Like riding a bike

Tonight I made chicken pot pie. Since it was a double crust pie, I couldn't cheat like I did last night with the pre-made crust. If I learned anything from the pie challenge, it's that you can get away with making crust dough the night before and the results are usually good. I lucked out with this crust - it rolled out beautifully. I guess making pie crust is now part of my muscle memory, just like riding a bike.


The menu:
- chicken pot pie
- garlic mashed potatoes (per Raya's request)
- tapioca pudding


The guests: Laura, Natalie, Raya, Caity, Maggie, Adam

Artichoke and mushroom quiche

The chickens worked all weekend on it. Thanks, ladies!

The menu:
- quiche with mushrooms and artichoke hearts
- rosemary potatoes
- strawberry shortcake
- home-squeezed lemonade (thanks, Mom!)


The guests: Mom, Mike


Eddie was visiting over dinner. He's (selectively) afraid of wood floors, but I caught him walking across with no problem. It has been documented now, Eddie. No more whining.

Pork tenderloin

Grilled, of course. Tonight set the record for most guests so far with 11 guests! Twelve, if you count Peet, the dog. It was a lot of fun!


The menu:
- grilled, marinated pork tenderloin
- grilled green beans
- grilled asparagus
- dessert lasagna

Tonight's dessert made use of the leftover noodles from grilled lasagna night. I think I'll eat the leftovers for breakfast tomorrow.


The guests: Emily, Kyle, Karla, Seth, Mark, Zoe, Noah, Trevor, Austin, Laura, Michelle, Peet (the dog)



For Ella:


Peet and Lou always have a lot of fun together. Come back again, Peet!

Grilled scallops

Scallops, scallions, shallots. Is it really necessary to have three food words that sound so similar? I have such a hard time keeping them straight. Tonight's dinner featured scallops and shallots. No scallions.


The menu:
- grilled scallops
- (garden) kale with shallots
- pineapple


The guests: Laura, Em, Ebony, Mod

You can grill anything, part 2

What did I grill tonight? Lasagna! Yes, lasagna.
I got the recipe off the internet and it was actually pretty tasty. Not your traditional lasagna, but a rather refreshing summer version. I would recommend the recipe, though I added portabella mushrooms and spicy sausage. Both good additions.


The menu:
- grilled lasagna


The guests: Aaron, Mark, Andy, Michael, Tracy, Louis



For my favorite niece:

Egg on a pizza?

Yep.
Matt requested something made with the chickens' eggs tonight. I only had 4 on hand, so that really limited the options. Thankfully Matt made a follow-up request of pizza with an egg on top. Sounds gross. Tastes okay.


The menu:
- pizza, some with egg on top, some with spicy grilled shrimp (day 3!)


Oops.

The guest: Yu, Matt, Nate


Nate wanted his picture with a chicken. Bug wasn't too happy about it. I can't tell if Nate was happy about it.


No chickens were harmed during this photo shoot. Also, thanks for the eggs!


For Ella:

Spicy grilled shrimp tacos

The cafeteria at work is probably above average as far as cafeterias go. We always have the option of the standard grilled foods, wraps, sandwiches, and salad bar. These are things that we can always count on.
In addition to the standards, the cafeteria always features a hot entree, usually meaty, sometimes themed. The items in the hot entree line are a one-time offering, so whatever is leftover is not served the following day like the standard items. Or at least isn't served in the form it was originally served in the day before. The keen observer will notice that chicken parmesan in the entree line is followed the next day by a parmesan chicken salad, and the next day by a baked pasta with breaded chicken and marinara. Ah ha! We've figured you out, cafeteria.
Tonight I was able to sympathize with the cafeteria. Spicy grilled shrimp turned into spicy grilled shrimp tacos and they were delicious!


The menu:
- spicy grilled shrimp tacos
- spicy grilled chicken tacos
- homemade pico de gallo (may show up tomorrow)


The guests: Andy, Justin, Laura

For Ella: