Our 12th spectacular ‘Tacular was a sizzling, smoky success. Grill marks all around! Kate and Ian bravely threw open their doors (and opened the lids of their BBQs) so we could enjoy…
Margherita Pizzas. Ayako and James made delicious mini grilled pizzas with mozzarella, basil, and sometimes meat (prosciutto methinks). Cut into mini slices, they were the perfect little nibbles to start us off.
Turkey Roulades. OK, I don’t actually know that they were roulades, but there was turkey, and it was rolled up, and had yummy herbs inside, and I think more meat (maybe? can’t quite remember…anyway, Meat in Meat…excellent idea for a future ‘Tacular perhaps? I digress…). Well done hosts! Oh yes, Kate also served up a juicy little salad featuring wee tomatoes she grew all by herself! Not grilled, just yummy.
Shrimp Skewers on Grilled Polenta with a Tropical Salsa. Can you believe Mei grilled the polenta rounds? On her own? Like, as in, had to go to the roof of Jeremy’s condo and turn on the BBQ and everything? No explosion, well done. I believe it was mango that made the salsa tropical. And, continuing on with the theme of ‘cooking with things I grew myself’, the salsa also included some of those fiery peppers Jeremy’s been cultivating on his balcony. Spicy.
Chicken Involtini with Prosciutto and Basil. More rolled meats! Meat in meat! Dan and Sara cranked up the Weber and cooked up these delicious little morsels nestled on top of a homemade tomato sauce. Dan did an excellent job with the plating, recreating Stonehenge – or perhaps Easter Island – with his chicken rolls. Fancy times.
Corn with Paprika. Ladies and gents, for the first ‘Tacular ever, Linder prepared food over a heat source. Bravo Mark! Inspired by his European vacation, he sizzled up grilled corn sprinkled with paprika and salt. Very proud, very proud.
Veggie Skewers. Mark gamely threaded many a skewer with red peppers, mushrooms and red onion. Who doesn’t love grilled veggies? And, food always tastes better when served on sticks. (Wait, perhaps another ‘Tacular theme – Sticktacular! I’m on a roll, it’s going on the list for sure…)
Ping Gai Chicken & Miso Eggplant. These dishes were my contribution to the feast. The chicken was a Laotian recipe from the Queen Mother Café, heavy on the cilantro, served with a sweet and tangy dipping sauce. The miso eggplant was squishy, buttery and sweet. Grilled Asian delights, hooray!
Pineapple, two ways. Allison’s version had a sweet topping (brown sugar?) while Kate’s was unadulterated. Both delicious, especially when enjoyed with vanilla ice cream and/or Kate’s lemon mascarpone cheese. So good.
Flourless Chocolate Birthday Cake. In celebration of Allison’s belated birthday, Ayako baked up an awesome layer cake – so moist and fluffy. Despite my (repeated) suggestions of throwing it on the grill in keeping with our theme, for some reason she chose to ignore me…
Karina, Christian, Jenn and Daniel --- we missed you!
For photo memories, click on the “’Tacular Memories” link on the right of our homepage.
The next ‘Tacular will be Roottacular on Saturday, December 3rd. I'll post a list of officially sanctioned root vegetables in November.
Jenn and Daniel – we’re wondering if you would be up to hosting in your new abode? Let us know!
