The Grill-Meister and I are both blessed to work in international environments, which fosters great relationships with colleagues from all over the world. Sometimes we are able to lure them to Glover Gardens, such as tonight, when we are having a tiny dinner party with a couple from far across the globe. It is so rewarding to learn about different cultures as we share our own. One of our two guests tonight has never been to Texas, so we’re having a very traditional steak dinner. The menu:
- Tuscany-Texas Goat Cheese Spread for the appetizer
- The Grill-Meister’s charcoal-grilled ribeye steaks
- Rosemary Roasted Potatoes (the first recipe I posted here back when I started sharing stories about food, travel, music and life here in the Glover Gardens Cookbook)
- Steamed broccoli with hollandaise sauce (one of these days I’ll publish my dirty-hack microwave hollandaise recipe, and then you probably won’t respect me as a “real” cook any more)
- Crusty French bread
- Chocolate Orange Pots / Sjokolade og Appelsinformer, a recipe I found in a blog I follow called Recipe Reminiscing (which is really cool because I’ll use oranges we just harvested)
It is mid-morning right now and the table is set, so I’m about to get to work on the dessert. I’m breaking Ina Garten’s (the Barefoot Contessa) rule of never making anything for the first time for a dinner party, but it is early enough in the day that I can do something different if I make a mess of it.

We’re really looking forward to it! And for a look at an entirely different type of international party here at Glover Gardens and a couple of cool wintertime recipes, check out Pot Luck Perfect: In-the-Moment Lentil Soup. We had a houseful of colleagues this time last year and a rollicking good time when everyone brought a dish or drink to share.

I’ll share the results of tonight’s meal, and wish you all a happy Saturday evening.
UPDATE: the tiny dinner party was super-successful, and the dessert was rockin’! Read about it here. And I made a new friend! Read the haiku about that here.
Copyright 2017, Glover Gardens Cookbook
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