Jake's

Jake's Restaurant:
Scallops with Pistachios and Butter Sauce
Creamed Spinach
Brussels Sprouts

Chicken Curry

Menu:
Chicken Curry
Naan
Roasted Green Beans
Kheer (our contribution)

Dinner at Scott & Ali's. Delicious.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Menu:
Spaghetti with Bolognese Sauce || Pioneer Woman
Salad with Hearts of Palm, Beets, Avocado and Pine Nuts
Caramel Budino || Bon Appetit

One Sister Underground

One Sister Underground

Quesadilla
bubble tea

Salad Sponge
Honeys, goat milk, homegrown

Tomatoes
manchego-edamame, nasturtium, spice cubes

Hanging
Smoked watermelon, roe

Pierogi
Potato, truffle, homemade cheese

Shrimp Carpaccio
almonds, peaches, herbs

Your Hand

Oyster Centerpiece
Foraged items

Corn Chowder
encapsulated, clam, pork belly

Farm and Garden (seen above)
Pork, veggies

1 Pill Makes You Larger and 1 Pill Makes You Small

Shrimp Scampi
noodle

Oatmeal Dashi
chia seeds

Hand-cut Pasta
duck, raspberry

Ice Cream Cone

Lamb Prosciutto
fennel, lemon, corned leg

Veal Cheeks
hot mustard, granola, cherries

Custard
zucchini, honey dew, banana pepper

Chocolate Balls
blueberries, eggs, gruyere

Labor Day Feast

Menu:
Shish Kabobs (Steak and Italian Sausage)
Pasta Salad
Curry Chicken Salad
Potato Salad
Grilled Vegetables
Raspberry Lemonade Bars

We all brought a dish to share, some meat to grill and drinks. What we ended up with was a perfect buffet, filled with sausages, meats, veggies and delicious cucumber drinks (with a ginger, peppercorn simple syrup, I might add). I brought the dessert, of course. See what I mean?

Fish Fry

Burke's Lakeside:
Fish fry (for most of us)

My sister and I were competing in a mud run the next day. (It was un-timed -- I normally would have eaten a pre-race dinner if it was something I thought I had to worry about instead of fried fish). We spent the night at my parents since they live closer to the event, so decided it would be fun to all go out for dinner. We had an awesome view of the lake, and a really great time.

Quesadillas ... Again

Menu:
Quesadillas
Grilled Shrimp
Skirt Steak
Pico de Gallo, Salsa, Sour Cream
Corn on the Cob

Some friends from our old neighborhood came for a visit this weekend. One of our favorite (and easiest) meals to date was the recent quesadillas over the fire night. It was the perfect family meal with visitors. Absolutely delicious, and something for every one.

Summer Pasta

Menu:

Appetizers:
Peach, Prosciutto & Ricotta Crostini || Bon Appetit
Peanuts
Olives

Main Course:
Italian Sausages
Summer Pasta || The Wednesday Chef
Grilled Caesar Salad

Dessert:
Root Beer Floats
Watermelon

Meatloaf

Menu:
Meatloaf || Pioneer Woman
Cheesy Olive Bread || Pioneer Woman
Green Beans
Spinach Salad with Pistachios and Feta

Shish Kabobs Over the Fire

Menu:
Baked Camembert
Chicken Shish Kabobs (over our fire pit)
Radish & Peach Salad over Arugula || Inspired by Bitchin Camero
Corn on the Cob
Beet Carpaccio
Meringue Cake || Design*Sponge (a favorite of mine to make)

Korean BBQ

San Soo Gab San
Korean BBQ

So delicious. I cannot wait to go back. The idea of open flame with the boys makes me a bit nervous, but they thought this looked pretty great too. We went with our friends Sun and Carlos, who are just awesome anyhow. Fun night.

Summer with Friends

Appetizers with Friends:
Terra Chips
Cherries on Ice
Marcona Almonds
Burrata with Peaches and Balsamic Vineagar

and then they had to leave to take their daughter to a sleep over....

Dinner with Other Friends:
Gnocchi alla Romana || The Wednesday Chef
Roasted Beets
Lamb Chops
Spinach

L&E with Friends

Longman & Eagle with Melissa & Leif:
- Full menu posted here

Brats

Menu:
Beer Brats with Sauerkraut
Heirloom Tomato
Pickles
Corn on the Cob
Chips
Blackberry Cobbler

Memorial Day BBQ

Indoor BBQ at The Elsmo's:
BBQ Chicken
Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp with Arugula Salad
Roasted Potatoes
Green Bean
Baked Beans
Watermelon
Potato Chips
Chocolate Cobbler

Chili Dogs

Dinner at the Elsmo's:
Chili Dogs
Salad
Potato Chips

This was my first chili dog ... ever. And it totally hit the spot. I brought cupcakes.

Beef Stew at The Elsmo's

Menu:
Beef Stew
Salad with Green Beans, Goat Cheese, Almonds and Raspberries
Crusty Bread with Butter and Roasted Garlic
Brownies and Meringue Cake (I brought the meringue)

The Elsmo's invited us over for dinner. And it was absolutely amazing.

Dinner with Friends

Last night we had The Frigs and Brian's co-worker and his awesome family over for dinner. Their oldest is vegan. I forgot to take pictures (Penny took some though), but here is the menu.

Salad with Roasted Beets, Hearts of Palm, Avocado, Toasted Pinenuts and Balsamic Dressing
Ratatouille with Couscous || Smitten Kitchen (vegan)
Gnocchi alla Romana || The Wednesday Chef
Glazed Chocolate-Avocado Cupcakes || Vegetarian Times (vegan)
Fruit Meringue Cake || Design*Sponge in the Kitchen with Ditte Isager

P.S. I'm testing something out. You can now find "Last Week's Menu" on the side bar.

C's Birthday Dinner

Menu for a 5-Year Old Spongebob Squarepants Birthday Party:
Krabby Patties
Krusty Krab Fries
Seaweed Noodles (Spinach Noodles)
Baked Beans
Pineapple Fruit Salad

Smoked Turkey

Dinner with Nina, M, J and The Frigs:
Smoked Turkey
Corn on the Cob
Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Beets
Frig Salad with Potatoes, Beets, Bacon, Fennel