A sumptuous feast!

So this weekend I got inspired to cook!....

And I went to good ol' Whole Foods to get some provisions (and get rid of a lot of my money!) But I came out with some really great and delicious stuff! Of course, I went to the regular store for the basic stuff.

So after I got home from grocery shopping on Saturday, I made myself a great dinner that I think I will have to add to my regular repetoire of special occasion meals. I took this thick NY strip and seasoned it with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. I cooked it and also blanched some asparagus. Then I made this balsamic cherry reduction and drizzled it over both. The result was YUMMY!

Then Sunday was the big cooming day! I made, what one friend of mine lovingly refers to as "brazzle" (don't ask me why, I honestly don't know and I am not sure he does either!), which to most other folks is Olive oil poached halibut. Some may remember that I have talked about this dish before. It occurs to me that I should probably explain it a little. You basically cook the halibut in enough olive oil to completely cover the fish (a lot of olive oil, I know, but so worth it!) at a temperature of about 200 degrees or just warm/cool enough to dip your finger in and place a dot on the back of your hand and it be pleasantly warm. You cook the fish for about 10-12 minutes. Because of how it is cooked and at what temperature, the fish is not oily at all (hard to believe, huh?) and the fish a flavorful and light.

This time I placed it on bed of creamed leeks and spinach accompanied by an heirloom tomato goat cheese pasta and some asparagus in a lime vinegrette.

Then for dessert I made an apple pie with a crumb topping with some homemade whipped vanilla cream and garnished it with some amaretto caramel sauce that I made on a previous occasion.