I had intended to share a recipe for Gourmet’s Black Pepper Buttermilk Biscuits to accompany the Southern Fried Chicken and Mustard Vinaigrette Green Beans from last week, but, quite frankly, I wasn’t crazy about them.

They had a few things going for them, in that they were easy and took less than 20 minutes of prep time, but the result wasn’t exactly what I was looking for – they were nice and airy, but didn’t have enough flavor. I’ll tweak the recipe, post at a later date, and let you decide for yourselves.

In the meantime, I have been meaning to post about a recent weekend trip out to the Wisconsin Lakes.

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to accompany dear CS, her gracious husband, and a few friends to her family’s lake house in Delavan, WI. CS has spoken of Delavan as though it occupied some magical space between Nirvana and the center panel of Bosch’s ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’ (without the nudes). Long, lazy days spent on the boat, cruising the lake, BBQs and fish fries, reading in the hammock or playing bocce ball on the lawn. It was heaven!

On the first night, we dined on authentic Mexican food (yes, in Wisconsin) accompanied by pitchers of margaritas and Coronas. The second evening was a fishy fry frenzy on the lake – anything and everything caught in a lake that could be battered and deep fried was laid out at our table. Surrounding the mountains of fried fish were stacks of napkins, baskets of french fries, and a seemingly endless supply of ice cold beer.

But, the final night, when we all made dinner together, easily stole the show. I came to find out that this particular meal was coming to be a Delavan tradition for this crew – Grilled Pesto Shrimp, Sauteed Butter Corn, Linguine with Pesto, Caprese Salad, and CHERRY PIE. And, it was made all the more special by the fact that we, the intrepid chefs, ventured out into a torrential downpour, and made no less than six stops, to get exactly the right item at the right vendor. Corn and tomatoes at one farm stand, spring mix at another, a trip across town to get the CHERRY PIE from the award winning bakery, etc. It was an adventure, a mission, and we were well-rewarded by the wonderful meal we shared that night.

Below are a few photos of the preparations and devouring of that final dinner. Enjoy!

The first of many farm stands we visited that day, and, luckily, just before the skies opened up.

Picking fresh herbs from GP's enviable garden.

I covet and ache for a garden like GP's.... absolutely glorious!

Mushroom appetizers before our sunset cruise around the lake.

Sweet and juicy shrimp, getting ready for their big debut on the grill!

Farm-fresh corn with herbs picked from GP's garden need only a light saute and a bit of butter to become sweet, tender, and savory.

Who couldn't use a short afternoon nap before (and possibly after) dinner?

Keeping it classy.

Can’t wait to go back next year!