350/365 - Jim - Amuse-bouche

( f/4.5 50mm 1/125 sec ISO 200 Nikon D300 )

I made a dinner for my mother for her birthday today. Her birthday was actually on the 6th, but I was in Canada, so I missed it. This is an amuse-bouche, which translates to "mouth amuser". It is a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre. I marinated shrimp in olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme. Then boiled red potatoes until they were soft. Sliced them into two and scooped out the guts. Then filled them with a mixture of cream cheesem, sour cream, salt, pepper, and more thyme. I dried off the shrimp with a paper towel and put them on the potato. Voilà! It tasted pretty good too. I paired it with a filet mignon that I got from Bona Terra. If you haven't eaten there and are in the Pittsburgh area, I highly recommend you go.

181/365 - Jim - Bacon Wrapped Fillet

( f/8 27mm 1/125 sec ISO 200 Nikon D300 )

My wife got some fillets for dinner for me to cook. I didn't remember until about 4:30pm when I asked her what was for dinner. I was kindly reminded and told about a smashed red potato recipe that was on her computer. I went to take a look and immediately got started on the potatoes. I don't cook very often, but when I do it is usually something special. Once the potatoes were on the stove, I got the steaks out and cut all the fat off the outside that I could and salt and peppered them. Then I put bacon in the microwave for a minute to get it partially cooked and flat. The steak went onto a pan with butter in it to brown the outside. Then I wrapped the bacon on it with toothpicks and continued to cook with more butter and the lid on the pan. Once the potatoes were done I drained and added the minced sautéed garlic with butter and milk, and then smashed them. The steaks only cooked for about 3 or 4 minutes on each side and then they were removed to rest and get photographed. I took several shots very quickly so I could go eat it. When I got upstairs I added some crumbled blue cheese to the steak because it's so good! The last few steaks I have cooked were overdone, but this one was perfect medium to medium rare, just like I like it. Best meal I've had in a while, even though it took about an hour to make and only 10 minutes to eat.