Happy Fat Tuesday/Anniversary!

Today is our third wedding anniversary. It also happens to be Mardi Gras, so my husband and I intend to take full advantage of both with our dinner tonight. We've decided to go vegetarian for Lent this year, so the next 40 days should be interesting. As a send off and to celebrate three years of wedded bliss, we're having blue cheese topped steaks, garlic mashed potatoes, and roasted broccoli for dinner. Yum! We also enjoyed a nice Cabernet Sauvignon.

Roasted Broccoli

1 head of broccoli

1-2 T olive oil

1 t salt

1 t freshly ground pepper

Cut broccoli into bite size florets. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 425 degrees.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

4 cloves of garlic chopped or crushed

1/3 c cream

1 T butter

2 lbs yellow potatoes, diced

Salt

Ground white pepper

Parmesan cheese

Cover diced potatoes with water, bring to a boil. Continue cooking until potatoes are fork tender, 10-15 minutes. Warm garlic and cream in a small sauce pan, about 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes. Add the butter and cream to the potatoes and mash. Season with salt, pepper, and Parmesan to taste.

We seasoned our boneless New York strips with a healthy dose of salt, pepper, and minced garlic before grilling. We then topped them with crumbled blue cheese for the last minute and a half of grilling.