Marlene

that's what I alway do. And isn't it bliss to walk into a clean kitchen the next morning? especially if your head feels a little heavy I ← 9 dishwasher loads (and counting)

The soup could certainly be the main dish. But for tonight, I'll do the roasted garlic soup and pork chops, although I haven't decided how to cook the chops yet. I've just returned from getting a few groceries. There is a Whole Foods that has just opened up here in Oakville, and although I really didn't have the energy to go there today, I do want to check it out sometime this week and report back. Pictures will come later, but I picked up asparagus $2.99 lb at Brunos, some baby red potatoes, crusty italian bread and a whole chicken for tomorrow night's dinner which I will brine tonight. Oh yes, I remembered at the last minute to get sherry vinegar which is why I went out in the first place. Since we won't eat till late tonight probably, I'm going to do something I don't normally do. Eat lunch. There's peameal bacon in the fridge whispering "make me into a sandwich. Now". And then there's a definate nap in my immediate future.

What a girl! And you don't even have a dishwasher. I feel for her, I really do. Don's usually pretty good at cleaning up when we entertain and I cook like that. Unfortunately, we were both to tired to do anything last night, and it's not a holiday here so he had to go to work this morning. Oh well. I'm on my 6th load of dishwashwer runs. I need to go out and find sherry vinegar for the soup tonight.

Too funny Sam. I'm not exactly hungry this morning either, but I suppose I could force down an english muffin or something. Just as soon as I can find my kitchen counter again. That steak looks amazing.

I am very partial to Amarone's and Barolos. We keep several downstairs in our cellar and they are usually reserved for dinner parties like the one we had last night. Any suggestions on what to make to go with my soup? I've got a pot roast that I need to braise soon and I've some pork chops out as well. I'm open to suggestion this morning.

Good morning all. I'm having my coffee while I contemplate the disaster that is my kitchen this morning. This should take a while to clean up. Pan, the top was dotted with butter and the baking dish itself was greased but otherwise, no, there wasn't a ton of butter in it. The china pattern is Erica Gold by Lennox. It was discontinued the day after we bought it I think. Hot soup featuring garlic indeed. Today's feature will include a roasted garlic soup and I haven't yet decided what to serve with it. I'm supposed to be at the hospital most of the day today, but it sort of feels like I'm getting a cold which would mean I couldn't go. I'll see as the morning progresses.

I'd never heard of it either. There are a couple of variations but this one was made with a mix of cranberry, orange and lemonade juice with a splash of soda and vodka.

On to the food. First the nibbles for the evening: Raw veggies and Roqufert dip. Walnut encrusted three cheese Cheese Ball Shrimp with Gin Cocktail Sauce the big Steak. Chateaubriand ready to go on the spit. This was dusted with a light spice rub and basted with a butter garlic sauce On to the BBQ it goes. Rare Chateaubriand anyone? Potatoes Madelaine Roasted whole garlic Dinner. That's a Bernaise sauce on the steak. The wine with dinner: The table: Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce: And for the final touch, as if we hadn't had enough, special coffees Excuse me. I need to go slip into a food induced coma.

How's a girl supposed to compete when you have the boss over for dinner? My guests certainly did, and they got into the spirit of the whole thing as the night went on. My kitchen's pretty big and everyone pretty much hangs out there when we entertain. Ok, I'm readly First the various cocktails. I'm going to admit up front that I am not a cocktail specialist, but we had fun anyway. Well I did. Don was making most of the cocktails. This is (or was) my cocktail blender. It's an old Black and Decker Kitchen Tools blender. We were supposed to make strawberry daquiris in this. Well we would have, except the blender leaked like a sieve when we turned it on, so we turned to other things. There is definately a new blender in my future. My drink for the evening. A variation of a champagne cocktail. This one with grand marnier and cognac. Gin gimlet. This instead of the strawberry daquiri. Singapore Sling Rolling Estonian. Cosmopolitan Black Russian Rob Roy Don's Ward 8. The drink is a little dark in the picture and my girlfriend decided to get fancy with the flowers.

For cocktails we asked everyone for their favourite. So far, we've got a Champagne Cocktail, a Strawberry Daquiri, a Rolling Estonian, a Ward 8 and a Singapore sling. I'm not sure yet about the rest of them. For nibbles before dinner, I'll have the cheeseball, chilled shrimp with cocktail sauce and veggies and dip. Dinner will include the spit roasted chateaubriand, potatoes madelaines, roasted garlic, crusty bread with various dippers. Dessert is Caramel Rum Bread Pudding. I think my first guests have arrived.

Ahhh, glad you mentioned that... Our Melitta Mill & Brew bit the dust and we're in the market for another coffee maker that grinds the beans and can be set the night before. We're not sure whether to get another Melitta. Most of the Cuisinart reviews I've read haven't been favorable. What kind do you have and are you happy with it? Sam and Marlene, I hope you're enjoying your weekend as much as we readers are! ← I have the Cuisinart Grind and Brew, Thermal Carafe. I've had it for about a year, in fact I have two of them, with one of them residing on my bar downstairs. I'm very very pleased with it. It makes wonderful coffee and it's very easy to clean. Got it. Ok, I'll do this just before the guests arrive. I can just see 8 of us standing around eating it out of the pan. I'll be anxious for this to turn out well. I'm making a caramel rum sauce to go with it. Does one serve whipped cream with bread pudding? Once Don gets the Chateaubriand tied, I'll post up a picture of it. It's a very large beast. We are in the middle of a thunderstorm here so I hope it stops raining by the time we want to throw this on the spit.

Ok, I can do that. I'll need both ovens right up until we sit down for dinner so it can be cooking while we're eating.

A quick pic of my breakfast/lunch and I'm off and running again. Toasted bacon and tomato sandwich with mayonnaise. The bacon comes from Montreal and the tomatoes are from Ontario, although it's a little early for good tomatoes here. And my life is not complete without coffee, usually in one of my collection of Disney mugs: I bought a set of these while we were in Orlando last month, And I also have a set of these: My coffee maker is not as fancy as Sam's but it does grind beans and I use fresh beans every morning. I got most of my prep out of the way yesterday so I'm in good shape for today so far. I've got to set the table and make the bread pudding yet though. I've never made bread pudding before, so I assume I can make it ahead and then re warm it for serving?

Afternoon all. It's been a little hectic this morning so we'll be doing the Eggs Benedict one morning this week. Everyone fended for themselves for breakfast. Ryan had leftover pizza, Don made himself a scrambled egg sandwich and I'm about to make my self a toasted bacon and tomato sandwich. Then I'll get started with the rest of the prep for today's dinner. So Sam, what are you serving with that obscenely big steak?

As far as recipes go, I can modify, but the pork is from Molly Stevens the carnvial corn is from a friend, so I don't know if it's been modified enough to put in RG. The riff on Strawberry shortcake is from Epicurious, and I'll modify that one enough to put into RG.

the spices that went into the pork were: whole all spice berries and corriander seeds toasted and then coarsely ground. Fresh Thyme from my garden, paprika, cayenne, and orange and lime juices. Plus a little kosher salt. Ryan loved the dessert. He and his friend had pizza for dinner though. The vodka flavour doesn't give the dessert a "kick" so much as it add a subtle nuance to the whole flavoring. Ice pack on the shin, yes. hurts.

Sorry, there was a sauce for the meat, I just competely forgot to take pictures of it. The sauce from the braise was defatted and simmered on the stove while I made the rest of the meal. Ooops. And I do enjoy sauces with all of my various meats.

And there you have it folks. The very basic difference between our styles. Sam doesn't measure much, he's a go by feel cook, while I'm very much a follow the recipe kind of cook!

The pork is from Molly Steven's All About Braising book. It was marinated overnight with spices and then braised for about 4 hours. Once the braise was done, it was roasted in a 475 oven for 15 minutes to crisp up the skin. The corn dish was still a bit crunchy yes, but just tender enough. All in all, I was very pleased with the way this turned out. Sam, you mentioned up thread that the short ribs were cooking with a dash of balsamic vinegar and demi glace. Being a fan of such vinegar, I'd be interested in hearing you describe this more.

All right folks, it's time for dinner pics. Two things. First, I managed to fall up the stairs tonight while getting my mixing bowl out of the freezer, and I've a bruise on my shin the size of a full moon, so I'm moving rather slowly. Normal people, fall down the stairs. Secondly, with the exception of the rice, everything I made tonight was a first for me. Furthermore, I pledge to you loyal readers that I will make something completely new to me each night of this blog. So without further ado: Caribbean Pork Shoulder. Pulled pork goodness folks. I couldn't have asked for better. Tendy, juicy with a wonderful crispy skin. The makings for Carnival Corn. Fry it up Oh yeah. This is somewhat rich given the bacon fat and butter, but man oh man was it worth it. Saffron butter rice. I meant to put peas in the rice, but I totally forgot! This was all good folks but believe me, the total star of the night was this riff I did on the traditional strawberry shortcake Phyllo squares Strawberries marinating in honey and currant vodka Voila, a riff on strawberry shortcake. Tomorrow's pics will be a bit late in the morning as we need to drive the RV out to the dealer's for service. Brunch is supposed to be Eggs Benedict and then we'll get ready for our dinner party tomorrow night. In the meantime, I'm finishing off the evening with a coffee and Grand Marnier.

I've just been told we're having unexpected company for dinner. Argh! Don is bringing one of his partners home. This guy is helping out at the client's and is here from Edmonton I believe. I guess I'd better go clean up the kitchen! ack.

Great asparagus Sam. I haven't bought any yet, but I plan on asparagus with the chicken on Tuesday so I'll let y'all know what the price is up here. Today has been mostly a prep day for me to get ready for our dinner party for 8 tomorrow night. So far I've made: Three Cheese Cheese Balls. The three cheeses are blue cheese, very old cheddar cheese and cream cheese. This is a great recipe. It makes two cheese balls and they freeze very well, so one will go into the freezer for another day. These are going to be wrapped in plastic wrap then into a ziplock bag. Tomorrow, I'll roll one in chopped walnuts before serving. Potatoes Madelaine. The first time I made these I used store bought breadcrumbs. This time I made some fresh breadcrumbs. It's one of the few times I wish I had a food processor. My crappy blender does not make bread crumbs easily. These can now be refrigerated until ready to bake tomorrow. Roqufert Dip for Crudities. I've also cut up the raw veggies I'll be serving with this so they're ready to go. Shrimp Cocktail sauce. I used gin instead of vodka this time to give it just a little more zip. I'm taking a 10 minute break before I prepare the strawberries for tonight's shortcake. When Don gets home we'll have a real cocktail on the deck if it stops raining, but in the meantime, I figured this would suffice: Normally I'd have Caesar juice on hand to make my own, but for some reason I don't right now. Oh well, add it to the list of things Don's going to pick up for me on the way home. Ry's got a friend over and they are scarfing down chips.

Ryan finally rolled out of bed at 12:30 today, so breakfast became lunch: Pecan waffles with Canadian Maple Syrup of course. Made in my trusty little waffler. Two of my cats begging for treats: Treat time! The pork shoulder marinating for tonight's dinner: I'm off to do a bunch of stuff for tomorrow's dinner. When I entertain, I like to get as much made ahead of time as I can so today I will make simple syrup for cocktails, a vodka cocktail sauce, a bleu cheese dip and a three cheese cheese ball. Oh and I'll make the potatoes madelaines today as well.

Kathleen, I'd have to agree with Sam. I make desserts, but I almost never eat them. I adore cheese after a meal, and I'm always disappointed when a restaurant doesn't offer a cheese plate. My lad is still sleeping and my husband has gone to work, but not before making the coffee for me. What a guy. At this rate, the waffles will turn into lunch instead of breakfast!

Good morning! I'm sure my worthy opponent is still sleeping, but I tend to be up early even on weekends so I'll get us started this morning. There will indeed be food. Lots and lots of food. You will have all seen the list that soba posted at the beginning of this blog. The idea is that Sam and I will do several meals during the week comprised of the same ingredients. As well, we will each detail the rest of our meals just as we would if we were doing an individual blog. I have a healthy respect for Sam's talents in the kitchen, but I'm no slouch either. If you've read my previous blogs, you'll know that there is nothing more important in the morning for me than coffee. The rest of my household is still asleep so I'm working on my coffee and enjoying the quiet. Breakfast this morning will be waffles once everyone is awake and I'll of course be taking pictures and posing them along the way. The main component of our "competition" today is "braised something". I don't know what Sam has picked, but I've decided to do the Caribbean Pork Shoulder from Molly Steven's book. That will be accompanied by Carnival corn and rice. I'll also be making a Phyllo Strawberry Shortcake for dessert. Tomorrow's component includes a dinner party, so I'll be doing some prep today for that as well. Sit back, relax and enjoy the fruits from our two kitchens!