About a month ago we were in our yard eating dinner on a typical Monday night and waved to our neighbors. They have a daughter who is just a bit younger than Mazen, and they came over to let the kids play. We began to wonder why we don’t eat dinner together more often and join forces in the kitchen.
A few weeks later we had our first Magnificent Monday Dinner!
The evening began with some beer – to extend the weekend a bit : )
This Pumking was purchased when I went into labor!! Very sentimental and one of the last bottles from the case we bought that day. It has aged such that it’s not as sweet and bright, but still the good old Pumking I love.
Our neighbors brought over appetizers and a side dish while we cooked the main course.
Smashed butter bean dip over melba toast with tomatoes, feta and basil. Finished with a little Olivier’s and Co. Basil Olive Oil and Aztec sea salt. Yum!
They made Julia Child’s Eggplant and Zucchini Gratin. (Pretty sure this is it!) It was delish!
For the main course Matt and I made Andouille with Peppers, Okra and Grits. The Andouille was from the Rock Barn and we cooked it until it had a nice brown crust. The peppers and okra were from the city market and they were cooked in the andouille’s oils. And the grits were by Wade’s Mill and were cooked to perfection in my rice cooker!
For dessert (because Monday called for it) we nibbled on homemade chocolate bars from my trip to Hershey while we gave the kids a bath together. Two households are better than one!
How did you make your Monday magnificent?!
This is great! It is wonderful to have neighbors like this. What a fun tradition.
Wow, those toasts look awesome!! I love how amazing simple foods are when you add them together!
Oh, how sentimental about the beer! Sweet memories 🙂 I wish I had neighbors like that too!!
I swear you must have gourmands living all around you. If MY friends or family brought dishes to a gathering, they would look nothing like this! LOL
Oh Pumpking! I saw some at my grocery store over the weekend but I wasn’t sure I was ready to transition to pumpkin beer just yet- I’m waiting until after Labor Day. 🙂
That’s such a fun way to make the transition into the week a bit easier.
My Monday was magnificent because I was having a bad day, so after work my friend took me out for froyo before our bible study group met. It meant to much to me that she wanted to make me feel better!
love the little hand creeping in that last photo! 🙂
I’ve been catching up on your blog -a lot- lately and am totally into the new(ish) format! I realize you gave up blogging individual meals a long time ago, but your posts seem more diversified lately and I’m really enjoying it.
I discovered your blog way back when you had a feature on Current TV (what was that, five, six years ago?! I was in HS at the time and am now out of college [VCU plug] !) Sometimes stray for a few months at a time, but that means I get to catch up all at once. It’s like binge-reading. Perfect for when the boss is on vacation 🙂
Welcome back!
Aww that’s really sweet. What a fun way to start the week! I had my last first day of my (probably) last semester as a post-bacc so I got a morning workout in, had lunch, went to class, went to a welcome back BBQ and finished the evening watching Mad Men with a glass of Moscato!
Love Mad Men!
So cool that you can team up with your neighbors like that! My monday was magnificent because my bf and I went to a minor league baseball game in our town- such a fun way to spend a monday night 🙂
What a great way to get to know your neighbors and to make Mondays a little more bearable!
Perfect way to kick off the week! I always feel so fantastic about the week ahead after a good Monday!
Must be nice not to have tons of food restrictions—between me and my husband, and seemingly all of our friends’ diet limitations, group meals are never simple or easy!
Have you been to the Southern Tier Brewing Co.? It’s awesome!
I haven’t but I love everything they make!
i made my monday magnificent by going to the gym after work and lifting heavy weights!
Good work!
That gratin looks insanely good. I love the idea of sprucing up ole’ Monday. My Monday was a big one – started my 2 year dietetics program…whew!
Good luck!
You just reminded me that I had been planning (ALL summer) to use up the zucchini, tomatoes and potatoes in our garden to make a gratin!!! Now it’s too late!! Oh well, I’ll have to wait until next year…I’d much prefer making it with fresh, organic, homegrown produce!