Feeding the Texans

I haven't posted for quite a while, since we were caught up in selling a house, buying a house, moving and getting settled. Throw in a few personal issues and adjusting to a new location, and time passed.

Now, however, I'm more settled and I realized I want to preserve some memories again.

This week, Nick (currently in the Army in El Paso repaying them for financing his dental school education) came home with two Texas friends, Jason and Joseph. They are spending the week skiing at the various resorts in the area and are staying with us. Each evening, they come home, fully exercised and hungry and I've been feeding them. Preparing meals for three young men is a bit different from preparing dinner for Bob and me - more food and a motherly interest in making sure they get something balanced and nourishing.

Monday - We had steak sandwiches and cole slaw. Only one of the guys was here, but I brought sandwiches to the airport to feed the others when they arrived later in the evening. Pretty simple meal - rib eye, caramelized onions, peppers on sandwich rolls.

Tuesday - Nick had requested spicy pork tenderloin, so I obliged. The pork is seasoned with chipotle, maple syrup and mustard; grilled until just done - still a little pink inside; served with an incredible roast carrot and avocado salad. I used multi-colored carrots, roasted them with a chili-cumin paste, tossed the avocado and lettuce with a citrus-honey dressing with the carrots included. Sprinkle with some sunflower seeds, and you have a veggie salad that is incredible. It totally disappeared!

Wednesday - Another Nick request was jerk chicken. I use a recipe I've used for years, marinating the bone-in chicken overnight in a habanero-laced sauce with lots of spices and lots of heat. We grilled it and served with a pineapple-papaya salsa and rice. A lot of chicken was consumed since Elisabeth and Sean joined us. Everything gone again!

Thursday - I did bourbon-brown sugar flank steak, with smashed baby potatoes, and a snow-pea-radish braise. There was leftover flank steak, which the guys can make into sandwiches tomorrow to take along on their trip to Mt. Baker.

Friday - The plan is roast chicken with glazed carrots and farro-wild rice with mushrooms and almonds.

Saturday - I think we will skip the meat on Saturday and just have mac and cheese with a couple salads - maybe waldorf and a green garden salad. And Sunday - well, that's up in the air. I don't usually cook on Sundays since there is always food around earlier in the week. I'm thinking it might be good to order some pizza! Not everything has to be healthful all the time.

It has been fun and reminds me of the days when Nick's friends dropped by the house regularly to join us for dinner or just prowl the kitchen for snacks. These guys have been doing their own breakfasts (and doing an excellent job of cleaning up) and eating lunch on the mountain, but they have been ready for dinner each night!