Every so often, I will dedicate a weekend to Jack as a way to show him how much I appreciate and love him. I know it may seem cheesy, but he really is the best boyfriend in the world, and although I thank him everyday, it's nice to have a few days to do things that make him so happy!
This weekend, we had a "Jack Weekend" to celebrate his recent graduation from his MBA program at GW University and his 3.87 GPA! Friday night, we started out with some Jazz in the Sculpture Garden of the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art. Sadly, it downpoured from the start to the end of the Jazz show, so that didn't go so smoothly. We ended up heading over to one of our favorite restaurants in DC, called Matchbox, where we ate and drank and he somehow convinced me to get another dog, a German Shepherd this time, and name him Gryffindor.
I don't know how it happened.
On Saturday, we took our dog, Remy, over to the National Mall and walked around to all of the various monuments and war memorials. On that walk, we plotted what we wanted for dinner. We were both itching for something fun and summery and I remembered that my most recent Gourmet Magazine featured recipes from a Latin American Barbeque.
Perfection.
We decided to make a menu of Tortillas with Mexican Style Salted Beef, Grilled Pork in Guajillo Adobo, homemade refried black beans, guacamole, Oxacana cheese, Peruvian Red Cabbage Slaw and Rancho Chile Verde Salsa with a side of grilled onions and cactus paddles and Red Chile Shrimp with a Peruvian Miso Sauce.
Sounds like a mouthful? It was.
My favorite parts of this dinner were the Peruvian Miso Dipping Sauce, which was a sweet, creamy dipping sauce with hints of cumin that paired perfectly with the succulent pan-roasted shrimp, the sweet and crunchy Peruvian Red Cabbage slaw that was the perfect addition to the tacos, and the deliciously creamy and spicy refried black beans. These additions topped succulent pork and deliciously salted beef.
This is a meal that deserves to be enjoyed by a lot of friends and family and filled with great laughter. But for Saturday, I had myself one happy boyfriend whose smile stretched from DC to LA.
What a feast! Your boyfriend is one lucky guy! Everything looks really wonderful. I'll definitely be trying out a few of these recipes.
Posted by: Susan at Sticky,Gooey,Creamy,Chewy | June 01, 2009 at 12:58 AM
It sounds like a perfect weekend -- sorry about the rain Friday night. The dinner looks amazing and what a fantastic spread of food!
Posted by: Jessica | June 01, 2009 at 08:05 AM
I love Latin Flavors! The dinner looks fantastic.
Posted by: Erica | June 01, 2009 at 09:13 AM
what an awesome feast! congrats to jack!
Posted by: dharmagirl | June 01, 2009 at 09:14 AM
Wow, what a spread! Everything looks fantastic! I'm glad you guys had a nice weekend :)
Posted by: Tracey | June 01, 2009 at 09:58 AM
Wow, fabulous feast! Excellent Latin flavors!
Posted by: Natasha - 5 Star Foodie | June 01, 2009 at 10:09 AM
What a great idea! This looks delicious.
Posted by: Nicole (dishin') | June 01, 2009 at 11:06 AM
Wow, what a fantastic feast! The dipping sauce does sound amazing, and the shrimp look delicious.
Posted by: lisaiscooking | June 01, 2009 at 12:36 PM
Wow - so much delicious food! Sounds like a fun weekend!
Posted by: Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction | June 01, 2009 at 01:33 PM
Wow, now that's a menu. Sounds like an amazingly fun weekend. I'm sure Jack appreciates it very much.
Posted by: jenn | June 01, 2009 at 02:19 PM
Oh my word, you went all out! Congrats to Jack; this was certainly a feast worthy of his accomplishments. And lucky Jack for having such a cool, fun, talented woman to take such good care of him! Your feast is incredible!
Posted by: Cathy | June 01, 2009 at 03:25 PM
That is definitely a spread to make anyone happy! Talk about going to bed fat and happy. :) What a way to celebrate. The miso dressing sounds really great.
Posted by: The Duo Dishes | June 01, 2009 at 04:12 PM
Wow that is quite the meal! Lucky boyfriend.
Posted by: Ashley | June 01, 2009 at 07:02 PM
Your boyfriend must love all of your meals. This looks so good.
Posted by: Hélène | June 02, 2009 at 01:44 AM
WOW, now there's a feast! It all sounds so delicious! What a wonderful way to make your bf feel special!
Posted by: Jennifer | June 02, 2009 at 06:30 AM
Oh, all this looks so great...you never do anything in a small way. I cannot wait for you to open a restaurant. Congrats again to Jack and YOU, and best wishes for the parenting skills for Gryf. Great looking food!
Posted by: Kayte | June 02, 2009 at 12:33 PM
hahahahaa. i saw "Latin American Barbeque" and thought----hmmmmm she subscribes to Gourmet :P i've been thinking about doing some of their recipes too.
Posted by: mallory elise | June 02, 2009 at 03:18 PM
Wow!! Everything sounds so wonderful. I love to make a complete meal like that. Congrats to your boyfriend!
Posted by: Lori @ RecipeGirl | June 03, 2009 at 12:10 AM
A wonderful meal, I am loving those shrimpies. :)
Do you have the new dog now?
Posted by: Natashya | June 03, 2009 at 01:02 PM
You are amazing! Jack may be a great boyfriend but you're a one-of-a-kind girlfriend. I've been married to my sweet for 15 years and he's never had a feast quite like this out of me.
Thanks for the all the recipe links - I'll have to try some out although I don't know if Mr. Noodle will be as lucky as Jack and get the full table!
Posted by: Tangled Noodle | June 04, 2009 at 10:52 PM