A weekend on the lake

It's a pretty sweet deal to have friends with a house on the lake. A great house, great food, great wine, and boat rides!

Last weekend, we headed up to the lake house. The planning for meals always seems to turn out differently so with this one, I had one breakfast and then some sauces for dinner. I like keeping my contribution small over several meals to keep the stress down.

The first night we were there (excluding the night we all arrived), we were having steak frites. For my part, I did the sauces for the steak. I did my classic horseradish cream -- with grated fresh horseradish -- which I think could have been better if it was less grated and more zested or minced. Perhaps I should put that into the food processor.

Then I did chimichurris. I may have mentioned that my normal chimichurri is equal parts cilantro, basil, and parsley with red onion, red wine vinegar, shallot, and olive oil. The balance of the herbs is very important and this is a solid sauce. I have no idea where I found the recipe but it's been standard in our house for years.

But then since we have Seven Fires, I decided to look up his recipe, and he does the classic that the gauchos eat, except with fresh herbs. So that's with parsley and oregano (which I have been ruthlessly raiding my plant by the front door for) plus garlic, a salt slurry, olive oil, and crushed red pepper. In fact, too much red pepper for us. Last time, it was spiiii-cy and still even after a couple days. So I went with half the pepper this time and let it meld for several hours. It turned out pretty well.

Delicious dinner. We had a great grilled tenderloin (from Costco!) with fries fried in duck fat (does it get any better?) plus a salad and my sauces. Overall, the choice for which chimichurri was for my normal one. Everyone seemed to like the basil in it. Some mentioned that maybe I could mix the two, which I think would end up adding oregano and a little red pepper to mix. I might try that out next time, keeping some of the original batch just in case it doesn't work out.

We went to a farmers market too where I got some gourds for halloween and some fresh habaneros so I mixed up a batch of habanero sauce for the boys.

The next morning, I made breakfast, and it really took much longer than I would have expected. I got the potatoes, onions, and chorizo going in the cast iron skillet pretty quickly. Then I cut up all the accoutrements for the meal like onions, tomatoes, cilantro, etc. (I also did some eggs and both queso fresca and cotija cheeses for toppings.) Then I mixed the masas for tortillas, flattened them, and toasted them. They turned out pretty thick which I'm not sure if I can blame on the fact that the counter is taller than I'm used to. But they were thick and a little blond. I only made one batch, so there was a lot of pile eating of just fillings. It turned out pretty well!

On Saturday, we went into town and did some shopping. We happened upon a little arty metal-working shop with a lot of whimsical metal sculptures. I ended up buying this little goat, which I think it pretty damn cute! It doesn't have a formal home yet so for now, it's standing next to the bathroom door downstairs. Josh says that it always makes him think it's a cat. But where else to put it?

Nancy and I stopped over at Hickory Flat Pottery and I picked up several pieces. I got several small plates and small bowls to use for small sauces and toppings for like when I make tacos. I got a little pot (which came with its own whisk) to use for sauces. And then a colander with a catch dish for washed fruit. I've always been nervous about having "precious" pieces that I always worry about, but what's the point in not having pretty things?