures). What a great time!
We had simple grilled London broil (two of them), baked potatoes done on the top rack of the grill, a large pork tenderloin, a goat cheese salad, Mac and cheese (for the kids), and mushroom/onion kababs.
I made the most of this weekend. Slept solidly on sunday night and I was actually smiling on the way into work!
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