My friend Lisa owns a store called Weekday Gourmet that lets people come
in, choose their meals and prepare them for an easy way to have great food on weeknights without all of the work.
It's a cool concept, but its not for me; I love to cook my own food and create my own menus. However, I love the moniker
"weekday gourmet" and feel it describes my weeknight cooking style to a tee. To me, the term "weekday gourmet"
means cooking gourmet style food in a reasonable amount of time, on a budget. If you weren't on a
budget, you could easily get comparable food by dining out at a French bistro or upscale steakhouse.
Since I enjoy great gourmet food but can't afford to dine out every night,
I find creative ways to eat well, regardless of the day of the week. Just this evening, I enjoyed an 8oz. flatiron
steak, grilled to medium rare with a cabernet-shallot reduction and served with roasted fingerling potatoes and a blue cheese
chopped salad. It was fairly easy to prepare and didn't cost a fortune, but still allowed me to dine on cuisine
that most people would reserve for a special occasion. Life is a journey; every day should be a special occasion!
To keep you in the loop, I'll post a couple of meals each week that I would
consider "Weekday Gourmet" selections. Some you will like, some you will not, but I hope to get you in the mindset of
turning off the television, relaxing each night with a glass of wine and enjoying a great meal.
Check out the recipe for my grilled Flatiron Steak with Cabernet-Shallot Reduction. The flatiron cut of steak is sometimes tough to find in a supermarket, but my local Publix regularly stocks
them. It's an inexpensive cut of meat but is tender, flavorful and easy to cook. It's one of my favorite
cuts, but please keep that quiet, since the popularity could create a demand and increase the prices. (Let's just keep
it between us.) Bon Appétit!
Yes, I know Father's day was last month, but I've been a little busy lately
cooking, eating, working and traveling. However, this year I made a kick-ass Father's day dinner for my fiancee and
my soon-to-be in-laws (including my future father-in-law) and figured it was too good not to share. If you are here
looking for photos, you won't find any; the food went too quick.
Choosing a menu was the tough part. Between the four of us, our tastes varied
too much for me to settle on any one dish, so the solution was tapas! It allowed us to cook a variety of dishes
simultaneously and also pleased everyone. I won't go into any more details and the recipes are all coming
soon, but here's the menu.
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Menu - Father's Day 2007
Filet Mignon with Mushroom-Brandy Cream Sauce
tender slices of broiled filet mignon topped with a mushroom-brandy
based cream sauce
Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus
drizzled with olive oil, seasoned and broiled until tender
Steamed Mussels
in a white wine cream sauce
Caprese Napoleon
"stacked" salad of sliced tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil, drizzled
with a balsamic vinaigrette
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For any dinner party with a mix of people, consider doing it tapas
style. The choices don't have to be Spanish in style, but can revolve around just about any cuisine: Mexican, Japanese,
Italian or even Cajun!
