Cape Cod comes to Denver

So the weather on Monday was decidedly "un-summery"... drizzley and cold and windy - it forced us to rethink our day at the pool and BBQ. So our smarty-pants hostess for the evening decided to embrace the Eastern shore-like weather and host a clam bake instead... She used a Barefoot Contessa recipe as her inspiration - although we used only one kind of clams, and some really good shrimp as our seafood selections, and she added in some califlower florets to the mix as well...
This amazing mix of food, hot and bubbling from the grill we used to cook it, along with some steak, grilled corn, a yummy green salad, and plenty of yummy drinks warmed up the group as we all hunkered down in chunky sweaters under the awning of their highrise to eat... good friends, good food, good wine.... great holiday...

Who knew Cape Cod and Colorado were so close together?

Worth a try...

This recipe over at Erin's Eats for blackened chicken might be just what the doctor ordered to cure The H's condition of "being chickened out" lately... Sounds yum...

Delicious change of plans

Last evening's glorious example of wonderful Denver spring weather (at least early on in the night) had me quickly abandoning my planned grilled goat cheese and tomato sandwich dinner for something even more disliked by The absent-for-dinner H.... Salmon...

Coated in EVOO and lemon pepper, it smelled soooooo good on the grill (see crappy pic above... I was standing over it, snapping pics and "oooing" and "ahhing" like I was a TMZ photog who just found Brit-Brit making out with Prince William or something).

After it came off a nice high-heat grill, (5 minutes on the first side, maybe 3 on the second) I ate it with half a toasted english muffin with REAL butter and a WHOLE can of LaVelle italian tomatoes warmed through with basil and plenty of S & P...
Soooo Goooood.....

When The H is away during dinner, things get decidedly simple... and simple always ends up yielding clean, yummy flavors that I find myelf enjoying more than the most labor-intensive, complex dishes I've made...

What's Cookin' 5/4-5/10

Saturday was The H's 38th birthday... This means he gets to pick whatever he wants, whatever he can think of in his wildest (snicker at The H's culinary taste being wild) dreams and I will cook it for him...
Birthday dinner was last night, and he picked grilled steaks and baked potatoes... easy-peesy and classic (Just like The H).. I am glad he picked it tho, because I was happy to eat a nice rare steak (he prefers medium-rare... there are two things I am REALLY glad I learned in culinary school - making sauces, and how to tell how done a steak is by touch.. )

The H has meetings a couple evenings this week - which for me either means that I cook up a yummy storm using all the things he doesn't care for, or that I end up indulging a burger or nacho craving from a favorite take out joint... (I am aiming to stick with the first option this week)

So, Menu for this week:

Sun - Grilled Strips with garlic butter, baked potatoes (with all the trimmings)

Monday - Green salad with balsmic and blue cheese, Grilled chicken with herbs de Provence

Tuesday - (just me) Grilled goat cheese and tomato sammie

Wed - (just me) fruit and cheese plate... grilled veggies

Thursday - Open-faced turkey sandwhiches, sage gravy, mashed potatoes

Weekend night at home - Grilled Pizza or Cubano sandwiches


Have a yummy week!