Cory & Richards Long Weekend Culinary Feast

 

Sharing special times with good friends is one life's greatest pleasures. Invited for a wonderful long weekend at 'Hilltop', our friends new custom built home set amid the bucolic splendour of southwestern Ontario and overlooking acres of idyllic farmland, we spent four glorious days celebrating being together for the first time in almost a year. With our shared passion for cooking, we each addded to the weekends feast including a delicious Sunday dinner created by Cory and Richard. Beginning with Caprese Skewers, a lovely appetizer of miniature balls of mozzarella skewered with sweet basil leaves and juicy grape tomatoes served with a tangy-sweet balsamic reduction, which was followed by Cory's grilled locally farm raised ribeye steaks which were carved and garnished with a pungent chimichurri sauce. With fresh rhubarb freshly picked from his Mom's garden earlier in the day, Cory made his yummy Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp with a dollop of iced cream for dessert. Meals shared are memories made, and we certainly made lots of great memories this past long weekend.

Grilled steaks with chimichurri sauce

Sautéed zucchini with garlic and grated parmesan cheese

Sensational Steak Dinner with green salad and sautéed zucchini 

Rhubarb and Strawberry Crisp with Vanilla Iced Cream made with handpicked rhubarb 

from Corys Mom's garden

Chimichurri Sauce

Serves 6-8

Recipe courtesy of America's Test Kitchen

1/4 cup hot water

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/3 cups loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves

2/3 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves

2 tbsp minced garlic 

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/ 2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Combine hot water, oregano, and salt in small bowl and let stand 5 minutes to soften the oregano. Pulse parsley, cilantro, garlic, and red pepper flakes in food processor until coarsely chopped, about ten 1-second pulses. Add water mixture and vinegar and pulse briefly to combine. Transfer mixture to medium bowl and slowly whisk in oil until incorporated and mixture is emulsified. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature at least 1 hour. If preparing the sauce in advance, refrigerate and bring to room temperature before using. This sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance.