We don't entertain very often, but last evening invited two couples to join us for grilled salmon and a leisurely meal on the deck shaded by the walnut tree. Just to show that I don't just bake, here is the menu: 
A starter of black bean dip with corn chips and assorted fresh veggies. The cucumber slices are the first from my garden this year. Everything else came from the market. We also had Italian country bread and little bowls with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping, and another small bowl with plain almonds to nibble.
The main dish was Sweetie's speacialty, grilled salmon fillets with Scotch. Yes, I said Scotch, laddie. The alcohol burns off leaving a nice, subtle smoky taste. The liquor also does a little tenderizing of the fish. He does the same sort of thing with other fish, with chicken, pork, lamb, etc. using Irish whisky, bourbon, and so on depending on his mood.
He also used a little olive oil and a smidge of garlic. Along side he grilled some slices of fresh-from-the-garden zucchini.
I made a big salad or field greens, chunks of tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, avocado and feta, which I tossed with a lemon-balsamic vinaigrette and toasted pine nuts.
One of our guest brought some enjoyable wine. Lots of iced water (since it was hot) and more bread rounded out the meal.
The best part of all was sharing all of this with friends who had not met each other before. Everyone seemed to enjoy the others company, so it was absolutely worth the effort. We should do it more often, but probably won't anytime soon...maybe in August.
Dessert? Well, that would be telling...the challenge recipe for the Daring Bakers was on the menu. Check back at the end of the month to see how that went.
We love entertaining.... glad you had a good time last night. The food looks amazing...especially that salmon! Wow!
ReplyDeleteooh this looks like a fabulous summer meal!
ReplyDeleteYUMMY! I wish I was part of that party. It all looks so incredible. Keep having fun, sweetie!
ReplyDeleteI have a salmon recipe that involves cooking it in a scotch broth...so I'm sure your salmon is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteIt's a pity you don't entertain often because you make such great food. But I do understand that entertaining is stressful in its own right.
ReplyDeleteKristen, thanks! It was good salmon.
ReplyDeleteAnna, summer has it's good side in the food dept. Hope school has eased up.
Meete, wish you had been here, too.
Peabody, that sounds like a fascinating recipe...want to share?
Cynthia, yeah, the stress is certainly part of it...guess I'm a perfectionist. Fun when everyone gets here though.
Oh, my. Can't imagine eating sweets after that - I'm afraid I'd be stuffed with the salmon. :)
ReplyDeleteI will have to go dig it up...but sure. May take a few days.
ReplyDeleteDavimack, it was hard to find room for the sweets, but we kept the serving small. The salmon was the star.
ReplyDeletePeabody, that would be great!Whenerver.
scotch with salmon? Now that is a novel idea... what a meal!
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