Dog Parks and a $500 Dinner

The day began like most other Saturdays.  We lurched around the Fred Meyer, along with the rest of the population.  It was crowded!  It causes you to hate people even more.  And, no Mom...I met no one at the store.  In case you were curious.  Ugh.  But, if we were going to be eating tonight I had no choice.  We then proceeded onto our Dog Park Crawl.  E.V. only lasts at each park a short time and that depends upon the noise level and amount of dogs.  She is so sensitive...so once a car backfires, a child screams, a dog barks or a person yells, she's back to the car and we move on.

We made it to three of them today, ending our Dog Park Crawl at Gabriel Park.  That place is her least favorite, as it is the most crowded.  To be honest, I only go there to see if we can pick up a cute little skater boy that is not wearing skinny jeans.  Don't worry...I check ID's.  18 and older is my motto!  Hahahaha.  No worries.  There were none.  Disappointed, we headed back home.  E.V. was exhausted from the activities.

"Oh, Mama...I am sooooo tired!"

After she rested up, we headed up to the Dog Park right down the block.  There is a very nice woman who rides a Little Rascal Scooter and hangs out at the dog park smoking American Spirit menthol cigarettes and giving out treats to the dogs.  She is super nice, super talkative.  I can tell you she fell in the rain getting milk, thus the knee injury warranting the scooter, and her favorite color is purple.  Anyway she is the ring leader, so to speak, of the Dog Park People.  You want to know what's going on, she knows it all.  This is not an exaggeration.  E.V. loves her...it's the treats.  Well, she scooted by today, not stopping...I think she was scootering her way to 7-11 for more American Spirits.  E.V. went crazy and couldn't understand why she wasn't stopping.  We had to chase her down, but we lost her on the corner of Dolph ant 30th.  E.V. was a tad bit sad and worn out.

"Awww, shucks Mama!  I really wanted a treat!"

Eventually she recovered from the disappointment and we headed home to make some food.

I will reveal the menu prior to revealing the process, and I will mention it was a night of tears and regret.  You wouldn't think cooking would involve such things however you aren't in this apartment...and I'm sure you're glad that you are not.  Talk about a walking disaster..yes, I am...a walking disaster.

I made a steak with roquefort sauce, potatoes lyonnaise and roasted brussels sprouts with balsamic.  Sounds rather care-free doesn't it?  Well...we'll see.

I wanted to make everything up earlier because it wasn't sunny and my daylight hours were minimal, so I began with the potatoes lyonnaise.  It's French.  I received, as a Christmas gift last year, an awesome French cookbook..and found this recipe.  Of course, my photos of said dish are not nearly as attractive as the book....but that is to be expected.  It's sort of like reading the book and then watching the movie.  The book is always better.  I am validating that statement this evening.

You begin by caramelizing thinly sliced onions in a pan.  If you're me, you will also thinly slice the heck out of your index finger.  Thank you, Hello Kitty band-aids!   I chose the Le Creuset in which to cook.!  Who wouldn't??  Oh, and if you have onion goggles, now is the time to whip them out.  They will be helpful.  Unless you want to cry.  I just cried.  No need to be sad :-)  And I did stink up the entire hallway of the apartment complex.  If the neighbors did not hate me for playing Oh L'Amour for the past 6 hours....they do now...trust me!

Aren't they cute on my super-special plate???

You then proceed to cook the thinly sliced potatoes.  I was too afraid to break out the mandoline for this...and really am short on band-aids at this point.  Eventually this will all come together.  Just trust me!

Taaaa-dah....here are the $500 Potatoes!

Allow me to explain...  When I photograph the food, I use my coffee table.  When a pan is hot I use one or two of the coasters.  I had carried this into the living room to take the photo above, but the coasters weren't out.  So, I placed the pan on the carpet to get all ready.  Who would have guessed that a super-hot pan would melt the carpeting.  Yep.  I am a complete IDIOT.  AND I melted the carpeting.  There goes my security deposit.  And to make things even worse, if that is possible....carpet bits are stuck to the bottom of my most favorite pan AND I have a huge melted ring in the middle of the living room.  It's not even in a place where I could set out a potted plant or knick-knack.  It is in the worst possible place.  So, lesson learned...do NOT put hot pans on carpeting.  Who knew?!?!?!

"Ouch, Mama...what are we going to do with a big ring in the middle of the floor??  I can't even look!"

After the drama, I was actually able to complete the dish and it was yummy!  NOT a date dish.  The onions and such.   E.V. doesn't care and I have no plans on kissing anyone, so I took the plunge and enjoyed. 

The Perfect Side!

We do not want to neglect the vegetable portion of tonight's meal.  I love vegetables.  I really, really do.  Brussels sprouts are the bomb!

As the main course I made a steak.  I was feeling the need for some steak and it is so great.  I could never be a vegetarian...although I have tried!  Pan seared and topped with a Roquefort sauce.

So here is the final meal...  Expensive and such due only to human stupidity.

Thanks, as always for joining us.  We're off to be super-cool cats in front of our huge television, where we will paint toe-nails and drool over Vincent Chase.  It's a rough life, but I'm all about sacrifices!  Hahahahaha.  Enjoy!