Chillin' & Grillin'

The Jaffes hosted our summer dinner, and for it we grilled all the things.  Grill, I say!

Jen headed to the garden when we arrived to gather the finishing touch for our opening cocktail, a lemon-thyme whisky sour (of sorts).  Served in a mason jar with a slice of lemon and fresh sprig of lemon-thyme, it was refreshing and delicious!  Not gonna lie:  I had two.  They had a great balance of sweetness and acidity - yum.

After he got the meat on the grill, Chris ambled inside with a spiced and marinated Mexican skirt steak.  We paired that with flour tortillas, two green tomatillo salsas, guacamole and a bit of pickled onions and a sprinkle of cheese.  They were so flavorful - a great punch in the taste buds to get started!  Everyone agreed they wanted one more taco, but knew we had a lot more food coming.  Best to pace ourselves.

The Rhodes stepped up to the plate with a grilled romaine salad topped with the most delectable deviled egg I've ever stuffed in my face.  The salad itself, while the base for the eggs, was nothing to sneeze at.  Lightly grilled and topped with a light, savory dressing.  The eggs on top really stole the show.  Smoked, hard boiled eggs were filled with a sweet potato-egg filling and then topped with... (wait for it)... bacon jam.  Oh!  You read that right:  bacon jam.  I mean, honestly, is there anything wrong with any part of that?  No.  No there's not.  And it lived up to the hype!  The parts themselves were fabulous, but together all the details of it married beautifully.  There was a brief sadness when the course was over... But then the Jaffes came out with the main course, and there was happiness again!  Beef sliders with kimchi and sambal aioli, served along side a root beer baked beans with bacon.

Andrew did a superb job on the tiny beef sliders - perfectly cooked (which I have to think its hard to do with they are so small).  The kimchi and sambal sauce were a unique twist on the traditional burger, and were portioned just right so as not to overpower the beef.  The beans were another twist on a classic bbq favorite.  Not sticky sweet and slathered in sauce, but robust and slightly smokey from the good sized chunks of bacon and a just hint of sweetness from the root beer.  They were what baked beans should be.

Along side the Jaffe's main course was a Bayon side dish, sweet pepper boats with herbs, cheese and bacon.  I just dove into these with my hands - they seemed to call for it.  The peppers were just al dente but the filling had melted down into them.  They were a good pop of color and flavor.

The finale, dessert was contributed by the Redmores.  We dished up a ginger scone w/ a drizzle of lime white chocolate, topped with a grilled peach and cognac compote and a big dollop of whipped cream.  It was served with a glass of peach-lime sangria.  Everyone was pretty stuffed, but seemed to find room for this summery bowl of goodness.  The scone had just a hint of ginger, but it was a classic compliment to the peaches and cream.  A little lime added just a pop of freshness.

You'd think that we'd be ready to be rolled out the door to pay our sitters.. but there was a little bonus to the night's dinner:  Cards Against Humanity.  Oh yes.  The Redmores were the only ones who'd played it before, so it was a new experience for everyone else!  There was a LOT of blushing and even more laughing - at one point Jillian was laughing so hard she couldn't speak (and threatened to pee).  And we all learned a bit more about each other (wink, wink).  Jen and Andrew came around about half way through the game with a platter of mojito popcicles, made with herbs from their garden.  They were so refreshing and cool - I didn't realize I wanted anything more to eat, but these were an absolutely perfect digestif.   At some point we looked up and realized we really did need to go pay our sitters.  Our night had to come to a close.

Thank you so much, Jaffes, for an amazing summer feast!

Wining and Dining

The weather outside was quite blustery, but inside the Bayon's home it was warm and filled with good food and friends... the best kind of night!

The Chrises met us with beautiful flutes of champagne, strawberries and a hint of bitters.  'Topher was busy  in the kitchen preparing a dish to come later, and 'Tina was preparing the antipasto platter and cheese platters.  The house smelled amazing!

The treat for the evening was not food, but a man.  A man named Al.  Al brought wine.  Lots of wine.  And he let us try all of it!

He started us off with a "porch pounder" white and the flavors got bigger as we moved through the bottles.  Some of the favorites were the Squinzano, which was really good, but surprisingly changed with a snippet of blue cheese, and the Deep Wood Lodi that really blossomed with a small bite of dark chocolate (also, we may have found Andrew's new stage name!) and the DuLogis Congac which was ah-MAZ-ing!  Al walked us through each wine with elegant language and meal suggestions that made us all drool.  While we tasted we nibbled and sampled at the lovely platters the Chrises set out for us:  brie with fruit spread, blue cheese, figs, apricots, salamis, and a cheese they brought all the way from Pike's Place Market in Seattle!

Oh yeah... there was food!  The Bayons had beautiful salmon crackers ready when we arrived - smoked or peppered salmon slices topped with a dollop of cheese, a sprinkle of red onion and capers, a drizzle of secret sauce and a sprig of dill.  They were delicious!

The Redmores brought soft pretzel bites with two dipping sauces:  a rosemary & thyme mustard and a classic cheddar-beer dip.  We boiled the pretzels earlier in the day and did the final bake at our host's, so they were hot and fresh out of the oven!

The Jaffe's presented us with two gorgeous dishes:  a jalapeno-quinoa cake with avocado cream and roasted cauliflower & onions with curry.  Both were flavorful and lovely!  The quinoa cake had the texture of a crab cake and just a hint of jalapeno - very well balanced.  The roasted cauliflower & onions, again, had a great balance and a mouthful of flavor but even under a curry tasted fresh, not too heavy.

"Pea Cake is a hard worker!"  It's true:  Chris slaved away in the kitchen to present us with our last savory course.  Exquisite, colorful, freshly fried pea cakes he'd been dabbling with on the stove when we came in.  These had a great spice mixture with a bit of an Indian flare.  They were paired with a tomato-pepper relish and were gone from our plates in an instant!  Crispy on the outside, soft inside and layered flavors that kept the "Mmmmm"s coming.

There were chocolates from our hosts, chocolate cake balls from the Jaffes and lots more wine to finish off our evening... oh, and a hockey game.
For being "small plates" we had a ton of wonderful dishes to fill our bellies.  And as always it was over too soon.

Thank you Bayons for a fantastic evening!  

Falling for Farm Fare

Farm to Table

This was the theme of our end-of-summer dinner.  The weather was pretty perfect, warm all day but cool in the evening.  It was perfect to enjoy eating outside!  Jillian & Gerald set a gorgeous table outside and we enjoyed our courses by candle light, under the stars with a fire  by our sides.

After a custom cocktail ala The Rhodes, apples, ginger beer and a little vodka to get things rolling, Jen & Andrew stepped up with our appetizer:  a trio of soup shooters and mini grilled Gruyere sandwiches for dunking.  Broccoli-cheddar soup, butternut squash soup with a toast & bacon crumble and a beet & 5-spice soup topped with a dollop of sour cream.  We were all so mesmerized by the soups we almost forgot the mini grilled cheese sandwiches... which would have been a shame because the crispy bread and subtle saltiness from the cheese made the soups' flavors shine.

The Bayons kept things rolling with a starter course of squash & corn chowder.  Plates were shuffled, bowls put out and chowder spooned up nice and hot!  It was an interesting presentation in that a relish of corn and shallot was spooned into the bowl first then the squash soup part was poured over top, and then we stirred our bowls and enjoyed!  The texture was a beautiful contrast of fresh crunchy veggies and a smooth, softly sweet squash soup. The shallot was like The Dude's rug - it really tied the room together.

From here we all took a little break, cleared our plates and migrated inside to help dish up the main course with Jillian & Gerald.  They've had sausage-apple-bacon stuffed pork loin smoking for a few hours, and a sweet potato-butternut squash hash has been roasting since their guests arrived.  We all enjoy another glass of wine and grab plates loaded with a graceful spiral of pork and hash, lightly dressed with a bourbon gravy, and parade back to outside to our dining table.  The hash is perfectly cooked, tender and flavorful, but the pork is the star of the plate... but really, a forkful of squash, pork, stuffing and gravy is the bite to aim for - a little of everything.

The Redmores round out the night with a perfectly portioned slice of rustic apple tart with a generous dollop of apple whipped cream.  Each couple was given a small jar of vanilla-caramel-bourbon glaze to share and drizzle on their tart slice.  A little cardamom in the crust gave a floral note to a classic apple-cinnamon combo in the filling, and the glaze elevated the dessert to something just a little more than plain apple pie.

When all the food was gone, the plates taken indoors and bellies full we relaxed around a roaring fire Gerald had been tending all evening.  The sky was clear and stars glowing, as well as hearts and smiles.  Thank you, Jillian & Gerald, for opening your home and creating a truly magical evening for our little group.

No Meat? No Problem!

To really change things up a bit, our most recent culinary foray was vegetarian!  The Bayons hosted a beautifully themed evening of meatless dishes.  The house looked lovely with veggies, flowers and candles decorating the tables.... but it was such a gorgeous evening we headed to the back yard for appetizers, prosecco, and beer.

The Rhodes presented two appetizers that were passed outside: mini grilled quesadillas w/ mango and jalapeno, and shashimied portobello mushrooms with miso and spinach in a crisp won-ton shell.  Both were just outstanding and the plates were emptied quickly!

Inside we sat down at a long table, properly segregated by gender (ha ha!), filled our glasses with wine and The Lundquists put out the first plate with a strawberry balsamic salad with candied pecans on the side.  Now, the salad was tasty, tasty, but those pecans were dipped in tiny bowls of the balsamic dressing and were out of this world!

With our palates properly warmed up The Jaffes plated a perfectly portioned olive & artichoke tartlette.  A hand molded crust curled around salty bits of olive, luscious bites of artichoke hearts and creamy cheese.  It was a fabulous first course, flavorful with a flaky crust!

The Bayons left a table of laughter to come back armed with plates of penne - creamy mushroom penne.  Oh!  The penne was perfectly cooked and the sauce carried the pasta and mushrooms beautifully.  It was right after this course we took a little break.  Let all the goodness settle in our stomachs and the wine coat our palates a little more.  Somewhere in here Chris thought the party was missing popcorn.  Hey, it's vegetarian!  And it was delicious dipped in the balsamic from The Lundquists first course!  

To finish things off The Redmores sweetened things up with a little angle food cake.  That in itself is nice.  Not thrilling, but nice.  BUT when brushed with frangelico and topped with an espresso-frangelico whipped cream, toasted hazelnuts and a dash of cocoa powder it does indeed become thrilling.  

No meat?.... no problem.  We emptied plates, left with full bellies and aching faces from the smiles and laughter.  Thank you Chris & Chris for a simply wonderful night, and to the whole gang for being such great food-loving friends!

Spanish Tapas at the Jaffe's

Well... I'll point out the obvious:  I skipped a post.  The report from the October dinner here at The Redmores got lost in a haze of espresso liquor-hangover.  It was Breakfast For Dinner... and it was outstanding!... from what I remember.

Jumping into the new year though, we met once more at the Jaffe's.  This time for Spanish Tapas.  The wine flowed, the food was passed on platters that never seemed to empty and cheeks hurt from laughter.

There was cheese with ham, bread with ham, asparagus with ham, spicy ham... HAM!  Amazing it all comes from one magical animal.  Mushrooms, meatballs, stuffed onions, stuffed eggs, bruschetta, shrimp and much more!  There was also freshly fried churros with dark spiced chocolate dipping sauce and strawberries for dessert.
For small bites and little plates we all left absolutely stuffed, and happily so.
Thank you Jen & Andrew for a wonderful night and another glorious dinner!!

Livin' La Vida Loca at the Lundquist's!

Once again our hosts, Karen and David, did a tremendous job with a rainy summer evening.  Their indoor Fiesta Nite was a riotous success!

Everyone was greeted with a beautifully set table and bar as well as a cool, crisp margarita!  To accompany that was a fresh, homemade salsa and guacamole with blue corn chips.  Now, what's not to love about that?

Our first course was from the Bayons... who brought their own equipment in which to prepare the dish.  Oooooooh that's right folks:  a deep fryer!  There's not much that could have come outta there that wouldn't have been fantastic, really.  As it was, what did emerge on a lovely platter was just deliciousness:  deep fried empanadas stuffed with plantains and black beans served with a fresh salsa verde.  Crispy on the outside and just a touch of sweetness from the plantains.  They left me wanting six more, but with more dinner to go one must pace a bit.

Karen and I shared the main plate.  She & David with an entree of blackened shrimp tacos (chicken tacos for our land lovin' folk) and all the fixin's, and Josh and I with a grilled corn salad.  The shrimp was perfectly done and just spicy enough to get the tongue tinglin'.  The corn salad was a nice cool-down from the spicy shrimp.  Lime-cilantro dressing, cucumber, fresh tomatoes and green onion were tossed with the grilled corn.  I thought they paired wonderfully, and it was one of the few times throughout the evening where the conversation lulled... a good sign!

Jen & Andrew came through once again with a phenomenal dessert, and probably the most unique of the evening:  blueberry hand pies with sweet corn ice cream.  The hand pies were just delectably sweet and stuffed with fruit, and just big enough to pleasantly top off the meal.  The ice cream had a very delicate but true sweet corn flavor.  It was such a pleasant surprise to see just how well it paired with the blueberries!

Throughout the evening there were margaritas, rum cocktails, wine and sparkling wine and LOTS of laughter.  My head and my cheeks hurt on Sunday morning for reasons not unrelated.

It was a spectacular meal and only marred by the absence The Rhodes.  Thank you again and again, Karen & David, for such a beautiful evening!!  

Oooh, Aaaah, Ooooh - Small plates, big flavor!

I'm gonna start off with what I usually wind up with because it needs to be stated in advance:  Thank you Bayons!!  The idea for the night was to bring our usual sit-down formal dinners down a notch and keep it casual with appetizers, wine and roving conversations.  

Everyone did at least one, if not two, appetizers or small plates of a dish.  Some were put out immediately while others rolled out as the evening went on, making for something new and delicious to try all night long.  Chris & Chris put out a gorgeous, gooey cheese platter with a truffle triple cream and a plain triple cream both oozing out of their rinds, a true German Munster (quite stinky but very yummy) and a blue cheese & mascarpone terrine.  An antipasto platter complimented all the cheeses beautifully, and their Spanish white wine was paired very well!  They would have a whole other dish to serve, but for now all we could do was revel in the smokey flavors wafting in from the grill.

Karen & David put some very tasty combinations together for us as well.  Both platters had a Mediterranean flare, the first with kalamata and green olives, salami, marinated bocconcini and marinated tortellini - all skewered together; the second was roast beef crostini w/ a horseradish cream sauce and arugula.  The latter I was still thinking about the next day, wishing I'd had just one or two more - delish!

Josh and I had originally planned on a meatball of some sort, but on a recent trip to the Peach Tree Tea House in Fredericksburg, Texas we quickly changed our minds.  There we had a delicious chilled avocado soup that just blew me away... and I said, "We have to share this with the gang!"  The soup has a little bite from pickled jalapenos so we served it with a drizzle of sour cream sauce in its little shot glass.  The other dish we brought is one of my favorite appetizers:  chicken liver pate.  It did not look appetizing, I'll admit, but I was quite proud of my first attempt at this recipe (also my first Julia Child recipe, Mu-haaa!) - perfectly cooked, good texture and great flavor.  

G-BALLS!!  Now, I think this was the quietest moment of the evening, when everyone was tucked into a little bowl containing three unassuming looking meatballs from Gerald & Jillian.  These tasty little orbs, later dubbed G-Balls by a certain Texan lady, were wolves in sheep's clothing, for inside each lamb & kobe beef ball was a creamy potato-cheese center.  To top it all off was a homemade pesto coating each one.  Everyone was too busy Oooooh'ing and Aaaaah'ing to chat much just then.  But wait, there's more!  Later these two rolled out fresh pasta raviolis in a simple tomato-oregano sauce.  Again, rather unassuming in appearance but heaven to the taste buds!  

Okay... second course from the Bayon grill is ready: ribs.  Ooooooh yeah.  Smoked 9 hours and sauced to perfection.  Now, the best part about the ribs was Jen.  She'd never eaten ribs before.  How that could be I don't know, but the issue was remedied this night, and with ribs that raised the bar pretty high!  

It was Jen and Andrew who capped off our epicurean adventure with beautifully packaged  individual panna cottas topped with a strawberry-rhubarb compote and pistachio shortbread.  The cream set very well, great texture and so creamy and sweet.  Just what our palates needed!

Once again, everyone brought amazing, wonderful food & wine, and lots of smiles and laughter to share.  Thank you to the Bayons again for an marvelous night!