Spring is for grilling

Man, I am behind on blogging! But re-living these dishes I prepared a week or more ago is making my mouth water. Especially this one. For one thing, I love any meal where I don't have pots and pans to wash afterward; for another, I love any meal I can share with my honey, especially when he likes it!

So, this Wednesday night dinner-off-the-grill was perfect in every sense. I should say, having nice steak is not super common for me, and mid-week steak is even more rare. But after my taste of filet mignon for one a few weeks ago, I just had to go back for more. Plus, we were celebrating Tim being done with a big presentation at work (perfect excuse to indulge, right?)

On the menu-- grilled filet mignon with rosemary, grilled potatoes with sweet onion, and grilled romaine salad.

1. Steak
While I brought my steaks up to room temperature, I gave them a very simple marinade. I just coated them with olive oil, sea salt and cracked black pepper, and a few bruised sprigs of rosemary. I just wanted them to have the aroma of rosemary.  The grilling was very easy. The grill was pre-heated to Med-High, and I had them on the grill for 8 minutes, turning after four. Once I took them off the grill, I let them rest for 5 minutes or more under a foil tent. Before covering them, I put a pat of butter and a sprig of rosemary on each-- not only did this add more flavor, but when the foil was removed, they looked absolutely gorgeous!
They were perfectly medium, tender, and delicious. Next time I'd grill for about a minute less to get a little more pink inside, but they were very close to perfect.

2. Potatoes
I thinly sliced up 4 B-sized taters and half a sweet Spanish onion in my food processor. I tossed this whole thing with a tablespoon of olive oil and a few shakes of salt and pepper. Then, I wrapped the whole thing up in a foil packet and grilled them for about 30 minutes. This is a fantastic (and my go-to) way to cook potatoes on the grill. The ones on the bottom get crusty and crisp and add so much color and texture to the group. The sweetness of the onions starting to caramelize oozes through the packet and makes everything aromatic and delicious. Plus, there are so many variations available-- switching out onions for garlic, adding herbs, using butter instead of oil, etc. It's always great.

3. Salad
I have always wanted to grill salad, but have always been scared to try. It was surprisingly easy! I just took one washed and dried romaine heart, sliced it in half vertically, and brushed it with olive oil (and salt and pepper). I grilled it cut side down for about 90 seconds, and then plated it grilled side up. I actually grilled it in the same spot that the steaks were so it was extra flavorful. I dressed the romaine with fresh lemon juice and a teeny bit more olive oil (which had been soaking with a bunch of super sweet grape tomatoes). I sprinkled some parmesan on at the end.
I loved the salad, but Tim was skeptical of cooked lettuce. He loved the tomatoes at least!

This was definitely one of the best Wednesdays I've had in awhile. Everything here will be repeated, for sure!