Deanna's Daughter

Marlow was asked how one of her toys got fixed and she answered, ‘Deanna’s Ed did it, he’s a good fixer’ – I guess we know who’s viewed as the boss in that household.

Another great night for eating outside, today it was Caesar salad with grilled chicken and more vegetables from the garden – we’re still making up for Friday night.  I use a mini food processor to blend this dressing and almost always make a traditional salad with Romaine lettuce, croutons, sometimes bacon and extra fresh grated Parmesan cheese if I have it.

Caesar Salad Dressing

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 clove of garlic

1 1/2 t. dry mustard

1 1/2 t. anchovy paste

3/4 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. olive oil

2 T. lemon juice

Blend well and then add;

1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Blend again and add more cheese if you would like to thicken the dressing.

This also makes a great sandwich spread or vegetable dip.

Oh my.  If you’re ever working towards increasing your cholesterol a couple of points, then this sauce is for you.

It had been a very long week, actually a rather stressful couple of months – all now seems to be sorted and I decided that we needed a celebratory dinner.  It was so good that it was gone before I could take a picture.  BBQ’d beef tenderloin fillets, potatoes right from the garden and a token vegetable – sliced tomatoes, also from the garden.  Let’s be real, it was all about the sauce, and I adapted it from Ina Garten’s, ‘ Barefoot Contessa Parties!’.

Gorgonzola Sauce

2 cups whipping cream

3 oz. Gorgonzola

2 T. Parmesan cheese

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

2 T. fresh parsley, finely chopped

Gently boil the cream in a sauce pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it thickens.  Basically, you’re reducing it by a third and it should take about a half hour.  Be careful!  It’s cream, so if the heat is even a tiny bit too high, it will do it’s best to boil over on you.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the other ingredients, whisking until the cheeses melt.  Apply liberally to the beef (and everything else on your plate), and enjoy.  A great excuse for a good bottle of wine.

This recipe was more than enough for 4 fillets, but I would double it if you were planning on roasting a whole tenderloin.  Oh my (I had to say that one more time).

‘Mooom’ – ‘Yes, Waverly’ – ‘what’s this?’ – ‘That’s a grape tomato, Waverly’ – ‘Well, Mooom’ – ‘Yes, Waverly’ – ‘There’s a grape tomato stuck in my shirt’ – never a dull moment at the dinner table.

When I have the need to bake, it often ends up in Brock’s office – luckily, tomorrow is Friday and his turn to bring something anyway.  I think that all baking tastes the best on the day that it’s made, but these bars can definitely hold their own for a couple of days, if they last that long.  They’re basically a variation of a chocolate-chip cookie.

Toffee Bars

Cream together;

1 1/2 c. margarine

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

Add and blend together;

2 egg yolks

1 t. vanilla

Then;

3 c. flour

Press into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.  Check it at 20 minutes, if it gets too brown, it will be too hard when it cools.  Immediately after you take it out of the oven, sprinkle with about 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips, and let sit until the chips are soft and melted.  Spread the chocolate chips so they look like frosting – I find this easiest with the back of a spoon -  and sprinkle with chopped nuts – I prefer pecans.  I also recommend that you cut them before the chips harden again.  It’s a good thing they’re going to the office.