Monday, May 27, 2024

Memorial Day Picnic

Well, not really a picnic, other than we used an outdoor grill...

Dinner was tried and true favorites, except...

TOP* surprised me by offering to put together the antipasto. We also had Caprese Insalata; does that break the rules? TOP surprised me further and had me make him a Martin-tini (recipe below)**. "It's Memorial Day." I made the tomato salad and sauteed the mushrooms, while the ribeyes ($12.99 at Meijers!) were reverse-searing in the oven. Steaks came out perfectly; I have decided the salt-and-pepper should go on the steaks in the morning, not the day before. All this accompanied with Cabernet -- 14 Hands -- any better suggestions?

Everything came together perfectly, which is the virtue of a familiar menu.

Question: why don't restaurants serve something a little acidic, like tomato salad, with steak? The balance is perfect!

* The other priest.

** Two parts vodka, one part gin; both kept frozen. The vodka is shaken on ice; then the gin is added, and you stir it. (See what I did here?) Add a few drops of vermouth to the frozen glass before pouring the drink; garnish with two (or three) bleu-cheese stuffed olives. Key: stuff them yourselves! The pre-packaged types are worthless.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Interesting MArtin-ini! I will have to try that. The whole thing sounds great and I like the way you prepare the ribeye. I also add thyme and butter when they go into the oven to finish. For years I would sousvide the steaks in a freezer bag submerged in a small cooler filled with hot water. Change water out every hour or so while enjoying the holiday and visitors. Then sear directly on coals with thethyme before serving. We had spaghetti al assassini with pickled vegetable medley (means mixed veges ;-)) Our only real splurge was shrimp cocktail. Everything was home made or grown, except the shrimp, so the cost was very reasonable. Our KofC council replaced the tattered American Flag with a new =, interim, flag. We will get a proper sized US and Papal flag in a few weeks, but the ones on the mast were pretty beat up from Winter and Spring storms. A good day to remember everyone who fought to give us a chance to figure out how to not fight any more. All in all, a good Memorial Day.