Cookout - 06.25.2009

We had family over this weekend for a cookout. Ian had a hot dog.


The rest of us had pork, beef, and chicken kabobos. My sister brought her famous baked beans which are another one her trademarks.



We also had corn and grilled veggies.



And cilantro lime rice.

At some point in the evening Connor, Ian, and one of the neighbor's kids formed a band. We thought that they were kidding when they told us that they had a band together, were practicing a song and would be performing for us later. While the adults were inside eating, the kids set up the back yard for a show. They cleared off the patio for a stage and lined all of the chairs up in the grass. As you can see from this video, Ian is a true frontman. He's shirtless. He's a natural! Their band has no name and 3 songs so far. None of the songs last more than 25 seconds. Rock on!

Dinner With The Bosses

My Boss (1) recently invited me, the newest member of our team, and Boss 2 to have dinner at her house. The Boss and her partner are admitted "foodies" and everything that I've had to eat at their home has been outstanding. On this occasion, The Boss's partner made an outstanding meal - sword fish and chicken kabobs, a salad with greens and apples and a homemade dressing, and barley and corn salad - also with homemade dressing. I can't remember the specific herbs and spices associated with each dish, but everything was really good.

Dessert! Shit, shit, shit... I cannot remember what this is called but it sounds like Sofrito, but that's a spanish sauce used as the base to a lot of savory dishes so I know that's not righ... Regardless, this was a lemony, ice creamy, and slightly custardy blend of deliciousness that was served with mixed berries.

After dinner book club - Today I will Nourish My Inner Martyr and Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy. I recommend both books for any sophisticated and classy book club that you happen to belong to.

*Please note that I am not raving about this meal just because I know that The Boss reads my blog. Everything really was outstanding.*

Father's Day cookout and some other pictures

Grilling out at my dad's on Father's Day. Grilled chicken marinated in balsamic vinaigrette, brats, hot dogs, potatoes, and corn.


Eating dinner at my dad... Guess what's in that big coffee can on the table? Think about.... Do you have a guess yet? It's a big pile of dirt and worms! There was no fishing involved with our Father's Day cookout, but my dad felt it appropriate to keep his big tin of worms on the table during dinner.

Here's lunch at Jimmy V's in German Village with "The Bosses". I had a grilled chicken salad, Boss 1 had a Greek paninni. I can't remember exactly what was on her sandwich other than the fact that it involved olives. LOTS of olives. I can't stand the sight or smell of olives, so I had to quit looking at the sandwich as soon as I spotted them. Boss 2 had a bowl of soup, but I cannot recall the specifics.

Dinner at my dad's a couple of weeks ago. Domino's pizza and wine.



Have we discussed Romeo's pizza yet? I don't believe that we have. The Minuteman Pizza near us was recently bought by the Romeo's pizza chain. The kids were devastated when they found out about it. Minuteman is their favorite pizza. Romeo's is pretty much the same as Minuteman, but maybe a little bit better tasting. Logic and taste buds be damned though. My kids hate Romeo's just because it isn't Minuteman.

Multi-Tasking - 05.27.2009

My lunch - Ramen noodles kicked up a notch with cracked black pepper, ground cayenne pepper, and parmesan cheese.




Fixing dinner and a snack - at the same time. As I was preparing chicken, potatoes, and corn to go on the grill the kids decided that they wanted popcorn.




This is my awesome popcorn maker. I love this thing! I don't love it as much as I love my Dyson, my blackberry, my dog, or all of the world wide web, but I still love it a lot.




Marinated chicken, redskin potatoes, and corn on the cobb!




Look closely at the chicken in this picture and you will see a meat thermometer sticking out of one of the pieces. Why, you may ask? Because Tony is paranoid that I will serve him undercooked meat and I wanted to prove to him that the chicken was fully cooked. A meat thermometer is also the key to not over grilling your food.



Tony cuts his corn off of the cob before he eats it. Why? I have no idea.

Hell Freezes Over and Connor Eats a Hot Dog - 05.25.2009

We went over to our friend Bill's for a Memorial Day cookout on Monday. He makes an awesome homemade margarita and does a great job cooking on the grill.




At some point in the day, hell apparently froze over because Connor decided to eat a hot dog AND an ear of corn. There's no denying that my kids are picky eaters. Neither would normally go anywhere a hot dog or an ear of corn, so this was a shocking development on Connor's part. Ian had his pockets loaded with Pez so he had that to eat.




Later in the evening, Connor actually asked for more corn so I fired up the grill and roasted him a few ears.

Michelle (Wo)Mans The Grill - 05.18.2009

I love grilling season. Monday was a beautiful day so I decided to go to the store for chicken, corn on the cob, and redskin potatoes - all perfect grilling foods!




Ian joined me on the trip to the store and, not surprisingly, picked out a baguette for himself. I asked him to wait until we got home to eat it, but he politely ignored me and dug right in as soon as we got in to the car.



Tony is totally capable of manning the grill, but my obsession with cooking as caused me to take over primary grilling duties. It can be a little tricky to prepare perfectly grilled meats and vegetables. The timing all has to be right and every thing needs to be taken off of the grill at exactly the right time. It's a challenge to sear chicken on the outside while keeping it moist on the inside and bringing the meat up to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. And I love a challenge.




Great success!