Dinner in St. Charles

This weekend I went on a little road trip. One of my Navy buddies, LCDR Charles "Chip" Lutz, USN, had his retirement ceremony at Navy Operational Support Center Milwaukee, where he had served as the Commanding officer the past two years. Chip's ceremony was on Saturday afternoon, but before I went to Milwaukee, I stopped in St. Charles, IL. to have dinner and spend the night with the Belanger family. Paul Belanger is my oldest friend, as we met when we were three years old. Paul is married so Sara and they have three beautiful girls, Sarah Ann, Kathryn and Lauren. I have had the pleasure of watching all three grow up from infants into the fine young women that are today. The photo to the left is a picture of Paul and his oldest daughter, Sarah Ann, and their wonderful dog, Bennett, and the other photo is Lauren, Kathryn and Sara. Notice Lauren's fingers behind Kathryn's head!






In the two years I was stationed in Illinois, I would go to St. Charles from time to time on the Sunday afternoon following a drill weekend and make dinner. During the summer I would cook flank steaks and the like. Well, it is hardly grilling weather in Illinois right now, so we needed a recipe that could be made indoors. As luck would have it, Sara and Paul just upgraded all of they kitchen appliances so I was able to use their new stove to make the meal. Sara and I spoke earlier in the week and she asked if I would make Beef Tenderloins in a Port Wine and Balsamic Vinegar reduction. I had lost the recipe but luckily, Sara still had it. I left for St. Charles late Friday morning and I arrived at their house a little before 2PM. Sara and I went out and did a little shopping for the meal. It is actually a very simple recipe, but it has a wonderfully elegant taste. Everybody enjoyed dinner, and it was great spending the evening with the Belanger clan and I am looking forward to my next visit with them soon!