I (finally) picked some ripe tomatoes from the garden this year. For those not from the northwest....we have had a cool, long, wet spring and winter. Last weekend we finally had 80+ (F) temps. This is the product. The good news...they are crisp, sweet and VERY tasty. They will be on the menu tonight along with leftovers from the family gathering yesterday.
We had hamburgers from local beef from our favorite LOCAL meat market (Green River Valley Meats). The ground beef is awesome! They use tri-tip and it is lean, tasty and juicy. Along with sourdough rolls for buns and home-made mayo that I turned into my own "secret sauce", fun!
I also poached some chicken breasts for those who did not want beef. Sous vide! What's that? No, I do not have a special tool for my kitchen...I use a gallon freezer zip-lock bag. Marinade the breasts for about 30-60 min. LEAVE them in the bag....make sure all the air is out. Get a large pot of water. Put the bag with the chicken in the water. Bring the water up to 150 degrees - turn OFF the heat, put the lid on the pot. Leave the pot alone for about 45 min. The chicken is DONE and very moist! NOW you can put it on the grill to sear and char the edges. Sooooo simple and very moist.
Sarah made a beautiful pesto bow-tie pasta salad. (she left the left-overs here!). ON the menu tonight. Yuuuumm! Add a green salad, my own balsamic dressing .
The finale.....a scratch red velvet cake frosted with bourbon-butter creame frosting.....everyone was almost comatose by the time they went home.
Did I get pictures? NO (rats!)  Too busy.
I LOVE cooking for people!