A love affair with food.

We love really, really good food with lots of wonderful flavour!  The challenge is to see what new creation we can make and then to share it ...

Last night's menu was a hybrid of a few different sources of inspiration.

Steak wrapped in caramelized cayenne bacon with gorgonzola cheese
Grilled veggie salad with feta
Herbed mashed potatoes broiled with smoked cheddar

Steak


We've used the caramel cayenne bacon in an appie recipe before, and thought why not try it wrapped around a great piece of steak.

4  8 oz thick steaks (we used a london broil and cut it into pieces - the key is to have a steak as thick as the width of the bacon and as round as the length of the bacon)
1 cup red wine
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil - evoo
1 tbs basil
2 tbs worcestershire sauce
1 tbs fresh ground black pepper
1 tbs montreal steak spice
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt

4  pieces of bacon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbs cayenne
8 toothpicks

4 tbs Gorgonzola cheese

Combine red wine, oil, basil, worcestershire, pepper, montreal steak spice, garlic and salt in a ziploc bag and add steak.  Seal, place in the fridge and let marinate for 4 to 6 hours.

Remove steaks, place excess marinate in a bowl for basting.  Sprinkle brown sugar and cayenne on a cookie sheet, blend well and coat the bacon with the sugar mixture.  Using a toothpick, attach one end of the bacon to the side of the steak and wrap it, attach the tail end with a second toothpick.

Preheat a grill to high.  Sear the steaks on both sides, remove and let rest for 5 minutes and reduce the grill heat to med-high.  Place the steaks back on the grill and cook for 5 minutes a side or until desired doneness (we like it rare to med-rare).  Plate the steaks and top with a tablespoon of gorgonzola cheese.

Grilled Veggies

This recipe goes well with lots of grilled foods, and we've used the leftovers to make a chicken alfredo pizza.

1/2 bunch asparagus
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 medium red onion, cut into 1/2 inch rings
1 yellow bell pepper, quartered, seeds and ribs removed
1 red bell pepper, quartered, seeds and ribs removed
1/4 cup evoo
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 pound feta cheese

Dressing

1 medium clove garlic, chopped
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
3 tbs evoo
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat grill to medium

In a large bowl, toss the vegetables with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill the vegetables, turning occasionally, until charred and tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.  Remove to a platter.  Sprinkle with basil and feta.

In a small bowl, mix garlic, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper and drizzle over vegetables.

Potatoes

We discovered these at a restaurant in Marigot Bay and they are by far the best mashed potatoes we've ever had.

6 red potatoes washed & cut into quarters
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup half & half
2 tsp dill
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 oz grated smoked cheddar cheese

Boil potatoes in 1" salted water till done, approx 20 minutes.  Drain water out of the pot, add butter, dill, garlic powder, s&p to the potatoes, then mash, add cream and continue to mash till almost smooth.

Preheat broiler.  Scoop a portion of potatoes onto an ovenproof dinner plate, top potatoes with 1 oz of shredded cheese.  Continue with all four plates and place under the broiler till the cheese melts.

Remove the hot plates, place the steak and top with gorgonzola and add a serving of veg.  Serve with a great wine, we had a Chianti and it paired nicely.
Location: Castries, St Lucia

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