All three daughters were in recently and decided to have a mostly “fun finger food” dinner at my oldest daughter’s new place (her Grammy’s former house).
Prosciutto-wrapped dates, deviled eggs, stuffed mushroom caps, jalapeno poppers, a GF blackberry sauced cake (actually everything was GF), roasted asparagus, and spinach-artichoke dip.
They did everything from scratch and didn't ask me for help or guidance at all.Fried clams at Howard Johnson’s bring back so many great memories - thanks! I still love clams of all types, but, as you say, clams are not that common out here on the west coast.
Also, I I know we weren’t going to discuss your sister, but I hope she appreciates how much you do to accommodate her likes and dislikes. 
Chowder weekend! At sister’s we made what was supposed to be a “healthy” chowder with a “splash” of half-and-half or milk (or OAT milk-FEH). Instead, we defrosted leftover cream sauce from last week’s potatoes dauphinoise and added chicken stock for the broth, and raw fennel to simmer/infuse. Sautéed 2 ears of fresh corn kernels with diced potatoes and onions, added broth, and a bunch of chopped basil. Halibut fillets were seared stove-top until flaky. The chowder was rich, sweet, and corny. And that feesh! Skin could have been a mite crisper, but really just perfect with the chowder.
Last night, i made a second batch, with just half and half (simmered with fennel, garlic, and bay leaf), but added poblano pepper to the onions/potatoes. Also, simmered the cobs to make corn water for the broth. Topped with a Peruvian chorizo from our mexi-mart - Another winner! Took the immersion blender to the BF’s bowl because dental issues, but that turned out just as good.
beautifully prepared and plated!
Thank you! Howard Johnson’s brings back all sorts of memories…the vast majority of them being good.
My sister is helping me a great deal and I help her out a lot, too. There’s a long list of things I want and actually need to do for her but there are too many that she puts the kibosh on for one reason or another. 
Quite the opposite. Too far away most of the time. 
You can only do your best with what you’ve got.
You might like Bittman’s pan-fried method or SE’s pan-broiler method or Milk Street’s inverted pizza.
Thank you
That pizza looks delicious. What about it do you not like?
When I would teach folks how to make pizza I would often suggest starting out in a cast iron pan that you get as hot as you can and then putting the pan, lay out and “dress” your dough in the pan, and then put it in a preheated oven at the highest temperature you can in broiler mode. The stove top can get the pan hotter than most home ovens and the pizza cooks from the bottom and the top better.
I believe you are in the SF Bay Area, Woodhouse on Fillmore serves Fried Ipswich Clams
Trying a new recipe tonight: Ina Garten’s Lemon Linguine with Zucchini & Basil from Go-To Dinners. We shall see.
Visit to Nopa https://www.nopasf.com/ - the kitchen counter is still the best place in the restaurant. The warm olives are great but what really shines in this dish is the house-made fresh bread to sop up the oil. The constantly changing flatbread was also great and trying for the first time their “famous” burger, it’s obvious why it is one of the top ones in San Francisco
I have been off line this weekend because life happened. As I’ve been catching up on the posts in this thread I’ve been drooling over the lovely meals everyone has been making the last couple of days. All I have to post tonight is a vegetarian noodle soup with baby corn, snow peas, bok choy and tofu. A little chili oil was drizzled over all.
Cilantro-spiced roast vegetable salad with walnuts from the Gunpowder cookbook. This is salad of roasted butternut squash, fennel, zucchini, and red bell pepper in a dressing of cilantro, chile, garlic, ginger, and mango (not very discernable other than a little sweetness), tossed with spring mix and walnuts. I also toasted the squash seeds and added them. We had it over some whole wheat cous cous. I think farro would be good with this, too. A nice change of pace!
I made rigatoni with a ground beef and sweet Italian sausage ragu that included green bell pepper, roasted red pepper, black olives, and grated zucchini. There were also haricots sauteed with oo and garlic and deglazed with white wine.
Blackened, pan-roasted BC King salmon. Caesar salad with garden romaine, homemade dressing (including anchovies), and garlicky croutons made from a marble rye (baked prior).
Last night in town. Several friends had inquired about a final get-together – it’s like we’re moving to Australia indefinitely, not just spending a few weeks away 
– so we sent out a msg to meet up at a local brew pub’s gorgeous and large backyard for VERY early farewell drinks.
Well, we def did not expect to be taking over two picnic tables with 25 peeps 
, and of course stayed later than planned. I gifted my buddy the remaining king oyster shroom & she seemed pretty happy about it 
Had a dry AF cheeseburger and decent fries from the food truck, and split an equally disappointing fried chicken sammich with my PIC.
It was really lovely to see everyone, but we’re ready for Berlin Eatz 2024
