What a couple of weeks...

I know it has been nearly two weeks since I have updated. My apologies. It's been very busy with work and I have barely had the time to cook, much less write about cooking. But I have some successes and failures from the week that I thought it would be helpful to share. I'm still honing the recipes, so expect some new recipe posts in the next couple of days.

Monday
I invited a close friend over. I hadn't seen her since June, and since she works so close it just made sense that we'd get together after we finished our busy day on Capitol Hill. Quite unexpectedly, I was assigned a task that would have me out until right before I expected her over, but I thought I'd make it just in time. Well, little did I realize that she would be hanging outside of my house for half an hour or more while I rushed home. Adding to the pressure cooker that was my day, a few of my friends happened to be available for dinner, so I said, "the more, the merrier!" What's the point in having 4 lbs of pork tenderloin if there's no one there to eat it, right?

So I planned the menu in my head... coucous is quick (see a few posts ago) and I'd  thawed out the pork. A pan sauce takes 10 minutes, max, with good chicken stock and some minced garlic. Whew! I had a plan. I barreled through the back door of my house (greeting one of my guests as I did so) and discovered that my delightful partner had not taken out the trash, as I assumed he had. My house smelled like two pugs (who desperately needed to go out) and garbage. Lovely for a dinner party.

I immediately clean up the gifts that had been left by my furry children, preheat the oven, and pour myself a heavy glass of chardonnay. It had de-chilled during my friend's long wait, so I, in the classiest fashion, added an ice cube. Into the oven I throw the tenderloin...

Half an hour later, I test it with a meat thermometer. It registered 52 degrees. Thawed on the outside, frozen in the middle. Perfect. I won't bore you with the gory details of how I fixed it, but it all worked out. Within 45 minutes of walking through the door, I served dinner. Here are my friends at the end, it really was a proud moment for me, especially considering that my friend Alex declared me to be in "American Psycho" mode before I was able to get into the cooking groove.

Wednesday
I had a better game plan for Wednesday.  Pork Milanese with sauteed spinach and angel hair pasta. Recipe to follow next week, I promise. Maybe this weekend, if I get some time.

Thursday
My other extra-curricular hobby is being an unabashed Francophile. My friend Paul shares my foodie-Francophile habits so we've been planning to cook together for a few weeks and finally hammered down a time and menu. I provided meat and friends and he brought veggies and wine. Unexpected success. The steaks were prepared on the stovetop grill with an Italian-inspired homemade rub and the sides Paul cooked up were a perfect pairing. Mashed sweet potatoes and carmelized endives. Recipes with due credit to guest foodie Paul will be forthcoming, as well.

Sorry for the quick and dirty update, but I didn't want anyone to think I'd let AIGT (sounds like "ate," right) slip through the cracks another week.