Dinner and Family

It has been some time since I have taken the time to blog.  Today we are at Andy and Theresa's house (Jim's brother and his wife).  We came to do a little work to help them after they had some water damage.  Here's the menu they offered us today.

NY strip steaks
Twice baked potato salad with bacon
Veggie tray
Fruit tray

Andy does seem to be a grill master. I am so full I feel like I could roll back to Georgetown.  I am enjoying watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Theresa. I am also enjoying listening to the menfolk play cards.  Not as much smack talking as when all 3 brothers are together, but amusing none-the-less.

I bought a nice Tempranillo to go with the steaks.  It was a 2001 vintage.  Here's a picture of the label. Surprisingly, it was less than $8.00 per bottle. 

It has been a great day.

Summer Berries

I love summer berries! Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries!  Summer sun ripened berries need only the barest sprinkle or sugar or drizzle of liquor to make them a perfect summer dessert.

Summer Berries
1/2 pint blackberries
1/2 pint raspberries
1/2 pint blueberries
1/2 pint strawberries quartered
2  Tb Gran Marnier or other orange liquor

Great Salad

On a warm summer evening, I think salads for dinner are very refreshing. Last evening I had Grilled Endive Salad.  I think it is a recipe I can make at home.

Here's my recipe for 4 people.

2 cups baby arugula
1 package bacon bits or 4 slices bacon crisply cooked and broken into bits
1/2 c walnuts, broken into large pieces
1/4 c candied pecans
1 Granny Smith apple, unpeeled and finely chopped
1/2 c blue cheese crumbles
4 heads endive
Balsamic vinaigrette

Preheat the grill and clean if necessary.

Divide the arugula, bacon bits, walnuts, candied pecans, Granny Smith apple, and blue cheese evenly among 4 plates.

Cut the endive into quarters and brush with olive oil.  Place them cut side down on a hot grill.  Grill until endive is slightly soft and has nice grill marks. Remove the endive from the grill.  Arrange 4 endive piece atop each salad. Serve immediately along with your favorite balsamic vinaigrette.

Dinners in a Stressful Week

For this past week, planning ahead paid off.  Our annual Beat the Heat conference was Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  To finish up presentations, web posting and other tasks, I worked at home a couple of evenings.  Based on previous years, I knew total exhaustion and cooking antipathy would set in by Tuesday afternoon. They both arrived on schedule.  With my weekly schedule in place, I was able to get dinner on the table with a minimum of effort on my part.
Here was the menu for last week.

Monday - Chicken Pot Pie (made with the leftover chicken fajitas)
Tuesday - Grilled pork chops with roasted asparagus , salad and baked potatoes
Wednesday - Crockpot 3 bean soup
Thursday - Leftover 3 bean soup
Friday - Cheese, veggies, crackers AND a very large glass of wine