Pardon the interruption but we are going off-course…no dinner post for this evening.  Michael left for Japan today and, on top of it being Monday {after a really GREAT weekend}, well, the kids and I were just missing Daddy tonight.  Max’s All-Star baseball team suffered their first loss and, unfortunately, an elimination yesterday so baseball practice was taken off of our schedule today.  Horses and football practice remained on our to-do list but everything was wrapped up by 4:30pm {an early finish for us}.  The girls, both dogs and I picked Max up from football and headed to the beach for a little “play” time.  It was a beautiful afternoon and, with it being Monday, the beach was empty…just a few surfers out enjoying the choppy surf today.  Not quite on our way home, but worth the detour, we stopped for a dinner of lobster rolls & whole-belly clams at The Yankee Pier…the beach, lobster & clams…definitely the boost this Monday needed!

I resigned myself to going without a post tonight but as I sat at my computer tonight, “working”, I got an idea.  What if I shared with you a little of my “research & development”…food and recipes that catch my eye and make it into my kitchen notebook before they appear on the dinner menus here at The Dinner Concierge?  In addition to reading cookbooks and culinary magazines, I follow a lot of food blogs {currently 304 of them!} and there is so much GREAT material out there, leaving no excuses for having the same salad 5 days a week to satisfy your greens intake.  What you see here at The Dinner Concierge is what I choose from all of those resources, week-to-week and day-by-day, to feed my family but there is so much more.  My other blog features a daily stream of dinner inspiration that feeds my passion to create dinner menus and cook for my family, I just can’t cook fast enough to get it all up here.

So this evening I want to share with you 3 salads, 3 entrées, 3 desserts & a cocktail that have recently caught my eye.  In each case, click on the photo to be directed to the source and the recipe.

SALADS

Grilled Peach & Avocado Salad {via MyRecipes.com}

 

Apricot, Kale & Quinoa Salad {via Get Off Your Tush & Cook}

 

Strawberry & Arugula Salad with Ricotta Topping {via the Kitchn}

 

ENTRÉES

Grilled Chicken with Blackberry Sweet & Sour Sauce {via the Steamy Kitchen}

Slow & Low Dry-Rub Chicken {via the Smitten Kitchen}

Chipotle Flank Steak Tacos with Salsa Verde {via FromAway.com}

DESSERTS

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream {via the Bright-Eyed Baker}

Chocolate Fudge Sauce {via The Sophisticated Gourmet}

Strawberry Shortcake Popsicles {via Bakers Royale}

COCKTAIL

Strawberry & Prosecco Rossini {via FamilyStyle Food.com}

I hope you enjoyed this little detour…I will be back tomorrow with our regularly scheduled program…