Strawberry Cake

Some of the ladies at work were celebrating birthdays and they asked me to make a cake. The majority vote was strawberry. I made the cake, but had to leave extra early to go to Booneville for a Check Solutions installation. I left crystal clear instructions with Hope to take a picture of the cake. She made a movie. :-( The good news is that everyone seemed to enjoy it.

The "White Meal"

The Beatles had their "White Album", so equally artistic was Heather's "White Dinner". I had picked up some tilapia fillets at Kroger on the way home. We had some white asparagus from Fresh Market. She pan fried the tilapia and topped it with a classic white sauce with capers. She roasted the asparagus and topped it with white truffle oil. The rissotto had a reduction of leeks (the white parts only) and white wine. Each of the items had a little green shining through. More importantly, Tanner loved it. Go figure....

The Burwell limoncella smiles

After dinner, we enjoyed Boppa's concotion of limoncella. He started it in March. It was worth the effort. Chance was kind enough to take this photo. Maybe we should leave that kind of work to Brian. (:{)

Halibut buerre blanc with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus

The Hull's were coming to Mimi and Boppa's for a post birthday bash meal. Boppa, Heather and I ran out to Fresh Market to find some some chow. After MUCH indecision, we selected some halibut filets. Mimi made an awesome salad of fresh mixed greens, blue cheese, red onion, candied pecans, and a balsamic vinaigrette. It was incredible. She also made the garlic mashed potatoes. When we were discussing what to make, her only comment was that those had to be included. That made a nice bed for the halibut fillets that I had lightly seasoned with salt and pepper then "basted" in a skillet of butter and wine. I cooked the top of the fish by taking the hot mixture and pouring over the top. Then I deglazed the pan with more wine and added fresh dill, cayenne, and some capers. I finished the sauce with more butter, then topped the fish. Boppa had roasted some asparagus with port vinegar and seasonings. All 6 plates were cleaned. Once we had cleaned up a little, we enjoyed Boppa's handmade limoncella. More on that later....

Jake turns 2!

Jake Hull turned 2 last week. We went down to celebrate with this beautiful young man. Hollie had a nice spread at Sal and Mookies. Mimi made this amazing cake. It was fun. State took a beating in Atlanta, but for some reason Jake didn't care. He'll learn.....

Minestrone

This is another one of Heather's ideas. Last Thursday night, it cooked FOREVER. This is a very rich soup that was quite earthy with large chuncks of mushrooms. She sprinkled the top with some parmesan cheese. It was really good.

Veal Chops with easy gratin and butter beans

I put some seasoned veal chops in the grill pan, made a quick gratin, and opened a can of butter beans. Super simple = super good. I love veal. What a way to spend a Thursday night.