Company

We had M & M's R over for dinner tonight. I got to Jim's house, ran into the kitchen, and started in on the food. I turned the oven on to 450 degrees, grabbed the lamb out of the fridge, and proceeded to rub EVOO on it along with salt and pepper. I was surprised at how small it was, and I ended up roasting it in my brownie pan for 10 minutes. In the meantime, I used the food processor to make some fresh white breadcrumbs. I took out the crumbs and pulsed together Italian flat leaf parsley and garlic and then added the crumbs, lemon zest, and melted butter. The breadcrumb mixture was pressed onto the lamb and then it went back into the oven until the internal temp reached 140.

The lamb was undergoing its second roasting when M & M's R finally appeared, almost an hour late. I guess it worked out better that way in the long. They brought over some steak, which they threw on the grill along with the veggie burgers I started on yesterday. I had just finished popping a Betty Crocker box of Au Gratin potatoes into the oven and threading a bunch of shish kebabs when they arrived. I used pineapple and cherry tomatoes, along with red bell pepper, green bell pepper, red onion, and portobello mushrooms that I had chopped up yesterday. A drizzle of EVOO and some salt and pepper, and they were perfect. Jim also grilled up some corn and the sourdough bread they brought over.

I prepped a half dozen peaches for grilling, but there ended up not being enough time. I think I'm going to have to practice cutting up fruit this summer. I pretty much suck at it, but I'm not going to get better by avoiding it. I don't have the right touch.

Anyway, dinner was actually a lot of fun. I had my doubts, but it ended up being a very nice evening. As far as the food goes, the shish kebabs were super yummy, and I absolutely love grilled corn. My veggie burger was good, but I was a little disappointed because it wasn't nearly as good as the one I ate at RFD. Jim told me that of course it wasn't going to be as good and of course they weren't going to give me the exact recipe, but I had hoped! Jim liked it, though. I used onion buns and filled them with Romaine lettuce and organic ketchup. Jim's lamb was perfectly medium rare, but we learned tonight that Jim prefers his baa baa a little more well done.

Even though the Au Gratin potatoes were past their expiration date, they still tasted fine. That's definitely one of those "safe" dishes that I know M & M's R will eat. They are pretty picky, but when it comes to instant, boxed scat, they're all about it. Between the shish kebabs, corn, potatoes, and bread, there were plenty of side dishes to go around. Even R liked the shish kebabs. That's a compliment of the highest nature, let me tell you!

It was definitely a good evening.