5.25.2011

Red, White, and Blue. Roses and an Energy Dome too!

Hello all Rapture survivors! Amid all the rainstorms we have been having lately, spring is here! These lovely roses have been surrounding SB's mailbox the past few days, bidding a cheerful welcome to all visitors and passers-by.

We decided to make a simple spring dinner tonight, and yet pay homage to Memorial day by incorporating foods that were red, white, and blue. We started out the evening with a flavorful Feta, Garlic, and Dill dip with Pita Chips. We were able to use fresh dill from SB's deck herb garden, making the dish even more special.

Our main course was prepared completely on the grill. We had pork tenderloin (marinated all day in zesty Italian dressing), topped with a blueberry and port compote. Grilled potatoes with fresh parsley (also from SB's deck herb garden) were served along side the pork, making a light and refreshing spring meal.
Since SB was off book clubbing last week, we were not able to properly celebrate Devo founder Mark Mothersbaugh's birthday. So this week, we celebrated belatedly by wearing the Energy Dome and dancing to Devo's latest album. What we do, is what we do!

We also had special guest Dr. Cuddles, who was happy to serve us wine. This intelligent monkey took a break from trying to use banana enzymes to take over the world to hang out with us. Fun was had by all!

5.12.2011

Anniversary Dinner




We like to celebrate, and this week we were excited to make a very nice dinner to honor the wedding anniversary of our parents! We planned an easy and elegant meal that rivaled anything you could get at a restaurant.



We began the festivites with doing something that Bostons in Virginia had not done before....making our own cocktails!! Pink Peppercorns (which are actually berries, and very expensive ones at that) were are focus for our main dish, and we found a drink called Muddled Pink Peppercorn and Basil Limeade that we thought would be fun to try. Pink peppercorns and basil and muddled with agave nector, and then mixed with fresh lime juice and vodka. The result was delicious, very light and tangy. We served these in glasses that our grandmother always served us lemonade in, which was a nice connection.


After enjoying the limeade and discussing books we have both recently read, we moved on to dinner preparations. Along with a simple green salad, we made seared steak in a pink peppercorn sauce and goat cheese mashed potatoes. The steak, which was pressed in chopped peppercorns before being seared, was flavorful and delicious. Bostons in Virginia adds goat cheese to almost every dish imaginable, so of course the mashed potatoes were divine. We finished the meal with a banana cupcake, which we gobbled up too quickly to get any pictures of.
We found the steak recipe on this cooking blog, which provides many drool-worthy recipes and pictures...





We will be off next week while SB goes book clubbing, but will return in time to doing something red, white, and blue for Memorial Day!