Saturday - Sunday Food Overload; A Recipe

While I was in Spain and Italy for two weeks, I ate constantly and in large quantities. I don't regret that one bit as that's an important and fun part of the experience of traveling. However, at home I have a very regimented diet that teeters on boring: big breakfast, medium size lunch, very little for dinner, sometimes just a yogurt. I try to be Miss Food Pyramid and succeed much of the time. That being said when I suddenly started eating rich and unusual foods it appeared on my waistline almost instantly. "No matter", I thought, "when I get back home I'll just return to my little boring routine and the pounds will just drop away!" That was happening until this weekend (and we'll just forget about that dinner at Jerusalem last week - that was a tactical yet delightful dieting error anyone could have made). I took a slight detour in my return to food vanillaville due to Father's Day and my family being in town all weekend.

My sister and her husband and boys love to go to the Rendezvous when they come in town. There are many reasons why this place in particular is a mandatory stop for them. I rarely go to the Rendezvous myself though it's just a stone's throw from my front door. That may be about to change. Last night, I noticed lamb riblets on the menu. I ordered them and was surprised to be presented with a large plate of moist, meaty and very tasty ribs. The word "riblet" made me think of small little chunky ribs. Not so, as you can see from the photo above I had to bring half of them back home. They are so good. So, so, very, very good.

That brings us to today's Father's Day lunch which was over the top. I won't get into every last thing I made but want to share a recipe for the dessert. This was the first time I had made it and it's easy and delicious, especially if you like figs:

Fig and Raspberry Clafouti

1lb figs, halved through the stem end
1 cup raspberries
1/4 cup whole almonds
2 tablespooons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
6 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon framboise
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat over to 400°. Arrange the figs, cut side up, and the raspberries in a prepared baking dish. In a blender or food processor, process the almonds and flour until fine. Add the milk, 4 tbsp of sugar, eggs, framboise and salt. Process until well mixed. Pour the mixture over the fruit, dot with butter and sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp of sugar on top. Bake for 30-35 minutes and serve hot. I served mine with vanilla ice cream.

figs and raspberries before the batter and baking process


I also grilled some corn and thought they looked pretty sitting on the counter top before they headed off to their fiery fate: