We enjoyed an outstanding pre anniversary dinner at James on Main, in Hackettstown, NJ. Our actual 15th! anniversary will be on the 27th.
We enjoyed wood fired wild shrimp with ginger glazed gulf shrimp, aerated lobster cream, micro shiso; crispy duck spring rolls with peanut sauce; yellow curry and forbidden rice with napa cabbage, japanese eggplant, kabocha squash, micro shiso, spiced pumpkin seeds; seared sumac rubbed domestic lamb loin, soft herb hummus, crispy artichokes & beldi olives; excellent certified Angus filet mignon special; sablefish with lemongrass, ginger & red miso poached, wood fired baby bok choy & purple sweet potato; farro salad; crispy hand-cut fries. We took home an excellent chocolate cake with tahini mousse, pomegranate syrup, sesame tuile. It all went great with an excellent Malbec and red blend. The personalized menu at the end gives more details.
I had some leftover corned beef and cabbage so decided to turn it into soup. Chopped cabbage, potatoes and carrots were added to a vegetable broth I had in the freezer. I added sauerkraut, horseradish, dijon mustard, some Caribbean salt mix and a splash of heavy cream. Topped with Reuben croutons.
Thank you kindly for your bday wishes 
We had a fabulous time, thx to our gracious hosts where we arrived just in time for a heavy hail storm, 
and where homemade spanakopita and za’atar flatbread were awaiting as accompaniments for wine
before the buffet table bursting beneath a Moroccan-themed buffet and dining room
were declared open and the dining room pickled beet salad with onions,
eggplant with cilantro,
endive & arugula salad with green apple,
kefte with roast potatoes,
braised chicken with lemon and olives,
a chickpea dish I didn’t try (surprise!),
couscous,
GF mac & cheese for the GF crowd,
roasted asparagus,
and a delish lentil dish.
Fabulous apple cake with vanilla ice cream for dessert.
A lot of speeches were given to bid our friends adieu, and to celebrate my boo (ok, that was just me).
We couldn’t ask for a nicer bunch of friends.
Sheet pan shrimp with fennel, potatoes, olives, and fennel. This is a Cooks Country recipe. Not sure if this is behind a paywall https://wskg.org/episodes/2022-09-22/cooks-country-one-pan-mediterranean-shrimp-ep-1405
Roast fennel wedges and 1/2 inch slices of potatoes (oo,s&p) 25 mins, shrimp tossed with lemon zest, oregano, oo, s&p, then added to veg with feta cheese crumbles for 5-6 mins. Add parsley, Kalamata olives. OO and lemon to taste.
I really liked this and the wine was fabulous and even better with the food.
Veal Stew with Fennel, Tarragon, and Cream (Blanquette de Veau) from an ATK recipe - normally the goal in many stews is to create flavors through browning the meat. With blanquette you aim to let the “natural” flavors of the ingredients shine through by more gently stewing everything. Veal gets first blanched to remove all impurities and gets afterwards braised with shallots, garlic, flour, bay leaves in white wine and chicken broth. After an hour, you add carrots and fennel before finishing it with peas, tarragon, parsley, cream and lemon juice. Served over egg noodles
Didn’t post a photo because it was tasty but definitely not photogenic.
Spent the day working outside in the Chamber of Commerce weather we’ve been enjoying this week (80F and brilliiant sunshine with light breezes) tidying up some of the mess that freezes and drought leave behind. Got my veg plots planted out as well as a few pots of flowers, so tonight was low effort.
Aldi Carnitas (which are surprisingly good, although this package was unusually fatty) with Aldi cilantro-lime rice (very meh) rolled into soft tortillas with green onion, cilantro, and lime. And a chaser of Tylenol because yowza..
Tasty, but unappealingly greige.
THOSE. LOOK. AH-MAY-ZING!!!
Thanks 
They were very tasty. They were on sale, 4 thighs with drumsticks attached for $5.50, not a bad deal tbh.
Clever!
Not really. I cut up leftover open-faced sandwiches. We had way too much corned beef.
Not a thing here 
I love a Blanquette de Veau.
Interesting to add Fennel never seen that done before.
When I was being taught that dish for a Restaurant. My Chef added white Wine, Leeks, Carrots and Garlic to the braise. Then we finished with Cream, Egg Yolk, Lemon and Brandy. For special Occasions black Truffle shavings as well.
Nice colors. Do I spy turnip?
That the formulation I’m familiar with, too.
Yep, Cabbage, Turnip, Parsnip, Carrot and Potato.
Soda Bread in the Background
We’re invited to a friend’s for dinner (
) but I made lentil Taco filling for tomorrow’s Teacher Taco Tuesday, to be delivered with flour tortillas and chips and salsa. I added more oil than usual this time, and some cantina salsa to finish, which I think made them more delicious. These are GF and vegan.
Checked out a new-ish Greek joint that opened up down the street.
Grabbed a lamb/beef gyros stuffed with fries, and some roasted lemon potatoes for tomorrow.
Solid sangweech for $10 and hella big, would def go back. OPA!!!
