An aperitif, a Negroni. I always forget how much I like Negronis until I make one.
Mise en place
Shrimp stir fry. Onion, garlic, carrots, baby bell, snap peas, bok choy, mushrooms. dried red chiles, hoisin, black bean sauce, sesame seeds. Pickled daikon, radish kimchi and blistered shishitos.
Can’t remember who inspired this (@BeefeaterRocks maybe?) but I made the Isabel Eats sopa de albondigas tonight. Stayed pretty true to the recipe, with a few extra touches. Turned out very good. The meatballs were super tender, i’m sure because of the addition of cooked rice, not unlike breadcrumbs or a panade in other types of meatballs.
with you on the Negronis! I’d have one tonight if i hadn’t already had two glasses of wine earlier, and it’s a school night…
sigh… who the hell have i turned into?? 
i forgot to post last night’s dinner! At my sister’s, we had an aperitivo of Spanish chorizo and anchovy-stuffed olives, with some cheapo CA bubbly, and for dinner I made lamb chops that had marinated all day in olive oil, garlic, lemon/lemon zest, anchovy paste, a touch of smoked paprika and red chili flakes. My sister made America’s Test Kitchen’s “lightened up” version of Robuchon’s oh-so-buttery mashed potatoes - 20 tbs! so freaking good. not at all greasy, just light and silky. I overcooked the chops but the flavor was still good. asparagus with truffle butter and EBTB seasoning. i may have gilded the lily and added a sliver of truffle butter to my taters, too…
those look luscious!
They were! Between the two of us, there wasn’t a scrap left. 
Yes 'twas I who mentioned Isabel Eats. The meatballs are wonderful.
I just want to dive headfirst into that bowl of grilled lamb!
C’mon by - there’s plenty of leftovers 
Oh my, this kind of thing is right in my sweet spot.
Looks so delicious!
Goodness, what a spread! 
Thanks!
It was kinda our last chance to host peeps before we leave for the summer 
Lotsa lamb leftover, sadly no potatoes or tzatziki. I’ll def make tzatziki again tonight, but not the taters.
Argentinian Grill — Skirt Steak, Sausage, Shrimp, Baby Potatoes, Baby Sweet Peppers, Rolls, Chimichurri
Have fun in Berlin. Glad you are getting three months this year instead of the usual two months. Looking forward to seeing all your posts from Germany this summer.
Ho-lee shiite-ballz! What a spread!! 
I am man enough to admit when my menu has been inspired by someone else. @chiel that mixed grill looks so good I decided to make myself one for dinner.
Pork-Turkey Sausage-Shrimp - Steak
Eggplant - Peppers-Onions-Mushrooms
Yellow Rice
Delicious! Hope you enjoyed yours as much as I did mine! Thank you for the inspiration!
Greek Easter dinner - part 2.
Things got hectic yesterday, but everything turned out well, and it was a fun day and evening. Our niece announced her engagement, she was surprised with a ring and proposal just the day before. She brought bubbles, so we toasted and made merry. There was a lot of wine! Anyway, pics as promised, the food plated, and dessert, which was lemon cake, with berries and coconut whipped cream. Niece brought kourambiedes and baklava, but sorry, no pic of those.
