What's for Dinner #119 - the Strawberry Edition! - June 2025

I’m obsessed, Dumpling, Tomato Salad With Chile Crisp Vinaigrette. And there was a Beefeater martini up with a twist.

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Gorgeous looking tacos.

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Cold soba with stuff.

And Anne Burrell’s watermelon salad. So refreshing! A good way to remember her.

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Four hour “country rib”, creamy potatoes, more morels!, romano beans.

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We enjoyed an excellent dinner at Bistro D’Azur in South Orange
, NJ. They are celebrating their 6th anniversary, which is a miracle, considering they opened in 2019, just before Covid, and survived through 3 years of Covid. They had a special menu featuring a 6 course dinner for $69. I bought the chef a bottle of Champagne in appreciation for how he has treated us over the years.
We enjoyed octopus; lamb rib chop; crispy duck confit salad (made especially for us); swordfish; fluke; escargot; chacuterie including imported coppa and Humboldt fog cheese; Spanish chips. It all went great with an excellent red blend and cabernet. The menu at the end gives further preparation descriptons.












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There was a recent thread about using up what was in your cupboard or pantry. I had some potatoes that I got on sale about a week ago, and they were starting to look a bit sad. So I served them tonight in a very simple meal of potatoes and peas, topped with a little butter salt and pepper.

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Pizza Saturday. Picked up some nice artichokes at the local market. So as a memory when I was in Rome . Trying to replicate Carciofi alla Guidia . Fried artichoke.
The base for the pizza is pecorino cream . Pecorino, Ricotta, squeeze of lemon with a little water . And some ground pepper. Topped with chopped parsley and garlic ,and fried artichoke

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Stunning, as usual! For a hot minute I thought those were chanterelles in the middle!

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Three of my pals, all dealing with different foot issues, find that Brooks sneakers work for them. So maybe an additional possibility. Might even be worth a pilgrimage to Alec’s Shoes in Merrimack, NH for a big selection of shoes in-store and actual sales help—which really helps when you need/want to try a bunch of shoes to find your fit. Great resource.

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Oooh, thanks for the Alec’s Shoes suggestion; just a half hour from me. And yes, Brooks are definitely on my list as a recommended choice!

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Well, then Alec’s is worth a visit (hours are a little odd so check website). I can’t think of any shoe retailer in MA, NH, or ME that offers a bigger in-store selection.

P.S. You’ll find that Alec’s is actually in Nashua on the way to Merrimack. My mental map is deficient, doh.

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Mrs. P and I both wear Brooks running shoes for walking on the treadmill (Ghost for her, and Glycerin for me). They are light as a feather, and have good support.

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Yeah, i saw that. I usually get off Route 3 at exit 7 for 101A when I go antiquing, so this is literally 1/2 mile up. And I can still access 101A from Somerset Parkway!

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Your Photos look much better, new Phone?

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a riff on Ripert’s cod w/ garlic aioli sauce. used halibut, clam broth and squash instead. very easy and tasty dish.

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Thanks! No, I’m still using the same old iPhone 12, but I had to change photo editors. I was using PS Express, which was free until I used up my allowable space. I am now experimenting with Google Photos editor. I’m still trying to get the hang of it.

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This simple looking yet heavenly tasting pork dish would even make Anthony Bourdain cry!!

Most posts found on food blogs these days are mostly focused on bringing to the readers’ attention, either outstanding or disastrous restaurants/dining experiences. To see a post high lighting just a single dish/creation is a rarity.

After yesterday’s encounter with this wow-worthy, super delicious, lip smacking ’ snack dish ’ , I’m going to dedicate this posting to just this one stand alone dish!

The creation in question is the House-special creation of ’ Wu-Gu Fish Noodle, Richmond Hill ’ - " Fried Crispy Pork Knuckles with seasoned salt and Chilli Peppers ’

Wow! What a beauty! Piping hot chunks featuring crispy, slightly chewy pig skin of the knuckle, covering a thin layer of foie gras like gelatinous pork fat wrapped around chunks of slightly spicy, salty, savoury, chewy and deeply


meat.
Soooo good and addictive!

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That looks aaaahmaazing

We had a fun time at the Fête de la Musique yesterday, the first day that I didn’t feel like total crap. It was a perfect summer day, not too hot or humid, and we scooted around town to catch a variety of acts, culminating with a fun German hip hop duo in a park in the far west where we met up with a couple of friends.

We’d had such a late & decadent lunch that we only had a small slice of bread with cheese/salami by the time we got home at 10pm. A martini for dessert with the last of the Italian gin. Might have to get one more bottle before we leave. I was pretty exhausted & probably pushed myself a bit too far with all that activity, as evidenced by crashing early & sleeping almost 10 hours (!).

Today was rotten hot (as it appears to be back home), so I stayed in our cool pad instead of trying to get to my beloved lake. Too hot to bear even submerged in water. Yikes.

Dinner was at our favorite Thai place, which unfortunately was once again out of my absolute favorite dish there, the muh krob. Boo f’n hiss! :frowning_face:

We shared the fried chicken skins,

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the kanom jeeb gung,

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and the pork kra pao.

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Ice cream from the place around the corner for dessert: coconut mango with black sesame for me, French chocolate for my boo. Small scoops, too, without having to provide proof of offspring :wink:

With just over a week left here, we are going to have to plan our remaining meals carefully.

PS: Once again, not a clue why these pics are different sizes :thinking:

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*culminating IN :roll_eyes: