Pizza Friday! With leftover creamed spinach, potato and prosciutto.
Not the best pic, but good!
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Despite the fact that the sea bass season just opened in NJ and we still have a decent amount of fish from last season (closed on 12/31) I decided I wanted something different. Our local grocer had some Faroe Island salmon that looked lovely so decided on that. Roasted with cherry tomatoes, scape pesto and dill.
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Thank you, too, for chiming in & letting us know youâre ok 
Good luck with the weight loss & hope to see you both here again soon, happy & recovered 
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A dear friend lent us her car yesterday to shop for groceries that we couldnât possibly transport on our Vespa. Then our friends who are traveling in Asia offered us âany of their rides in the garageâ â choices were a ginormous Lexus SUV or a much smaller, sportsy Lexus. Iâm not big on those urban assault vehicles, and the sportsy one seemed easier to navigate. Fun to drive, too! We are truly fortunate to have such kind, generous friends 
Late afternoon we took the scooter downtown to what is a total student hangout during the semester we therefore avoid like the plague, but the bar hosted a âTownie Takeoverâ event organized by a local downtown ârevivalâ outfit. Free food (very good smashburger sliders, very good wings, pizza I didnât try), but too crowded for us to want to stay much beyond an hour. Clouds had started to move in, so beer garden plans with a buddy were nixed.
He came over to casa lingua instead where we ordered Detroit-style pizza & watched a couple of movies.
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A stunningly beautiful Spring day. FINALLY.
Picked up some basil from OSJL, then rosemary and French thyme plants from my local nursery and repotted them. Nothing else, as Iâm still waiting to hear if my deck is one that will have some repairs to it next week.
Dinner was pizza with leftover chopped baked potato (tossed with olive oil, dried minced rosemary, and s/p), chopped leftover asparagus, and sautĂŠed pancetta and caramelized onion from the freezer, with a white sauce of President garlic-herb cheese sauce, augmented with additional dried herbs and heavy cream.
Topped with grated mozzarella and Parm-Reg and baked on a preheated stone at 450° for about 12-13 minutes. Added some fresh basil after it came out of the oven.
There was wine.
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I spent a good couple of hours today making caponata for tomorrowâs spring potluck Iâm organizing â the last one before our departure. Despite the instructions in my favorite recipe (from a 2005 Gourmet issue) I used Chinese eggplant: fewer seeds, and the AF method worked so well for my recent Yuxian QieziâŚ. why would I stink up the Haus with fryer oil stench for daze? Zackly.
Pretty happy with the results already, but once the flavors all have a chance to mingle overnight it should be even better.
The first caponata I ever had was at a now defunct trattoria near my office in Berlin (yeah, thatâs how long ago that was!). It was the most basic, stripped-down version of the dish Iâve had (eggplant, celery, capers, raisins, toasted pine nuts, toasted almonds), and itâs been my gold standard for any caponata anywhere since. No silly
in mine, plz & thank you! The toasted almonds will be scattered atop tomorrow before serving.
As for WFD tonight, we thawed a gorgeous, thick king salmon filet from our fishmongerâs recent 50% off sale, brushed with Northwoods seasoning and threw it in the AF. We were going to grill it, but the weather once again had other plans. Not the greatest pic, but it was buttery and delicious.
Side was a BAS I was craving â there havenât been a lot of salads here during Chinese / Asian week. Homemade dressing (garlic, shallot, lemon juice, corn oil, s&p, shprinkle of sugar, dill, mustard, sour cream) with romaine, flavor bombs, and English cuke. The one avocado I had in the fridge for too long had gone to shit so I tossed it 
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We enjoyed another outstanding dinner at Cafe Panache, in Ramsey, NJ, including butter poached lobster, corn ravioli, and carrot vanilla coulis; spicy tuna tartare over crispy rice, avocado, pineapple mango coulis; excellent fried burrata over eggplant caponata; rice cracker crusted tuna over orange shoyu reduction; french onion agnolotti; It all went great with a couple of excellent cabernets.
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DHâs annual treat of asparagus tempura. Also-rans include gulf shrimp, carrots, and onions. Served with a black vinegar and soy dipping sauce, along with steamed rice.
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Do you have the batter recipe?
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I get lamb chops at Costco, and vacuum seal them in twos if theyâre small. I sous-vided two of them, one larger, one small, to 132F, then flash seared in cast iron. Not very hungry after a pizza lunch, for dinner I had the smaller one, with fries.
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Pizza Saturday. Base fresh mozzarella. Topped with sliced tomatoes ,chopped Louisiana hot sausage dressed with Crystal hot sauce . Cheers.
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I wonder if a Pork Chorizo would be a nice addition with those wonderful hot sauces??
That really looks tasty!!
Bring on the HEAT!!
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SautĂŠed Sitka king salmon, sliced veggies from the garden, rice.
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II probably would . But the local butcher does not make it .
Iâve posted below the âfrom scratchâ recipe weâve been using, which results in a very light batter which is nicely seasoned. The down-side of this one is the batter doesnât necessarily cling very well.
Last evening DH decided to try a commercial batter mix which heâd read good things about. This mix did cling very well, but we both felt it was under-seasoned and bland. I also felt the texture wasnât as light and crispy enough.
Personally, I think the ideal batter lies somewhere in between. Iâm tempted to tinker around a bit, starting with adding some carbonated water and Old Bay seasoning to the commercial mix. Maybe subbing part of it with rice flour, also. FWIW: we did once try replacing the rice flour in the âfrom scratchâ mix with a fine cake flour, but felt the results were a little claggy.
Hereâs a photo of the âfrom scratchâ mix from a previous cook (recipe follows):
1 c. rice flour + Âź c. for dredging
½ T. baking powder
1 ½ t. kosher salt
1 c. carbonated water, plus a little extra to desired consistency
½ of a lightly beaten egg
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