Fajitas for a Crowd
Fifteen years ago my husband and I bought a little lake house about two hours from New York City with the idea that it would entice friends, family and one day our grown children to spend some of their summer days with us. The idea was a good one. Our children are now adults, and they often bring up their wonderful friends to swim, relax and hang out for long weekends on the lake.
This Labor Day was no exception and our house was filled again with Nick and ten of his terrific friends. But this weekend, rather than spending my time in the kitchen cooking, I made plans to golf with my own tribe each day. Nick and his guests agreed to shop for and make our meals.
Because I love to cook, I couldn’t resist making a few sides — a sweet potato salad, some baby back ribs, a pesto pasta salad, and for breakfast one morning, a batch of blueberry, buttermilk pancakes. But I pretty much left the rest of the cooking to them.
They all pitched in and were more than up to the task. The last dinner of the weekend was fajitas. Zack started us off with a great guacamole. Irene made a delicious corn and bean dip. Lindsay pan roasted peppers, onions, and summer tomatoes to perfection. Ian, a natural cook, was grill captain and controlled the charcoal fire that sizzled the marinated steak and chicken. Bowls of cheese, sour cream, shredded lettuce, and soft warm tacos were set out on the dining table by other helping hands. The summer night shrouded us in a cool and comforting darkness. The crickets chirped their last hurrah as we sat on the deck eating our sumptuous meal, drinking beer, and clinging to the final days of summer. The lake house whisk was passed to the next generation of chefs; I was so grateful and so happy.
Ian, Irene and Zack get dinner going, marinating the fajita chicken, chopping onions, mashing avocado for the guacamole.
That’s Lindsay, on the left, with her soon to be husband Zack, and friend Irene. Lindsay’s cooking skills, so precise and admirable, were honed while at Cornell in the hospitality and restaurant management school.
Bowls of sour cream, shredded cheese and lettuce, pickled jalapeno peppers, soft warm tortillas, and grilled tomatoes were laid out with the grilled veggies, chicken and steak.
The best part is everybody helps themselves, making the fajitas just they way they like them!
Alas, no bacon was served at this meal. But it was missed, and we agreed to fry some up as an optional fajitas topping next year when we cook together again.
