Getting back to basics

Our trio, although always in touch, has not gotten together as much as we wish, but gardening and barbeque season is upon us.  This gives us a good excuse to reconnect and gather for one of our first barbecue dinners of the season. Having just been in the south, we might just borrow a dish or two from the south.  This week Monday Night Dining was on Tuesday, mostly because the weather looked better than Monday…. For our non-Ontario readers spring in the part of the world has been cold and wet, or if I may quote the weather channel “this is crap!”

We gathered with our friend Cate, for cocktails, as the coals on the BBQ were getting settled down. I might have taken a little tour of our lovely little garden… and maybe suckered a tomato plant, for good luck. When we gathered at table, we started with a lovely salad, that Shawn came up with in Myrtle Beach. For the original version, he took an entire head of bib lettuce, cored it, cleaned it, then reassembled it back into a head and dressed it….  this night we had a smaller version of this creation.

I guess it needs a name, so let’s call it individual Bib Lettuce salad….  Someone please come up with a new name….

It may not have been nice enough to dine al fresco, but I was not going to give up the opportunity to barbeque….  Shawn prepped one of our go to cuts… the chicken supreme, with a lovely duxelle preparation.  We grilled them and served it with a lemon risotto with peas and fava beans.

There’s just something about firing up the coals, in the spring…  I just want to set things on fire… I mean cook outside. I have to say that Shawn is a whiz with risotto, but this was one of his better efforts. The tartness of the lemon and the freshness of the peas and fava beans really set off the dish.

For dessert we had an old favorite…

Croissant Banana Bread Pudding with Southern Comfort Sauce.  This is a great way to use day old croissants…. but if like us, you don’t have any…. buy the fresh ones and just put them in a low oven to age them a bit. Light and airy, with a creamy boozy sauce… MMMMM.

After dinner we had a look at Steph’s new score, for a certain oratorio….  We might have taken a copy home, to peruse…. Perhaps to sing????

This was a nice finish  to an evening of friends and food. during the evening the topic of a free apartment in Alsace came up….  Who knows, we might be blogging from France this summer.