My honey is back. Thank you guys for bearing with me as I got a little melancholy. It was a long time away , but the man has to do what he has to do in regards to his job. Certain Someone flew in last Monday and our first meal was his favorite . Harold’s fried Chicken. He was going through withdrawals and I couldn’t blame him. Plus I was to tired to cook. Tuesday he took me to the place where we met and fell and love. Le Sardine. This little gem of a restaurant has a prix fixe for $25 every Tuesday for 3 full size courses. I knew he was the man for me when I saw him order and devour a lamb shank 2 1/2 years ago. Last Tuesday I was more adventurous and started with blood sausage and caramelised apples. So good. Open your minds people. I then had Maigret of duck with lentils, and Grand Mariner souffle with Strawberry coulis. Certain Someone had a braised oxtails and gnocchi to start, steak,and the creme brulee. It was nice to unwind finally and relax over dinner.

With my man back I needed to get shopping. CS’s starter was so small , I got to thinking of the last time I made oxtails. Its was the first meal I made for him. Slow cooked while I was work. I took Thursday off to prepare for a house guest of ours this weekend and picked up some oxtails. I slow cooked them in my Le Creuset Dutch oven with some bay leaf, canned tomatoes, mushrooms, frozen beet greens, leeks, and leftover frozen cauliflower puree I had. Just throwing in tons of produce.The cauliflower puree soaked up the liquid and made a nice thickened low carb sauce. I served this with saffron rice. Homey and good.It doesnt look like much , but it was delish.
We still have some leftovers.

Fridays fare was more American leading up to the holiday weekend. Hot wings. I used Franks Hot sauce . I was rushed and they didn’t come out as crispy as I liked, but nevertheless good.

With our Swedish house guest we went out to dinner most of the time. Fogo De Chao ( I can never eat my share of meat there, its a mans place), deep dish Chicago Pizza at Lou Malnati’s, drinks at Sushi Samba.
And today this late lunch/ dinner waiting for him when returned form the golf course. A summer vegetable medley I whipped up with my mandolin of yellow squash, sliced Brussels sprouts, chopped tomatoes, herbs, and a splash of rice vinegar slowly sauteed. The ribs were slow cooked after a dry rub with Penzeys BBQ 3000( a gift from a friend) my own rub of pulverized bay leaf and cumin seeds( I remember Peter writing of ground Bay Leaf and decided to try it myself), pan wrapped and sealed in foil with a little water, and slow cooked for about 3-4 hours. Then I took the foil off when I judged the meat to be tender enough and brushed with the excellent Country Bobs sauce. Meaty and tender.

Writing this I realize we ate very good this week. But its a special week. The return of Certain Someone, a long holiday weekend, and showing our friend some of Chicago. I got my mojo back.