Whew!

After posting yesterday morning, I went and joined a friend in the Church kitchen to help them cook for a social that night. What I walked into was a pile of groceries completely covering the work area, and a real-life version of “Chopped.” As in what do you make out of all these ingredients that will be tasty, fun, and enjoyed by an unknown number of people? And, no, we had no idea of how many were showing up for dinner so winged amounts and also had to consider special diets as a possibility.

So, we brainstormed a bit even as we started prep. The only two things he had planned were underway (a brisket in the oven and a big pot of borscht he was starting). We bounced ideas off each other and things took off. We actually changed plans on the fly a few times: something you really aren’t supposed to do, but it was just us and we rolled with the improvements.

Along the way we produced the following: a Thai-style chickpea curry, chicken korma, grilled chicken, grilled salmon, grilled thin ribeye steaks, a rosemary and lime ‘stuffed’ sirloin, grilled lime corn on the cob, grilled asparagus, grilled peppers, an amazing ham and potato salad, two huge bowls of green salads, baked potatoes (the ones not used in the potato salad), and of course the borscht and brisket. Pretty sure I’m leaving out a couple of dishes.

Thing is, I can’t really say how much fun it was. My mind hasn’t really worked that way since the lightning strike, but doing it engaged more of the creative side than the logic side. The bouncing of ideas off each other worked, and forced my brain to work in some ways that haven’t gotten a lot of stimulation. Somewhere along the way, I found myself just doing some things I used to know to do first, like mixing up batches of various seasonings: a general purpose ‘steak’ seasoning I like as a base, a mix for the salmon that used both dry spices and fresh minced dill, and some various herbs that were likely to be needed.

Tried something new with the corn (why not!), in that I covered it in lime juice before putting my ‘steak’ seasoning on it. As the ears roasted on the top rack in the grill, I had a stick of butter I would rub over them after turning them for even cooking. I did put a bit of Tajin on three of the ears as they grilled, though you couldn’t tell it by service. Only thing I would do differently is to put more lime juice on for a longer period of time, as I think it worked well flavor-wise.

I’m exhausted, and even hurt a bit, but it was and is so worth it. My friend is crazy in all the right ways, and playing a giant game of “Chopped” with a social event was indeed crazy, and crazy fun. Even better, the food was enjoyed. Two reactions that made me smile were comments from a somewhat picky “customer” who raved about the salmon; and, a little girl just starting in on solid food who loved the ribeye steak.

One trick I did on the salmon was to put pats of butter on top when I put it skin-side down on the grill. As it cooks the butter melts and keeps that top side moist even as it adds nice flavor to go with the dill. The step-by-step is squeeze fresh lemon juice on the fish, generously season with your chosen spices/rub, throw on some extra dill on top of that, and put pats of butter on top. Grill and enjoy.

So, don’t expect much out of me today unless things really blow up. Be safe, be alert, and enjoy the day. I think I’m going to do some voice exercises and practice singing. Other than that, it’s a good day to relax a bit.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.