Summer Fun and Great Food! (and Hedgehogs)

After many weeks of traveling and conflicting schedules, we were finally able to get together for a night of fun and delicious food! SH has been to Chicago (fun) and New Hampshire (work), and SB has been to Nashville (fun). We celebrated our reunion with a meal that was spicy, simple, and tasty!

For our appetizer, we made Mussels with Tomatoes, Herbs, and Garlic (top photo). We got the mussels from a local seafood distributor (www.indigofarmsseafood.com), and they were beautiful and healthy--not a dud in the bunch! We cooked the mussels in white wine, and topped them with a spicy tomato, herb, and garlic sauce. Served with french bread and cold beer, this appetizer would be hard to beat!

Our entree this week was Grilled Polenta with Spicy Steak. SH made homemade polenta rounds, and these were grilled for a short amount of time to give them a smoky flavor. The rounds were topped with grilled flank steak that had been rubbed with cumin and chili powder, cilantro, feta cheese, and homemade salsa. The combination of these foods was a treat for the taste buds--spicy, slightly smokey, and absolutely delicious!

To finish the evening, we found a couple hedgehog cupcakes that had been separated from their herd. These adorable banana cupcakes were hard to eat because they were so charming, but they were tasty!