In this case, corporate turnover and reorganization has allowed Bob to relocate to a new job, out of the blue! He is joining a group comprised of familiar names and faces that I recall favorably from my past there. He feels confident that he can meet expectations in the new position, without constantly being stretched to the limit of endurance; perhaps there will be more of him left over after working, to enjoy at home.
Pondering this development, Loren and I wandered through the local Sav-alot, picked up some steaks and fresh fruit, called Sara, and Rick, and put together a surprise celebration. Loren and I scrambled to clean the house and put together a dinner to celebrate. Rick arrived with a six pack of raspberry porter, and kindly agreed to BBQ out in the very nippy winter air. Rick, Sara, Ben, Loren, Evie and I enjoyed a luscious meal together!!! Mike even called Bob, so he was a pseudo participant.
Sara sauted mushrooms in butter and white wine to perfection, a lovely side dish for our meal.
The Mahogany Broiled Chicken and Pork ka-bobs, accompanied by Smoky Lime Sweet Potatoes were extraordinary. (Woman's Day, Sept 2006 "National Chicken Cooking Contest" $100,000 Grand Prize winner.) Oh, and I needed to use up the adobo sauce so I stirred a can of whole oysters into the sauce as a firey side dish. There was a bottle of red wine: Gary Farrell 2001 Merlot, and crusty garlic bread, which everyone, especially Loren and Evie, enjoyed immensely. We melted chocolate chips fondue style, and dipped strawberries and red grapes and slices of Dan'Jou pears for dessert. Somehow, melting chocolate transformed it from a limited dessert to a dip all you want delicacy... it was really fun.
After Rick, Sara and Ben all left, the rest of us had a skipping rope competition and Loren is up to the high 30's and could not wait to take a shower before bed. I think her athletic urges are so healthy and she is loving the new activities we have been doing together and the new skills she is achieving. Evie, as usual watches from the sideline and comments on technical corrections, such as how the adults should swing the rope in less of an arc... she is so observant and smart and almost always right!
So, here's the recipes; it is at this point REALLY late... I am exhausted, fully delighted by our evening but should go to bed. I am sure that more posts will follow this one.
?? Gee, I wonder how I could post the recipes somewhere in a tabbed section, that might be more logical than buried in this entry?
In order to make the marinade, I first needed to make hoison sauce. The approximate recipes are as follows:
Hoison Sauce
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons peanut butter or black bean paste
1 tablespoon honey or molasses or brown sugar
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons sesame oil
20 drops chinese hot sauce, habenero or jalepeno
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Cube 1.5 # chicken or pork
Mahogany Chicken (or Pork) Grand Prize National Chicken Cooking Contest
Blend together:
5T dark brown sugar or white sugar with a blob of dark molasses added
3 T Dijon mustard or a little less of dark brown mustard
2 T bottled hoison sauce
2 t. balsamic vinegar
(optional) minced garlic
(optional) salt and pepper
Combine ½ c lime juice with 6 T. of above mixture. We used part lemon and part lime juice with no ill effect. Marinate meat cubes, save reserved sauce for basting.
Broil, basting with reserved marinade part way through.
Optional: on serving plate, drizzle with chimchurri sauce (below)
1 cup chopped cilantro leaves,
¼ c extra virgin olive oil
3 large cloves garlic
¼ t salt and 1/8 t pepper
Smoky Lime Sweet Potatoes
2 peeled large sweet potatoes, cut in chunks and covered in water, boiled till done.
Drain (reserve cooking water for soup, it’s delicious) and return potatoes to pan and mash with the following ingredients.
2 T. unsalted butter
1 ½ tsp. lime juice
1 tsp chopped canned chipotle pepers in adobo sauce
(consider removing seeds if heat is a concern)
1 tsp adobo sauce from can
¾ tsp. ground cumin (I roasted whole cumin seeds and then ground them)
½ tsp. grated lime zest
¼ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
modified from: Woman's Day Sept 2006 "National Chicken Cooking Contest" Camilla Saulsbury winner $100,000 Grand prize
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