The Dog's Dinner

Whatever Lola wants.

















Lola gets.


In this case, Lola is an elegant black Great Dane of shiny coat and intelligent eye, who sneaked into the kitchen while we were toasting our friend Guy's birthday at his and Irene's baronial Tudor weekend home outside Grass Valley, and silently, stealthily ate nearly two pounds of Black Dragon tri-tip off the cutting board.

Invited to join the housewarming-and-birthday party at their new weekend home, we had come armed with goofy birthday presents and two beautiful tri-tips from Baron's Meats in Alameda to celebrate the end of the long purchase process and, of course, the birthday boy. The house is lovely, their dogs are friendly, and it was great spending some two-on-two time with two of our most intelligent and generous friends. We played in the Wolf River nearby, sitting in the chilly water and skipping stones as the afternoon whiled away. We toured the property and admired the setting and the house. We cooked dinner together in the companionable kitchen and caught up with each others' doings.

Guy grilled the two Black Dragons to perfection on his space-age grill - one very rare and one medium rare, to please all the eaters. We had taken slices off the two and settled in with our plates of savory meat, grilled corn, steamed green beans and tomato-and-burrata salad out on the deck as the sun set - it was still warm enough to sit outdoors in our short sleeves. Heaven. The meat was as delicious as I had remembered - spicy on the outside, succulent on the inside. Everyone was "oohing" as they took their first bites, and complimenting the chef.

Apparently, Lola was "oohing," too, back in the kitchen. To be fair, her nose is easily counter-level and the meat was just too much temptation. In her five years of life with Irene and Guy, she has never done anything so unladylike so we took no precautions, but the Black Dragons at eye level... well, what would you have done in her situation? All that was left of about two pounds of perfectly cooked meat was a smear on the cutting board.

She didn't even have the grace to look embarrassed. She just licked her elegant chops and laid down on her bed for a nap.

Homage

Just had to show you this. Isn't it beautiful?

I took it out of the freezer, thinking it was a pound of ground beef that I would use to make burgers for dinner. Instead, when it had thawed and I unwrapped it, I remembered buying it at Baron's Meats in Alameda simply because I was charmed by this beautiful little display of the butcher's art.

Inside is a tail of beef filet, cunningly folded and wrapped in woven bacon and tied with string. Fifteen minutes in a 400 degree oven, a ten-minute rest on the counter and you have a perfect, medium rare roast with crispy bacon all around.

The dog went nuts as the aroma of smoky bacon filled the house. We gave her the platter to lick after dinner - we didn't have the heart not to give her a little taste. Must get back to Baron's soon to tell them what a treat it was for us all - and to buy another one.