Pot & Cover

you can see what my priority is…much more pilaf than steak. and look in the background…the makings of a sea breeze cocktail…yum.

Madi and her sparklers We spent the fourth of July evening with our sweet friends the McNeely's at the McRanch with friends/family...so fun.  I even got a chance to mix up some banana cosmo's for the girls, Holly suggested the banana since we had no orange liquor..not bad :) It was great to hang out with friends & family, as soon as Mikey & Amanda arrived with the kids, Madi exited to the car to a warm and enthusiastic embrace of a similar aged little girl she'd never met...like long lost friends, so precious! It was great to watch the kids blow bubbles, Scott toss the football...and fireworks...Even got to love on our precious Tex, pit bull extraordinare.  I brought pilaf and Scott got a few rotisserie chickens which he promptly teased that he'd roasted personally.  Sammy grilled beef tenderloins and we were fortunate enough to bring a few slices home.  The next day we brainstormed (Scott & me) on how to use the little treasures...whi...

Grilled ribeye, topped with crumbled blue cheese which was like a sauce all melting on the steak.  Steak seasoned with s,p and garlic powder and rubbed with olive oil.  Served with a simple baked potato with sourcream and cheese. We'd been making all kinds of great food lately, but this simple steak and potato with about 4 ingredients was the best meal of the week! We finished with a chocolate cake, topped with chocolate chip studded cream cheese frosting and topped with toffee almond crumbs.  It was amazing!  Just a box mix, with my favorite cream cheese frosting with just some chopped choc chips stirred in...then my toffee crumbs from the freezer.  WOW!  I made this into cupcakes later.  A definate victory!

the wrapped figs, fresh from the oven, with bubbly blue cheese Scott bought figs last night...inspired by food network 'best thing i ever ate'. He was outside grilling the steak, and one of our neighbors said hello, commenting that he was out grilling again...Scott replied that it takes a lot of work to keep up a physic ( sp ?) like his as he pointed to himself in a very self depreciating way...you probably had to be there...but that is very funny! It cracked our neighbor up any way...and me too. the figs, before they were baked The figs were delicious. Warm & soft, wrapped in slightly crisp prosciutto , topped with a little hoisin and blue cheese which was blistered and melting. They were soft, with a bit of crunch, and a balance of sweet, salty, tangy and just out right GOOD! Well done, honey! my plate, with a few slices of blackened strip steak, figs, and salad...with red wine...so delicious! We had it with our favorite Caprese salad...a simple, yet elegant meal...eve...

Scott was craving steaks...we just got done enjoying a seared Delmonico steak topped with a mushroom wine sauce and blue cheese crumbles. Garlic bread (of course) to mop up the sauce and Caprese salad. I ate just enough and it was so delicious and I'm satisfied but not too full...:) When I can learn to do that every time I'll be doing good! We enjoyed the rest of our wine from last night, which I used in the sauce too...just a variation on the steak we made the other day, only adding mushrooms and using wine instead of beer. Now its time to see Who Wants to Be a Millionare...Scott's watching it...even tho my patience for game shows is about that of an infant.

dinner 10/22/08 we are admitted tv food network junkies. i would choose to watch food tv over any other. we watch lots of these together and its scotts favorite 'cookbook'. he watches and pauses and rewinds and cooks directly from the episodes...just like this dinner from barefoot contessa, ina garten. seared filets, with creamy blue cheese sauce and the best cornmeal crusted onion rings ever. scott made them perfectly. he's been great at onion rings for a while now and these are added to the list of great ones. oh, yah, sauteed mushrooms too...see recipes on food network website http://www.foodtv.com/ or ina's new cookbook, back to basics...eat up:)