Weekend in the Kitchen

Rain came on and off throughout the weekend, more perfect weather for cooking and baking all our House Faves, and trying some new recipes, too! See my cooking show "Gourmet Again!" at BlipsWerx YouTube! and view recipes at Sharine.com/Recipes.

Saturday, we grilled a Pork Tenderloin and I made an Apricot BBQ Glaze, yum. The meat marinated for several hours in Olive 

Oil and our favorite general spice blend, Mrs. Tallman's Mild.

As for the glaze, I made it up as I went along, starting with a saute of Garlic, Olive Oil and Butter. I added Red Wine, Soy Sauce, a bit of coarse grain Mustard, Apricot Preserves, and BBQ Sauce. After 15 minutes of medium-low heat under the pan, I set it aside for glazing/garnishing the Pork.

Today, we made brunch, which doesn't happen often because I'm not a big Breakfast eater. French Toast with a light multi-grain bread, and Scrambled Eggs with leftover grilled Cauliflower, Broccoli and added Mushrooms. Fresh squeezed Orange Juice sealed the deal on a nice meal, and Ron did most of the work, including all the dishes. Ahhhhhh!

In the early afternoon, I smashed a few Bananas! And used them to make a Carob-Banana Bread with a touch of Rum Extract and a pinch of Nutmeg to give it a rich Eggnog essence. This is the highest one of my quick breads has ever risen, and the texture is super light and fluffy!

I used to make this recipe with Apple Juice, but I did use organic White Sugar this time around, dropping the amount from 2/3 cup to 1/2 cup. The top is crunchy, carob chips provide inner texture, and yet overall it's not too sweet!

While others around the world gathering for the SuperBowl, I made Guacamole which, along with homemade Salsa, are two of our House Faves.

I must admit, I make the best Guacamole on the planet.

I start with 1/3 cup of my own Salsa in a glass container, and add 3 - 4 ripe Avocados as I halve them and mash into the Salsa. That's it.

I let the Guac take a siesta in the fridge for a couple of hours. I tested it with organic corn chips, Salsa, and of course, a bottle of Negra Modelo, Mexican beer so deep, dark and delicious that I can never finish a bottle.

Superb Dinner: Grilled Lamb Chops, marinated in Olive Oil, Ground Thyme and Roasted Garlic, with Carmelized Onions for a topping.

Ron said the Carmelized Onions were too sweet and sticky, he is hoping next time for the grilled

version. But I enjoyed them in small doses, as the chops were a bit gamey. The sweetness seemed to mellow out the pungent meat.

We added a side of Grilled Vegetables (do we love our veggies or what?).

I also made a Sprouted Grain Pappardelle, tossed in a fresh Alfredo Sauce. Creamy, tangy and healthy, of course, even with the butter and cream ; )

Here's the money shot on dinner this evening! Ron is The Grill Master, so as always, everything was done to perfection.