Steak Frites

A classic American steak house dinner with house-made condiments and all the fries you can eat! We rented a commercial fryer, along with a six foot commercial grill, and the two provided a restaurant quality meal with all of the perks of our cozy patio. It is worth noting that people just love shrimp cocktail. They can't get enough. I like to roast jumbo shrimp and serve them hot: crowd pleaser. Plus, the meal was made extra special with my latest discovery: bruised fruit deals at the farmer's market! Barely squashed heirloom tomatoes, for eighty cents a pound, yielded fresh curried ketchup, and soon-to-be-tossed peaches became a peach bourbon bbq sauce. These, in addition to a rosemary aioli, were lovely dates for our fries. Amy and I (both huge lovers of condiments and dips) loaded them all into jars, which she labeled, and each guest got their own set...sort of like heaven. Greg was the master fryer and fries kept a coming, packaged in parchment cones that Amy (show off that she is) neatly sewed. The rib-eyes, creamed spinach and wild mushrooms all became somewhat of afterthoughts to those piping hot fries! Rounding out the dinner, banana cream pie, inspired by my friend Deirdre. On her suggestion, I made Magnolia Bakery's banana pudding as the filling for my vanilla wafer pie crust: perfection (and I didn't even know I liked banana cream pie!) For her musings on the recipe, click here.

The Menu

libations

ginger mint martinis

manhattans with fresh california bing cherries

passed

roasted shrimp cocktail

oysters on the half shell

first

heirloom tomatoes with sweet and purple basil, and crater lake blue cheese

second

grilled rib-eyes with herbed butter

creamed spinach

wild mushrooms with melted onions and thyme

french fries

curried heirloom ketchup

rosemary aioli

peach bourbon bbq sauce

final

banana cream pie

brownie sundaes featuring sweet rose creamery's ice creams....

chocolate with caramel sauce

vanilla with blackberry sauce

mint chip with chocolate sauce

and a glob of whipped cream

Lobster II

OK so here's the deal...if something is really fantastic, there's no reason you can't do it two weekends in a row with a different set of guests! I felt like we really got the lobster dinner under control last week so we knocked it out again to another round of rave reviews. We even repeated our trivia questions, though Amy sewed fresh bibs! I kept things interesting for myself by switching up the salad and dessert. Greg had an awesome idea to make mini avocado and toasts ala Cafe Gitane to accompany my salad of mixed greens, cucumber and pluouts. And the best dessert of the summer, by far, was blueberry pie ala mode. A million blueberries later, it was the perfect finale for lobster dinner. How nice to reuse last week's grocery list!

Who ate lobsters during colonial times? Servants and children, as they were considered a poor man's food

The Menu

passed

blt stuffed cherry tomatoes

crostini with fig jam, goat's cheese and mint

grilled oysters with cucumber mignonette

first

mixed greens with cucumber, pluots with avocado toast points

second

maine lobster

mussels and littleneck clams

corn on the cob, pee wee heirloom potatos, blue lake green beans

drawn herbed butter

final

blueberry pie

sweet rose creamery's vanilla ice cream

Al Fresco

This meal was all about presentation. Amy and I collaborated to make a meal that was as appealing to the eye as to the mouth. The starting point was the rustic cedar planks I had cut down at the lumber yard (thanks to Greg for all of the sanding). After we planked and grilled the wild steelhead trout, Amy garnished the planks with bouquets of rosemary and thyme and cheesecloth wrapped lemons. Other visual touches: the rainbow of colors in the heirloom tomato crostinis and the long stemmed strawberries alongside the chocolate pots de creme in spice jars. Luckily, the guests enjoyed the flavors as well, especially the white nectarines, mint and lavender goat's cheese wrapped in bresaola, brushed with a balsamic syrup. These little bundles really are a must try!

The Menu

passed

white nectarines, lavender goat's cheese and mint wrapped in bresaola with baslamic syrup

mixed heirloom tomatos, pesto ricotta, burrata and purple basil crostini

first

grilled baby hearts of romaine with white anchovies, parmesan and caesar dressing

second

mussels with fennel and tomato in white wine broth

grilled rustic italian bread

third

cedar planked wild steelhead trout

rancho gordo's heirloom runner cannellini beans, arugula and

sauteed porcini mushrooms with thyme

rosemary caper vinaigrette

final

chocolate pots de creme

long stemmed strawberries and a glob of whipped cream

Lobster Dinner

Nothing quite screams 'Summer Dinner' like a good old fashioned Maine lobster boil. Granted I've never been to Maine, this weekend's dinner took me on a fantasy getaway to the shore. Amy's table featured seaside touches and magical lighting that felt like fireflies were keeping the table aglow. For the details on our lobster bibs (complete with lobster trivia!), click here to see Amy's DIY on design sponge! This decadent meal was the perfect entertaining equation: luxurious ingredients plus messy, hands-on eating equals a raucous, casual al fresco summer evening.

The Menu

passed

blt stuffed cherry tomatoes

crostini with pluot jam, goat's cheese and mint

prosciutto wrapped asparagus

grilled oysters with cucumber mignonette

first

green salad

fennel, honeydew melon, green zebra tomato, cucumber, arugula, avocado

second

maine lobster

mussels and littleneck clams

corn on the cob, pee wee heirloom potatos, blue lake green beans

drawn herbed butter

final

peach and cherry cobbler

chocolate devil's food cake

sweet rose creamery's vanilla ice cream