This weekend Steve and I had the pleasure of having some lovely friends over for dinner and games at our house. I love visits from people, I love cooking, I love eating, I love showing off our new house, I love games, I love laughing, and I love Mike & Sara. Needless to say, I was beyond excited to roll all of these things into one grand evening.
I chose this weekend to bust out some of that amazing pesto I made last week. Steve grilled Pesto Chicken for us, and we also had Roasted Rosemary Potatoes, Grilled Lemon Asparagus, and Fruit Salsa with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream for dessert. It was a feast beyond words, everything was mouthwatering; I adored and savored every bite (I told you, I love eating).
So here we go, I'm going to enlighten you so that this weekend you may enjoy quite the summer feast.
First, Make Pesto.
Second, Slather the Pesto on your chicken. I used a recipe from here for the grilled chicken. But basically you just slather the chicken in Pesto. Let it sit for for an hour or two, grease your grill, and cook.
Third, while letting the Chicken marinate, start your potatoes.
Now let me say that I had decided to make Pesto chicken, but had no ideas as to what I should prepare to go with said chicken. Enter Sondra. I simply sent her the query "What goes with Grilled Pesto Chicken?" She replied Roasted Rosemary Potatoes or Lemon Asparagus. I simply couldn't decide so I made both!!! (Also, I totally whiffed on the picture taking, I was too busy fawning over my meal)
Okay, back to the potatoes. I "used" a recipe from Ina Garten (Because I wanted to make Sondra Proud). But again, I simply looked at what she did and then threw it all together. In a bowl I put some Sea Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil, Garlic, and Rosemary. Quarter your potatoes (I used red skinned) and throw them in a bowl. Mix everything up, place the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet and throw into a four-hundred degree oven. I set my timer for twenty minutes and when it went off I flipped all the potatoes. I set it for twenty minutes (again) and when it went off I flipped them (again). I set the timer once more for twenty minutes and when it sounded the potatoes were ready to serve. Seriously, they were to die for, I am so wonderfully thankful for Sondra's suggestion.
Asparagus - I trimmed the stalks and skewered them together to "make a raft." In a small bowl I mixed olive oil, lemon zest, a few squirts of lemon juice, and pepper. Place the rafts on the grill and brush them with the olive oil mixture, keep brushing them periodically until they're done. (Note: to make an asparagus raft lay a bunch on stalks side by side IIIIIIII [like that] now use two skewers to spear each stalk sideways = [like that], thus connecting them and making a raft.) I hope you appreciated the full use of my keyboard on that demonstration.
Lastly, for dessert I made Mere's fabulous Fruit Salsa (have you become obsessed with this treat? Because I certainly have. I've made it at least four times in the last six weeks.) I've been sticking with the core ingredients but also throwing in whatever else I feel like slash have on hand. For example, we went blueberry picking recently (more on this later) and so I smashed up some blueberries and threw those in once. Another time I opted for a handful of raspberries in lieu of the raspberry preserve. Pretty much this dish is delectable no matter how you slice it. Thanks Mere! We had a bowl full of Ice Cream, topped with Fruit Salsa, and a side of Cinnamon Chips for dessert. Everyone had seconds.
I hope you have as fantastic of a summer fest as we did this weekend. Happy cooking!
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