R&R and April Showers

Before springs craziness set in, I escaped the cold and snow to sunny Arizona for a little R&R. The 80° weather that greeted me was a warm welcome, as well as the “out door” grilling. We are year around grillers at the ranch, but this winters sub zero temperatures kept us in the kitchen.

My sister Susan owns a restaurant called, “The Gilbert House”. It is just a few blocks from her home, which is very handy for visitors. Open for breakfast and lunch 7 days a week, with delicious home-style meals prepared whenever one was hungry, including a fantastic Wild Idea Buffalo Burger. No cleanup required and they also provided an occasional poolside delivery. Pretty nice – huh! All this came with one small pay back, to be the guest chef for their once a month “evening date night”. After 5 days of lounging in the sun and reading, I was ready for a little hard work. But, cooking with my sisters is so much fun, it takes the hard out of work. We offered a delicious selection of entree’s; I prepared Walleye Cakes with Polenta Fritters and Grilled Wild Idea Buffalo Hanger Steak with Green Garlic Butter & Celery Root Puree (this months recipe). My sister created a lovely pasta dish, a fantastic salad, plus a selection of homemade pie’s. If you happened to eat at the Gilbert House that night, you were treated to some of the best food in the valley. So thank you sister Susan – for everything – I had a fabulous time.

I returned home via Casper Wyoming, as we were having another snow storm and the plane couldn’t land due to the severe snow and wind. A small inconvenience in a pretty good life. It snowed off and on for a few days. By weeks end the snow was gone and our first baby buffalo calf was born! The momma buffalo allowed me to get pretty close for this photo. What a treat!

The storm clouds rolled in on Sunday and even with our significant snow fall, the prairie is always in need of “April Showers”. This shower, like so many thunderheads – are more show than go, which worked out well, as I was hosting a baby shower at the ranch for daughter Jilian.

The rain cleared away as the baby shower began,  complete with double rainbows, needed gifts, and good friends who offered sage advice, humor, and lots of laughs.

There were “farm themed” baby decorations with chicks, ducks and lambs. Of course we had delicious food, including; Buffalo Carpaccio, Blue Cheese Shortbread, Citrus Salad, Pasta Salad, Orange Chicken, and Lemon Curd Pavlova’s.

This will be the first Grandchild for both Jilian and Colton’s families. Parents and Grandparents are all very excited. I’m looking forward to all of it’s gifts ; the smell of its hair, the grip of its hand, and the many, many lessons it will teach me. We are going to have so much fun!

After we had worn out the expecting mother, a switch to more comfortable clothes was necessary. Nice basketball belly Jilian, you are just adorable! Not only adorable, but you and Colton will be terrific parents!  Lucky baby Jones, lucky you.

Spring is such a magical time of year, but also very hectic, with so much to do, in so little time. So, don’t forget to stop and appreciate the little things in life! I know we will be doing plenty of that in the months to come. Happy spring everyone!

Grilled Hanger Steaks with Green Garlic Butter

Ingredients:

• 1 – 1 lb. Hanger Steak
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 sticks salted butter
• 4 green onions, chopped green partly only
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic
• ½ tablespoon black pepper

Preparation:

1)   Rinse Hanger Steak and pat dry. Using a sharp filet knife run knife along one side of the sinew that runs down the center, creating two filets. Remove sinew from filet that it remains attached to with knife.
2)   Rub steaks generously with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cover and allow to rest at room temperature for 2 hours.
3)   For Green Garlic Butter; melt 1 stick butter in pan and add chopped green onions. Allow to heat through for a few minutes.
4)   Transfer butter to a blender and process until smooth. Place butter in dish and allow to chill, this will allow solids to separate to the bottom and butter to settle on the top.
5)   Remove garlic butter from refrigerator and separate solids from butter by slicing through with a knife.
6)   Heat grill to high heat, 500° +. Insure grill grates are clean and oiled.
7)   Place Hanger steaks on grill and sear for 3 minutes each side, closing grill lid during cooking time. Transfer grilled meat to plate and cover with foil allowing too rest for 5 minutes before serving. Cut into desired pieces.

Serve with Green Garlic Butter (warmed or room temperature) and *Celery Root Puree. *Recipe included with purchase. Leftover Green Garlic Butter will keep for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.