For he satisfies the thirsty
Psalm 107:9
and fills the hungry with good things.
Here we go, the “foodie” post I promised. There is potentially a lot to cover, but I will limit this to two meals, Monday and Tuesday.
Let’s start with Tuesday. It was one of those “long overdue” dinner dates with good friends.
The friendship thing has been difficult since Rebekah retired, because of course we still live here in Wake Forest…. but at the same time we are uber-conscious of our responsibility to keep emotionally distant from our old church.
(The result has been not enough eating with people we still love… and even less golf!)
Tuesday evening, though, we managed to spend a few hours with Gayle and John Akerman over an amazing meal at the Cape Fear Seafood Company.
John is running point on selling my parents’ home and it provided a great excuse to get together and talk about everything other than selling the house.
Plus the food was outstanding.
We started with the fried okra, dusted with parmesan and served with a wonderful sauce. Then both John and Rebekah ordered the classic “Cape Fear Shrimp & Grits” while Gayle and I went for one of the best seafood dishes I have ever had, “Saltimbocca” (swordfish wrapped in prosciutto, served over a bed of sautéed spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms and goat cheese then draped with demi-glace and lemon beurre blanc).
Seriously, folks. I don’t often wax rhapsodic to this extent over a meal, but my Saltimbocca was amazing – so much better than very good.
So thanks to John and Gayle for a wonderful evening together. Great food and great friends is a combination it is hard to beat.
Super-yummy pork chops:
The second part of this post is a rally good recipe for making the most of some super-good pork chops.
First – and I started five hours ahead of time – I marinated the chops in a mixture of buttermilk, garlic, sea-salt, olive oil, soy sauce, and orange juice. The chops were going to be tender to begin with – this just made things even better!
For the jasmine rice, I cooked with chopped celery, a little Vidalia onion, and some golden raisins. Then, a few minutes before it was done, I stirred in some chopped pecans. I have learned to prepare the rice at least thirty minutes early and then turn off the heat and let it just sit there, covered, continuing to increase in goodness and tenderness.
For the vegetables I first sautéed Vidalia onion, then slowly cooked the carrots (fresh, not frozen), and only put in the asparagus after I turned off the heat, a few minutes before serving. This way the asparagus steams, just enough, tender but firm.
So I’m giving myself a pat on the back for this one. Rebekah was pleased too!
Peace, love, and good eating – DEREK
