The past several weekends have been very busy. We've had guests in from out of town, cook-outs, entertaining friends on the boat, preparing and serving food at gatherings on our friend's dock up the lake, and a myriad of other things. Don't get me wrong, we love the lifestyle and our friends but once in a while it's nice to have some wind-down time just for ourselves. I'll qualify that remark by saying that I'm one of those weird guys that actually enjoys spending time with my wife :-) This past weekend was one of those much needed wind-down weekends. We spent a lot of time Saturday working in the yard then hanging out in the pool with a bucket full of Margaritas. Decided to keep dinner simple and just do fajitas with some grilled veggies. The new Santa Maria grill was out of commission for this one. I had it torn down yet again for what I hope is the last modification to the log lighter system so this was done on the grill.
Veggies tossed with EVOO, garlic, and Chipotle pepper
Veggies alongside the Piedmontese beef fajita spiced with my own seasoning
Onto the grill
Torrential rain storm came crashing down half way through. Didn't stop me though
Fajita meat cooked
All sliced up. Came out perfect
Veggies all done. They too are exactly the way we like them. Warm and softened up a bit but still some texture to them. Was purple onions, sliced jalapenos, and grape tomatoes
Money shot!! I skipped all of the pics building the fajita but it's the meat and veggies topped with smoked cheddar cheese and fire roasted salsa then served with a dollop of sour cream and a margarita on the rocks with salt. This is my first of several :-)
Sunday we kinda bummed around, I made beer in the morning, dialed in the pool chemistry for the week, and a couple other things. By then the final part I needed for the Santa Maria grill was delivered by Amazon so I put all of that back together. At this point it was time to get in the pool. We spent a couple hours lounging out and sipping on Margaritas again. It was mid afternoon so I started thinking about dinner. When I got the Santa Maria grill I was introduced to the Piedmontese beef by Gary at Sunterra and subsequently placed a considerable order. In that order was 8 Rib Eye Cap Steaks. I hadn't cooked any of them so figured I'd give them a shot. They are small steaks at 6 oz. each so I got 3 of them out: 2 for me and 1 for Tracy.
Steaks lightly brushed with Worcestershire and sprinkled with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Corn on the cob with a good dose of squirt butter and SPOG
Did a caprese salad I stole from @xray when he did his post on the Tri Tip. I'm not typically one to jump on the "me too" bandwagon but this was just too beautiful not to make, as several of our members noted in his thread. I'd never made a Balsamic Reduction but gave it a shot for this one. My salad was slightly different but essentially the same
Corn on the grill. Yes, I used the Santa Maria for this one since it was back in commission
Steaks on a little later
Steaks after the flip
Steaks all done and resting for a few minutes
Money shot!! Steak, corn, and the caprese salad with the balsamic reduction. The dressing was amazing!!
All in all, a fantastic weekend and we did eat well!! Over the past several weeks there have been a couple things that have been life changers for us. First was the Santa Maria grill. To quote another member of SMF, "I love cooking on this thing!!". Thus far everything I've cooked has been absolutely out of this world. The second life changer is finding the Piedmontese beef. This meat is by far the best commercially purchased meat we have ever eaten. It has all been far superior to any standard American beef that has crossed my plate. These little steaks were nothing short of phenomenal. Juicy, tender beyond belief, and a flavor that we have never experienced in a steak. I had just placed another large order from Piedmontese that morning but the wife requested (demanded??) that I go back and add 12 more of these steaks to the order. They were that good!! Tomorrow another huge order will be delivered and put in the freezer. After sampling several different cuts it's a foregone conclusion that we will keep a large stock on this meat on hand.
Truly enjoying a quiet weekend,
Robert and Tracy
(P.S. I just realized that this probably should have gone in the Beef forum. Please move as necessary)
Veggies tossed with EVOO, garlic, and Chipotle pepper
Veggies alongside the Piedmontese beef fajita spiced with my own seasoning
Onto the grill
Torrential rain storm came crashing down half way through. Didn't stop me though
Fajita meat cooked
All sliced up. Came out perfect
Veggies all done. They too are exactly the way we like them. Warm and softened up a bit but still some texture to them. Was purple onions, sliced jalapenos, and grape tomatoes
Money shot!! I skipped all of the pics building the fajita but it's the meat and veggies topped with smoked cheddar cheese and fire roasted salsa then served with a dollop of sour cream and a margarita on the rocks with salt. This is my first of several :-)
Sunday we kinda bummed around, I made beer in the morning, dialed in the pool chemistry for the week, and a couple other things. By then the final part I needed for the Santa Maria grill was delivered by Amazon so I put all of that back together. At this point it was time to get in the pool. We spent a couple hours lounging out and sipping on Margaritas again. It was mid afternoon so I started thinking about dinner. When I got the Santa Maria grill I was introduced to the Piedmontese beef by Gary at Sunterra and subsequently placed a considerable order. In that order was 8 Rib Eye Cap Steaks. I hadn't cooked any of them so figured I'd give them a shot. They are small steaks at 6 oz. each so I got 3 of them out: 2 for me and 1 for Tracy.
Steaks lightly brushed with Worcestershire and sprinkled with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Corn on the cob with a good dose of squirt butter and SPOG
Did a caprese salad I stole from @xray when he did his post on the Tri Tip. I'm not typically one to jump on the "me too" bandwagon but this was just too beautiful not to make, as several of our members noted in his thread. I'd never made a Balsamic Reduction but gave it a shot for this one. My salad was slightly different but essentially the same
Corn on the grill. Yes, I used the Santa Maria for this one since it was back in commission
Steaks on a little later
Steaks after the flip
Steaks all done and resting for a few minutes
Money shot!! Steak, corn, and the caprese salad with the balsamic reduction. The dressing was amazing!!
All in all, a fantastic weekend and we did eat well!! Over the past several weeks there have been a couple things that have been life changers for us. First was the Santa Maria grill. To quote another member of SMF, "I love cooking on this thing!!". Thus far everything I've cooked has been absolutely out of this world. The second life changer is finding the Piedmontese beef. This meat is by far the best commercially purchased meat we have ever eaten. It has all been far superior to any standard American beef that has crossed my plate. These little steaks were nothing short of phenomenal. Juicy, tender beyond belief, and a flavor that we have never experienced in a steak. I had just placed another large order from Piedmontese that morning but the wife requested (demanded??) that I go back and add 12 more of these steaks to the order. They were that good!! Tomorrow another huge order will be delivered and put in the freezer. After sampling several different cuts it's a foregone conclusion that we will keep a large stock on this meat on hand.
Truly enjoying a quiet weekend,
Robert and Tracy
(P.S. I just realized that this probably should have gone in the Beef forum. Please move as necessary)
