Saturday Night's Alright for Grilling

Saturday nights are usually a “nice meal” night at the P90 house. Often times, the Mrs. and I make something simple for the girls and then have a nice, quiet, relaxed, adult dinner after they go to bed. I prep dinner while she puts the girls to bed. And we enjoy a leisurely meal without complaints about the food, demands for refills, and fights about who got the pink cup and who got the purple plate, etc.

As the weather gets warmer we have these meals on deck and relax with a bottle of wine. It’s a nice way to have an inexpensive date night.

This week, I grilled zinfandel marinated petit fillet mignons and lemon balsamic asparagus. We paired it with Napa cabernet and listened to some M. Ward, Fleet Foxes, Head and the Heart, and Iron & Wine. And only once were we interrupted by a little girl complaining “I tried to sleep, but my sister isn’t letting me…”

Zinfandel Marinated Petit Filet (serves 2)
2 6-8 oz. filets (we usually split a 12 oz. filet)
2 cups Red Zinfandel (I used the Big House Cardinal Zin in a box)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 sprig of rosemary

• Marinate for 2-8 hours
• Grill on high for 3 minutes per side – because you’d be crazy to eat filet at anything more than medium-rare.  
• Let rest on a warm plate under foil for 5-10 minutes.

Lemon Balsamic Asparagus
1 lb. Asparagus trimmed and rinsed
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp White Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Zest from half of a lemon
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

• Use a shallow pan to toss the asparagus with the marinade. 
• Grill the asparagus over high heat for 5-10 minutes (depending on your preference). I usually do about seven minutes. 
• You can then return the asparagus to the same pan after grilling and re-toss with the marinade. Obviously, you would never use a technique like this with meat or anything you wouldn’t eat raw…

Starting the asparagus when you flip the steak works well timing wise. You’ll end up with perfectly hot asparagus and a well-rested steak. hocofood@@@