followup on Thursday and dinner

We didn't go bowling but I did nap under the shady tree in the front yard for a half of an hour while the kids played. I kept waking up to see if the tree was going to blow over on me (it's 2/3 dead) or if the wind chimes hanging over my head were about to come crashing down. Neither thing happened.

For our tamale and pork dinner Thomas was bringing over some bacon-wrapped loin medallions on skewers so I had to get the (charcoal) grill fired up ON THE WINDIEST DAY OF THE CENTURY. I started working on the fire at about 5:10 using Central Market 100% Mesquite Charcoal and some wadded up newsprint, some lighter fluid and a 12 oz can of old bacon grease. By 6:15 I was confident that it wasn't going to go out again so I got to putting food on.

I put the six tamales on the top rack right away since those were frozen solid (2 black bean, 3 chicken and 1 pork). At 6:30, when the coals were good and HOT and the grill thermometer read 400 degrees I put the 1.25 pound pork loin on the grill, 1 inch above the coals, and seared it 4 min on each of the 4 sides. Then I put it on a piece of foil and set it to the side to roast for 20 min. With the loin out of the way, I put the skewers on for 5 min a side after I lowered the coals another inch. BTW, I was closing the lid between each turning (with tongs 'cause you don't want to pierce the meat and loose all the juices) to keep the heat in - the wind blew away all the heat as soon as I opened the lid.

At quarter 'till i put the breaded pork cutlets in the toaster oven and set a pan of frozen mixed veggies on the stove to saute in butter and Spike seasoning. I sliced up several raw tomatoes too. And I was in NO WAY afraid of the safety of the tomatoes since these came from Finca Pura Vida, a 50 acre organic farm (only 8 of which are grown on, the rest is for the cows and chickens) that goes beyond the USDA Organic standards and grows a large variety of produce. The tomatoes that I serve ARE NOT from some giant mono-cropping farm that distributes to several states. Edgar personally grows every single thing that he sells at the market and I trust him without question.

When the medallions were done, I took everything off the grill and set the meat aside to rest while the juices redistributed. I sliced the pork loin while everyone prepared their tamales and ate their medallions; that loin was INCREDIBLE! Now I'm going to have to grill it every time. The tamales tasted great too! Having them heated/smoked over the coals added the most interesting flavor to them. I totally suggest cooking some tamales on the grill the next time you are cooking out. Just be sure to wrap them in one layer of foil before putting them on the grill if they aren't already wrapped.

Gotta get back to school.