Grillin Weather

     I am loving this Ohio weather we are having. It has been unseasonably warm for March. Daffodils are blooming and soon we will have to be mowing the grass.  But I don't mind at all.  I love this time of year and it is even better when it comes early.  Flip flops, short sleeves, bike rides, long walks in the evening, and of course barbecue. It is grilling out time and I could not be more thrilled. I love a good cook out.  Maybe it is the fact that all the cooking is done outside and there is far less mess, or it could be the breezy element to the cooking but it always turns out tasting better.  Eric prefers using charcoal and I tend to agree with him now.  It takes a little while longer to get the coals to the right temperature but it gives a wonderful flavor to whatever you may be grilling.  For our anniversary dinner we did just that. It started with a trip to the Market District Giant Eagle near Pittsburgh. We love that place, Eric says it is his favorite place in the world.  I believe he is exaggerating but maybe it is.  We decided to have some filet mignon which we seasoned with some salt and pepper and rubbed fresh minced garlic on it.  Eric also ordered up some shrimp at the fish counter.  He asked the woman there to give him the biggest shrimp she had which were already deveined.  Two of these bad boys covered my whole outstretched palm.  I believe she found Eric to be cute or charming because she ended up throwing in a few extra of these shrimp for free.  He always has these things happen to him.  In fact I reminded him that he also wanted oysters and when he went back she was smiling and gave him some oysters for free as well.
     After we got home and started getting everything ready, I began to think how I could make this dinner pop. I decided on a sauce for the shrimp. It first was going to be a sauce for the steak but lets just face it a good filet mignon is great on its own. Here is what I did while Eric was out manning the grill.

The prawns and filet grilling

Prawns with sage tomato chutney

10 extra large deveined prawns grilled
1 pint of grape tomatoes
6 cloves of garlic
10 sage leaves chopped
5 Tbsp butter
Pepper
Smoked sea salt

Heat 1 Tbsp butter over medium heat, add sage leaves. Cook for about 1 minute to allow herbs to impart flavor to butter. Place tomatoes and 4 cloves of garlic in food processor. Add this to sage butter and increase heat to medium high. Stirring occasionally until mixture thickens and reduces by one half. Add remaining 2 cloves of garlic minced and butter; one tablespoon at a time adding the last tbsp of butter before serving. Mixture should be thick. Before serving season with fresh ground pepper and smoked sea salt to taste.  To serve spoon over grilled prawns. We had 10 extra large prawns but use may use whatever size shrimp you have. This makes about 2/3 cup of sauce. This also would make a great appetizer or as a dish at a tapas party.

The Finished Product