Raindrops and Experiments

September 19, 2010
Monitor, WA

Today was supposed to be cloudy and rainy and the day lived up to its billing. We decided to make it a "lazy Sunday", with not a lot on the agenda. It didn't rain all day, but we had one huge downpour, with a little thunder and pea-sized hail, mid-afternoon.

Interestingly enough, we both found new recipes to try, so dinner became an experiment in new ways to do "soup and a sandwich". And, it only took two trips to three different stores to get everything we needed!

I started with a Roasted Tomato Soup recipe I found online. Using the grill box as an oven, I roasted the tomatoes and garlic according to the recipe, then pureed the peeled results in the food pro. With a little cream and a drizzle of infused oil, it wasn't bad but I definitely have ideas on how to improve it (peel and seed the tomatoes before roasting, roast at a lower temperature, puree out more of the coarseness) the next time.

Geri made Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Sharp Cheddar and Apple Slices. They were very good but perhaps not the best match for the soup. They'll be better the next time as well, with the addition of some thinly-sliced roasted pork tenderloin medallions.

To complete the mismatched experimentation with new things, I popped the cork on a Washington Merlot that wasn't the worst match possible but went better with the sandwiches than the soup. Interestingly enough, this was one of the few wines we've ever had that was better when first opened than when we finished it up a couple of hours later while watching TV. Most wines will open up with a little air; this one seemed to dissipate. Go figure...

So, all in all it was a good set of experiments, as everything didn't work perfectly but we definitely learned some things for future reference!