Now That's a Meal!

For my dad's birthday this year I decided to cook my family and friends an awesome dinner. It was also Memorial Day weekend, so there was more than one reason to drink booze.

Beer-Braised Beef, Twice-Baked Stuffed Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus w/ Raspberry-
Shallot Sauce, and Honey-Cinnamon Carrots.

The dinner started with some toasted french bread brushed with olive oil (extra virgin, of course) and some homemade bruschetta. My dad grew the tomatoes and most of the herbs that were used to make it. I'll get the recipe and post it soon.

My mom also made some awesome Mojitos. She makes her own simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar, boil to dissolve) infused with homegrown mint leaf. An ounce of syrup, two ounces of premium light rum, club soda, and a squeeze of lime juice, stirred in ice. Delicious and refreshing.



The main course included my popular Beer-Braised Beef. The recipe is in another post below, but succinctly: after browning your beef, caramelize a ton of carrots, onions, and celery in beer (I used Yuengling Black and Tan) over low heat for 45 minutes. Put the beef back in your pan, fill with more beer, and cook 2-3 hours at 350 degrees. The beer and sugars from the caramelized veggies tenderize the beef and give it a mouth-watering flavor.




A new dish that I had been meaning to make for a while was Twice-Baked Stuffed Potatoes (Williams-Sonoma has a good recipe.) After completely baking some large russet potatoes, slice a cross into the top of each one and pull back the corners of skin. Spoon out most of the flesh and mash in a bowl with milk, butter, sour cream, chives, bacon, cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper. You can really experiment with different fillers. Scoop the mixture back into the skins, top with more cheese, and bake for another 20 minutes. You could even rub the skins in some kosher salt before filling to give them that steakhouse authenticity.






Next, I found another new recipe for Asparagus in a Lemon-Raspberry Vinaigrette. After roasting or sautéing some thick asparagus, whisk together some olive oil, minced shallots, raspberry vinaigrette, and fresh lemon juice. Toss the asparagus in the dressing and serve.



My mom also made her Honey-Cinnamon Carrots. Boil some baby carrots for about five minutes, drain, then put in a hot sauté pan with some butter and olive oil. Slowly add honey and sprinklings of ground cinnamon until the carrots are cooked to your liking and resting in a shallow pool of sauce. Service immediately.