What a Weekend! Sea John Eat!

     It's 3:30 PM on Monday, and I am just starting to recover from this weekend. I definitely had some highs and lows. The highs however, turned out to be FOODGASMIC. Friday did not start out especially promising in that I was scrambling most of the day acquiring all the needed ingredients to prepare a churrasco steak dinner for 73 guests. For those unfamiliar with churrasco, it is the outside skirt steak. A truly delicious cut of meat that has a nice hearty chew. I wouldn't call it tender, but it has an outside layer of fat that adds to the flavor, and makes this one of my favorite cuts. So, after procuring enough meat for 73, it was time to get the rice and plantains ready. I also made chimichurri sauce from scratch. It was exhausting. If you haven't sampled chimichurri sauce, you need to try it. It's a topping for beef that originated in Argentina. If there is one thing Argentines know, it is beef, and what to put on it to make it even better.It consists of finely chopped flat leaf parsley, chopped garlic, onion, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. It is left overnight so that the flavors can marry. Put that tasty concoction on some beef, or poultry and you have yourself a gen-you-ine Gaucho delight. Guests arrive at 6PM. It is 4PM now. Crunch Time! Sides are ready and keeping warm in the oven. Chimichurri, check. Firing up the grills now to get the steak cooked. Got the first batch of steaks on the grill and it looks like smooth sailing from here on out. I should have known................I take the first batch of steaks off the grill and they look beautiful. I mean gorgeous. A slight char on the exterior, and the most perfectly pink center you can imagine. The first guests are arriving, so I direct my assistant to continue grilling the steaks, and take them off as soon as they looked like the first batch. Well........he he.......it so happens that my assistant is visually impaired, and night was falling outside. Gulp! I get on the serving line and start flinging the food. All is going according to plan. The guests are devouring the first batch of steak, smacking their lips and making MMMMMM MMMMMM sounds the whole time. I call out for batch # 2. I have a line of patrons that look like they haven't eaten since the Irish potato famine. They remind me of the zombies from Dawn of the Dead. With no time to spare the second batch of steak arrives! Whew! Uh-Oh..........The combination of poor lighting, and lack of vision caused my otherwise trusty assistant to produce steaks that resembled roofing tar. Oh shit. What am I gonna do now? All the meat is cooked and it's not pretty. I put on my best shyster grin, and tell the folks, "Is everybody ready for some delicious CHAR grilled meat"? I'm serving away hoping and praying that nobody chips a tooth on these charcoal briquettes. Well, slap me around and call me Shirley. Can you believe not one person complained? I hastily served dessert, and sent the horde of people home fat and satisfied. Whew!
    Saturday! Date night with my wonderful, amazing  girlfriend, Rosa. It had been a while since we dined out, so I decided we would enjoy a delicious seafood dinner with all the trimmings. Whenever we want to really splurge and have fresh, well prepared seafood, we head on out to Captains Tavern. http://www.captainstavernmiami.com/. Captains Tavern has been in business for 40 years serving diners in the Miami area. This means it has withstood the test of time. For oyster aficionados it is very hard to pass up the cold water oyster offerings here. They run $2 each. I know that seems rather pricey, but it is well worth it. Living in Florida, we usually only get to have Gulf oysters. These are the warm water variety, and although they are good, they do not hold a candle to their cold water cousins. So a dozen delicious Blue Point oysters it was for Rosa and I. Cold, crisp, briny, and tasting of the sea in the freshest and most yummy of ways. The dozen were gone in a flash. Thank God we had our entrees coming.

     The special for the evening was a 2 Lb. Maine Lobster for only $29.95. I knew right away what I was having. When I announced that I would be having the Maine Lobster, Rosa perked right up and asked, "Oh Baby, can I get that too?" She looked like a little kid in a candy store. Soon after, two perfectly prepared crustaceans were on the way to our table. Extra drawn butter, and extra lemon wedges are my only vices. As you get to work on the tail, your ravenous hunger starts to subside. Now that the tail is gone you can breathe. You are feeling better, you are in a state of Nirvana. On to the claws. The claw meat is succulent and tender. You savor every last morsel as you tip it into the decadent butter. At this point, your appetite is truly satiated. Ok, now you are just eating to eat this wonderful creature that gave its life to sustain you. You take each of the bottom feelers into your mouth after you have dipped them in the melted butter, (Thank you Paula Dean, you are a goddess). You work the tiny pieces of sweet meat out of the legs, and now you are almost done. Break open the chest of the lobster, and spoon out the delicious tomalley. Don't be grossed out at the fact that this is the lobsters pancreas. It is perfectly succulent. Dip it in the butter, and go to town. I know that Andrew Zimmerman would have no problem here. Alas, now its all gone. Don't be sad. You have just consumed what may be natures perfect food. I sat back, ripped off my bib, and let out a huge sigh of pleasure. We paid our bill, and drove home in a state of sheer bliss. I told Rosa I loved her, and she answered that she loved me.................Lobster brought us closer together. Captains Tavern, a solid 8.5 out of 10 on the FOODGASM meter.
     That's it for today guys. I hope you enjoy the post and leave tons of feedback! I will continue to stuff myself in the hopes that I can help you all attain FOODGASMS of your own.