Tri-tip, Ranch Dressing, and Monkey Bread

Okay. Today I think we crossed some kind of goodness threshold. For lunch, Sand made a tri-tip, baked potatoes, and sauteed asparagus and mushrooms. There was a salad also, with ranch dressing that she made yesterday from the buttermiilk that was the byproduct of having made butter from cream.

For those of you who have never had the pleasure of Sand's tri-tip, allow me to assure you that there is no place you can go to get a finer meal. Her preparation of this much maligned cut of meat has it tasting very close to prime rib. In fact, I have had prime rib in "good" restaurants that I did not enjoy as much. Of course I've had prime rib that was better than Sand's tri-tip, but it's supposed to be better, isn't it? I know none of you has had Sand's ranch dressing, because this is the first time she's made it. I have never, ever, had ranch dressing this good.

Then, not to outdone, I made monkey bread. I had never heard of monkey bread before I saw a recipe for it in a magazine that we picked up at the store sometime this past year. This is the second recipe I've tried from this mag, the first being the devastatingly tasty soft pretzels. (The magazine is still available here.) This is not the pull-apart thingie made with refrigerator rolls. This is a made-from-scratch-monkey-bread made with the real monkey. This is real cooking, but the recipes are very clear and easy to follow.

Bottom line, this dessert was as good as Sand's over-the-top meal was.

All this watching of Chopped and The Next Iron Chef is really starting to rub off.