Sunday Supper: Saturday Night Special

Well it is only Saturday but we have a special night in store. Our friend Rindy's birthday was last Sunday and we were all out of town so could not celebrate. The plan was to have a belated party tonight, the last day of April. And since it was Rindy's birthday she picked the menu:

Johnny Yoga Salad
Grilled Margarita Shrimp
Grilled Flank Steak
Rice Pilaf
Lemon Bars

An excellent menu choice! Plus Johnny makes the 'Best Ever' bloody mary mix so of course we had to start the night with a tasty bloody.

For appetizers we had roasted shrimp cocktail, homemade cocktail sauce and blanched green beans with a spicy red pepper Greek yogurt dip. All very tasty!

On to the main menu.

Johnny's baby spinach asian salad

Ingredients:

baby spinach

feta cheese

roasted almonds

mandarin oranges

toasted sesame dressing

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and toss. Add dressing to taste.

grilled margarita shrimp

(courtesy of allrecipes.com)

ingredients

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons tequila
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
1.Combine the shrimp, garlic, lime juice, olive oil, tequila,

cilantro, red pepper, and salt in a bowl; toss to combine;

refrigerate 30 minutes.
2.Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil grate.

Drain the marinade from the shrimp and discard; thread the shrimp on the skewers.
3.Cook on preheated grill until the shrimp turn pink, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

grilled flank steak

2 lbs flank steak

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 can beer

cayenne pepper to taste

cilantro

salt

pepper

directions

Combine all ingredients in a large Ziploc bag. Marinate for 3 hours or over night. Grill over high heat for 6 minutes a side for medium rare. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Rice Pilaf -
This recipe comes from our friend tmk - the Savory Gourmet - you can find this recipe as well as many other tasty treats! Thanks tmk!
http://savorygourmet.blogspot.com/

Brown Basmati Rice Pilaf
adapted from Whole Foods
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 c. diced celery
1/2 c. diced shallots
1 c. brown basmati rice (washed & drained)
2 c. chicken broth
sea salt (to taste)
fresh ground pepper
Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add celery and shallots and saute for one minute. Add the rice and saute for another two minutes. Add broth, salt, pepper and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 40-45 minutes until broth absorbed.

lemon bars
( this comes from my mother-in-law who cut this out of a Sunday paper many years ago and has used this recipe ever since - thanks Mary!)

for the crust:
1/2 lb butter, room temp
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour

for lemon filling:

6 eggs, room temp

2 Tbs lemon zest

1 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup flour

powdered sugar, for dusting

directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray 9 x 13 inch pan.

To make crust: Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy using an electric mixer, for at least 5 minutes. On low speed, work the flour into the butter mixture until just mixed. Press dough into the prepared pan. Chill.

Bake crust until lightly browned, 15 - 20 minutes.

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and flour. Pour over crust, bake an additional 30-35 minutes, until filling is set. Let cool, dust with powdered sugar, cut and serve.