My sister is an instigator in the best possible way. She came up with the idea that we meet in Knoxville to surprise our mom for Mother's Day, where our parents recently "down-sized" to a condo with this lovely courtyard. Then she surprised even me by bringing along her son, who just finished his first year in college.
We managed to pull off the surprise, with dinner in tow. My sister brought "Miami Rolls" from one of her favorite local meat markets in Iowa - pork tenderloin, wrapped in flank steak, wrapped in bacon, which we threw on the grill.
I brought Appleton twice-baked potatoes and this salad I concocted of marinated asparagus, haricots vers, roasted red peppers, feta, kalamata olives, and kumquats.
For dessert, I brought chocolate mousse cups (too bad my local bakery was out of the ones with the swirly cups), and my sister brought Mom this delectable box of chocolates from a place in Iowa City I most definitely have to check out the next time I visit her.
We managed to pull off our surprise dinner Saturday night without Mom having to lift much of a finger. But as you can tell in the upper right-hand corner of that picture, there are still a few boxes my parents are dealing with as they settle into their new place. On Sunday, my nephew made short work of many of them, helping immeasurably inside, in the garage, in the attic, climbing ladders, etc. I'll bet you can spot which one he is in this photo.
To my DSS friends, sorry I couldn't participate in the Bakery challenge. But I've checked out your posts - and salivated - even if I'm too short on time to comment. A busy week ahead before I head out for Della Memorial Weekend, but know I'm thinking of you.
May you have a week filled with greenery and good connections with the people who are most important to you.
eggy
6 comments:
Looks like an amazing spread of food. You have a lovely family. Look forward to following you here.
Cheers!
How sweet Eggy! I bet your mom was over the moon!
Eggy, Why the heck are they named Miami Rolls? How were the kumquats in your salad, did you cook them at all? It looks dee lish!
The fam looks nice and the house looks pretty! Be safe in your travels.
I'll eat ANYTHING wrapped in bacon. ANYTHING.
Lazaro, welcome to the Eggplant Kitchen (and occasional road show . . .)!
Dani, completely unexpected visit from two out-of-state kids and a grandkid + help at the new place = happy mom! She had thought it would be a month or two before she'd be able to get her car in the garage, but we got it done in a day.
Diva, no idea where these Iowans came up with the name "Miami Rolls," but they were tasty. Re: the kumquats, thought they worked nicely in the salad. No, I didn't even think of cooking them - should I try that next time? The only conclusion I've come to about them is that I should remove the seeds next time - definitely too big and bitter to want to eat.
Heff, I almost agree with you on the bacon thing, but I probably don't want to know where your mind went with that . . . hehehehehe.
Glad to see Heff is a committed Baconatarian. Excellent family adventure. Not to worry, there will be plenty of DSS to come. That salad looks yummy, even if it didn't have any bacon.
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