Sprung into a Summertime bliss

Friday night Matt & I loaded up on groceries and headed over to Tony & Sarah's house. I meant to bring my camera to document everything for you. Well, I did bring it, I just never got it out of my bag.
It was an unseasonably summery day, so we decided to have a cook out. I've been after the two of them for a while now to join my list of Kitchen Take-overs. Theirs is perfect for me! The house is of a certain area, as many are in that part of South Minneapolis(near Grand and 46th.) All of the people that must have lived there when it was built were about my height. The counter tops are nice and low, the sink has a lovely deep porcelain basin and all the woodwork, which is everywhere, is a deep hue. I love their house. Not only do they have a proper kitchen, but they also have a breakfast nook with a little bench AND a full dining room. I'd hate them, were they not so awesome.
I went to work on this salsa recipe that I'd pulled out of one of my Cook's Illustrated. Because they didn't have a blender or food processor I diced all of the ingredients so it wasn't the "One Minute Salsa" the page had promised. It was ONE DAMN GOOD SALSA! Because tomatoes are kind of iffy right now, I spent plenty of time figuring out which were the best. There were these juicy orange ones that smelled delightfully fruity and the stems had a minty little tang. It was so good that we gobbled it up in about one minute flat... Maybe that's what the title was referring to?
Sarah had bought some wonderful cheeses. One was an ultra creamy brie, a nutty, salty Manchego and the most amazing local sheep's cheese with honey mixed through it. This was almost dessert cheese! It was wonderful. I grabbed a few hunks and chucked it into a bowl of lettuce and dressed the whole works with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lavendar honey and a little S&P. It was crispy, sweet refreshing. Almost like a honey crips apple of a salad, but with cheese!
For dinner I devised the best catch all turkey burger concoction ever. Don't believe me? I DARE you. Try it and tell me that as basic turkey burgers go, this isn't the best. I took a pound of turkey meat, 2 minced cloves of garlic, one small hunk of ginger grated (about the size of the tip of my thumb), salt, pepper, 1 small shallot minced and chives. They were so good! While grilling, I put a slab of the triple creme brie on top and let that ooze all over. They were super juicy and amazing. While sitting outside we sipped wine and watched two little falcons goin' to TOWN. Watching wildlife get busy never gets old, no matter what your age.
For dessert they served some Sonny's ice cream that was just outrageously good. There was the fabulously flinty chip yum-tumminess of the Chocolate Mint Chip - the beloved green Bridgeman's stuff has nothing on this, and the deliciously decadent, and loving predictability of their deep chocolate. Heaven.
Somewhere between the bird, burgers and bottles of wine (and beer) the first perfect summer night floated by, nearly undetected.