The Weekend that Was

How can it be that we ate so well and there was so little to post? Aaaaaah the time constraints of a working father of 3! Here's the weekend's recap:
Saved all the preparing and great expecations for Sunday after a USTA Tournament filled Saturday. Started out with a lunch made up of the left-overs from the grilled swordfish (citrus marinade) from Saturday night. Since there wasn't a ton and we were going to eat HUGE Sunday night, I mixed it with some mayo, diced celery, fresh chives and parsely and some lemon juice and served it on garlic toasts topped with cucumber slices. A very refreshing and light lunch.
Then there was the Big Basil Harvest. I cut down 2 of the 3 voluminous plants that grow in our "Florida Room" - which is like a nice screened porch. These babies are my pride and joy because they represent 2 things: No need to pay $3 a bag for herbs at Publix every time I want to make pesto AND the nice, healthy feeling of being able to grow herbs year-round in Florida. After picking through the leaves and saving only the really beautiful ones, I came up with 4 big piles of leaves that were quickly dumped into the food processor along with pine nuts, garlic, parmesan and olive oil. The result: enough pesto for us, our friends, neighbors, etc.
Dinner was a production and completely comprised of dishes I had never made before, so the nerves were a little more accentuated than ever - is that why everyone was staying away from the kitchen?
First course was squash ravioli in a sage butter, shallot and lemon zest sauce with some fresh chives thrown in. The ravioli come from a the aforementioned Argentine Market (La Estancia) in Miami and were SUPERB. I'll try and find some more info on them and post it later. They disappeared so quickly I didn't even get a focused picture, only a blurry one of two lone ravioli in the bottom of my bowl before they got vacuumed up.
The salad course was INSANE: Roasted pears with spiced pecans and Maytag Blue Cheese. On top of this UNREAL combo I drizzled the Balsamic of all Balsamic Vinegar - the special Rubio from Salumeria Italiana in Boston. The combination of textures and flavors was out of control. THAT was a winner.
The main course was a pork loin that was stuffed with figs that were macerated in brandy. The loin was then marinated in rosemary and garlic and done on the grill. Green beans with almonds was the side. It completely held it's own and the reduction of the brandy and figs made a sauce that was deeply good.