Breaking in the new grill

It's not a secret that I love food.  I'm happiest when I have a good meal and good company (and really that's only because I haven't yet found a way to buy an old van, live in it, travel the country, and still pay my bills).  If you add another component to a good meal and good company, say, for example, live music or a highly anticipated sporting event, the only thing that will possibly bring me down is if the beer isn't cold enough.

I'm a HUGE baseball fan in general, and I adore college baseball.  The month of post-season play leading up to the College World Series (CWS) is my equivalent of March Madness.  I make brackets, enter pools, watch every single game, and basically drive my friends crazy because I eat, sleep, and breathe baseball for a month.  I've had the good fortune for the past two CWS tournaments to watch my alma mater play in the championship round.  I say good fortune, but what I really mean is heart-stopping excitement and a sure need for blood pressure medication.  For Game 2 of the championship series, A decided to test out his brand new grill by having a couple friends over for dinner and the game.

I may have mentioned this before, but A is pretty much the grill master.  To celebrate his brand new grill, he decided to make steak.  Awesome.  He asked each of the attendees to bring a side, and then we'd be good to go.  As the resident vegetable nut, I volunteered to pick up something green.  L picked up the starch, and M brought the wine.  Perfect.  I also picked up dessert from Cupcake, a bakery downtown, because they were running a special and I got a huge discount with my university ID.  Right on.

So the steak.  I like mine no more than medium rare.  I'm a firm believer that anything more than medium causes the meat to lose flavor, and that you should probably stop trying to eat steak if you think it should be cooked any more than medium.  If you like your steak well-done, please don't ever take me to a steakhouse with you.  I promise we will not be friends after that experience.  Even with the new grill, A did a pretty good job with the meat.  I managed to snag a slightly bloodier piece of meat, so I was a happy camper.  The seasoning was great, and the sauteed variety of mushrooms and onions were a perfect topper.

Good size steaks, excellent color on the meat.

If I remember correctly, there were 3 different kinds of mushrooms in here.  

The side dishes were pretty simple.  I had stopped by the store on my way to A's to pick up veggies.  I was planning on getting some broccoli, but then I walked past some beautifully thin asparagus and grabbed that too.  A lightly seasoned both veggies with some garlic and assorted oils and vinegars (I think).  He stuck the asparagus in the oven and sauteed the broccoli.  Perfect.  And not overdone (A never understands why I like my veggies crunchy.  We argue about it anytime we grill out).  An excellent complement to the steak.

Look at that broccoli.  So simple, yet so delicious.

Can you see the chunks of garlic in the marinade?  

Always in search of a balanced meal, A asked L to bring a starch.  She grabbed some red potatoes, which A proceeded to roast in the oven with some onions and mushrooms.  Not only are red potatoes my favorite, but the addition of the onions and mushrooms really tied them into the steak.  I realize steak and potatoes is cliche, but trust me.  This combination was outstanding.

Potatoes fresh from the oven.  They didn't last long.

Overall it was a tremendous meal.  The flavors went well together, the grill test run was a success, and someone should give A a cooking show ASAP.  The cupcakes I brought were pretty awesome too...I love Cupcake, and they have rotating flavors so you can always try something new.  I got a couple red velvet cupcakes, a mocha chip, two white chocolate raspberry cupcakes, and a black & white cupcake.  They have locations in Columbia, Mt. Pleasant, and Charleston, and just opened a sister store, Chocolate Moose, in Greenville.  Right...back to dinner.  This is my plate, after I'd dug into the steak just a little bit....

Such an awesome meal!

Pretty sure this meal covered the basics.  Good food?  Check.  Good company?  Check.  Highly Anticipated Sporting Event? Check.  Watching my team win the CWS for the second consecutive year?  Check.  All four combined made this a night to be remembered.