I am back in town, and having my son, and my daughter with her husband over for dinner.
Have a leg of lamb roasting in the oven. The non-lamb eaters will have pedestrian chicken breast sous vide, which is stuffed with basil pesto and roasted bell pepper. Just made the mint sauce for the lamb.
I got a late start, and dinner will not be ready for another hour. It's OK, as my son is bringing over some "stuff" to make his usual cocktails, like whiskey sour and old fashion. I should get him to make me a mint julep. I have got mint growing like weed in the backyard.
The family dinner last night was a success. Son, daughter, and son-in-law did not leave until 11PM.
The roasted leg of lamb was on the done side instead of medium as intended. I was too busy with browning the sous vide chicken and overcooked the lamb, but it still turned out tender and flavorful. The chicken breasts would not look too appetizing if not browned. I still managed to make a pan sauce after searing the chicken. I deglazed the pan using the juice that was released inside the sous vide pouches. Just added some flour for thickening, some garlic, fresh ground pepper, a pinch of Italian dried herb, a bit of butter, and the sauce was wonderful.
As my son-in-law and I were the only lamb eaters, we only did half of the roasted leg, then sampled the chicken. People including my wife raved about the juiciness of the meat. I cooked at 147F, and next time will go lower to 140F. I was afraid that the texture might be too soft at the lower temperature, but forgot that browning the meat afterwards would firm up the exterior.
I was drinking a couple of beers in the afternoon while preparing the meal, then moved onto a couple of glasses of red wine. Then, my son made me a mint julep. Then, he talked me into a Moscow Mule. After dinner, I had to have my shot or two of XO Cognac. Then, I topped it off with another shot of Calvados. My son-in-law hit these bottles hard too. Then, seeing that the bottles were getting low, he said he might need to get me some replacements!
Life is so darn good, even if I have to do my taxes today. Money is already moved to the checking account to pay the IRS, plus the penalty for not making quarterly payments. It's no big deal. I will try to avoid it for 2017.