The Pork Boys Do Summer

Some recent dinners chez nous.  This is more for the convenience of M.P. and myself to show our relations online, but you all can look too, if you want.  All the food was made from scratch by M.P., except as noted.  Click on any pic to enlarge.

Above and below, our 4th of July dinner.  Note the table runner and "firecrackers" carefully assembled from paper napkins for a festive flair.  The main course was sausage dogs covered with chili, chopped onions, mayo, and grated cheese.  Sides were French fries, onion rings, fiesta corn, and a bit of guacamole with some new little crackers, Ritz Crisp & Thins - very tasty, very nice.

And a 4th of July cake, too - chocolate, maybe - I think:

Another time, M.P. made a delicious bowl of 7-layer dip:

And yet another time, it was ham-and-cheese crepes for dinner, with cheesy toast and broccoli a la polonaise (i.e., topped with breadcrumbs and grated egg):

Continued after the jump--

One weekend, M.P. was feeling especially adventuresome, so after much fastidious labor he produced this beautiful Beef Wellington (essentially, roast beef and gravy encased in pastry):

Sides were an uncooperative vegetable souffle, some experimental dinner rolls striped with poppy seeds, and twice-baked potato halves topped with crumbled bacon and cheese:

Above, a slice of Beef Wellington, a dinner roll, some sad souffle, and a potato half.  Below, dessert was shortbread cookies with brown sugar topping and vanilla ice cream with store-bought caramel sauce:

One day we looked out the kitchen door to discover that a visitor was setting up her own culinary establishment between the strawberry plant and the lemon tree.  And just look what a wonderful web Miss Charlotte wove!  Really a masterpiece of reticulation - click to enlarge.  Alas, we awoke one day last week to discover both Charlotte and her web had vanished into thin air!  M.P. thinks she decamped for a maternity ward.  I hope she is happy, wherever she is.

Above and below, lovely two-tone roses from the sale bucket at the grocery store for M.P.'s birthday.

M.P. cooked his own birthday dinner the Sunday before the actual date.  It was one of his favorite meals:  deep-fried steak fingers (made from ground beef, but so cleverly compounded by M.P. that you wouldn't know it wasn't steak); mashed potatoes and luscious cream gravy; square-cut Schoolhouse Rolls; barbecued Ranch Beans; and for just a touch of elegance, steamed asparagus.  And a baked stuffed onion in the center, I think.

Dessert was one of the Pork Boys' especial favorites:  lemon meringue pie, cool, sweet, and tangy.

On the evening of his actual birthday, I splurged a little and surprised him with a rare Domino's pizza with the ham and pineapple topping that we both love.  Also a couple of their delightful Lava Crunch Cakes, warm and gooey (not pictured).

Another Sunday dinner featured what M.P. called Cajun Roast Chicken with chicken-liver stuffing:

Also a big pan of good old mac and cheese, above, and garlic-Parmesan bread, below - but this time, M.P. experimented by dipping the slices in milk before toasting, which made them turn out fabulously soft and scrumptious.

The assemblage of all the above:

And for last Sunday's dinner, the table was decorated with lovely maroon and gold mums - the latter from our garden.  The napkins are in matching colors, of course.

Notice how much sharper these pictures are, being taken with M.P.'s new teleophone, a gift from his daughter.  Alas, we were so excited over the phone and flowers, we forgot to take any pics of our dinner, which included beef tips and gravy over egg noodles, and creamed spinach.  But we did get a snap of the piece de resistance:  Tiramisu!

(I'm not at liberty to tell you M.P.'s secret recipe - I can only say it involves something nobody doesn't like.)

A most delightful end to any good dinner.  And there I must stop, wishing all my truckbuddies good friends, good cheer, and toujours bon appetit!

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