Grilled octopus is a favourite of mine. In Thessaloniki the tentacle is left whole. Either way it’s delicious.
Enjoy Greece! (Isn’t it a little too hot now?)
It’s time you relaxed. Weekend is here, block you work number.
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A like doesn’t do that fish justice
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Yesterday’s dinner was simple but I was annoyed that the pasta took so long to cook. By the time it was done the sun was ready to disappear completely. Managed to get a couple of shots just in time.
Breadcrumbs were browned in butter, OO and garlic. Next the samphire and tossed in the pasta. Now added my standard anchovies-garlic-capers-OO-herb(s) pesto/sauce and mixed everything well to coat evenly. Salad and a glass of wine alongside and that was Friday’s dinner. I had planned to use prawns but we already had smoked mackerel yesterday so I thought anchovies already provided enough umami.
Got one of my favourite fish today.
Photos are not as nice as my previous ones of the same meal, but the taste is unchanged. Vietnamese-style fish with dill and turmeric is a speciality of Hanoi, Vietnam. I don’t have Haino-style fermented sauce but I have two tubs of Thai fermented fish paste and used that, just a tiny bit on the knife’s tip is enough. This stuff is powerful. It’s an acquire taste for many people. I think it’s like durian or Marmite. You either love or hate it. I like it a lot. Add lime juice to cut the saltiness a little.
The paste.
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that sounds like a splendid NYC day! Must remember China Blue for the next time we’re in NY, hopefully soon…
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Love rosé. Is that really your setup?
We had our neighbor friends over for dinner. Some snacky stuff to start - Castelvetrano olives, jamón serrano, pistachios, and fermented pickled carrots. Dinner was carne asada and grilled chicken tacos in corn tortillas with all the fixin’s, curtido, and grilled onions, mushrooms, and peppers. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo again…
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Talenti Caramel Cookie Crunch.
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A Farmers Market visit this afternoon will provide dinner tomorrow.
Tonight’s dinner was buttermilk-spiced chicken breast (although not spiced enough), marinated and roasted in the oven (yes, I turned on the A/C before turning on the oven.
I also made a salad from my romaine lettuce which was going crazy on my deck, thin-sliced shallots, red bell peppers, sliced radishes, and chopped tomatoes, tossed with Maple-Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing.
Wine. Probably ice cream.
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Did some authentic Smokeydoke homecooking today, I took previously frozen Easter ham, onion, mushrooms, spinach, cream and made a sauce (no recipe, just to taste), then I boiled a pound of fettucine. And I got this. #whatireallyeat
Summer dinners at the Smokey household are very unpretentious affairs, it’s too hot to cook here. It’s mostly salad, eggs or sandwiches for 3 months (or until I can’t stand it anymore and submit to a very hot kitchen). I mostly eat out.
The up side is I eat out. A lot. And I’ll be posting more restaurant reviews. I went to any excellent place called Niu-Gu yesterday and I can’t wait to write about it.
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Yum!
I’d eat that!!
It was good!
No recipe . Just to taste. Always my style.
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What a delicious holiday!! Impressive spread - your aunt sounds like a professional
Bike ride to central park, met the parents for our tour of the gardens (highly recommended, conducted by very knowledgeable staff)
and it was HOT. A bit of a walk to the subway and then off to Brighton Beach! Which btw is a verrrry long subway ride from the UES.
Dad is adventurous like i am and he really wanted to see the atlantic ocean up close for whoknowswhat reason. Started with our late lunch at Nargis cafe and grill, great breeze and some shade to sit outside where the friendly russian girls at the next table chatted with us a bit to recommend their favorites. The appetizer platter with bits of everything and mysteriously also some kimchi (??), the babaganoush and garlicky eggplant spread were favorites, we scooped it all up with the fluffy soft still warm bread.
Glasses of the fruity kompot for myself and dad, in the corner of the bread photo.
I missed photos of their kebobs- these big metal skewers shoved full of meats, must have been 18” long! One was lamb and the other a mix of beef and lamb our new friends said was their favorite. Served with thin white onion and a tomatoey vinegar condiment. Also missed a photo of the AMAZING salad of like 50% fresh dill and cilantro with chopped super small romaine, tomatoes, and mixed in with avocado that almost became the dressing since it was all broken up.
Then off walking a ways to wander the beach a bit and to a bakery to get treats. Poppyseed strudel, some rugelach, little nut based cookies and meringue cookies for me - this is just a cropped photo of the accidentally stunning rack of fresh meringues
The wall of treats were help yourself and you use tongs to put in a little box
Stopped into a russian/eastern european market and picked up a few things, we had a long trip back on the subway so that limited what we bought- there was a stunning salad bar with all pickled vegetables! Garlic, little squashes, all sorts of cabbages and tomatoes…
Sesame pretzel sticks, mustard, sunflower seed vanilla halva, and the spice/salt mix i watched a russian grandma buy three of (there were five varieties, and she got three of the same flavor so i took it as A Sign) Dad got a couple of russian beers that went in the freezer before we shared with my friends ‘ they are staying with
We ate the bakery treats with some watermelon and berries as a late snack.
Six and a half miles walking, 18 flights of stairs. I’ll sleep well!
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So glad you recovered in time for their visit. Love the photos and description of your Brighton Beach foods!
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another fab day! love our Russian grocery stores…
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Whiter Shade of Pale Pizza was WFD tonight. TJs dough. I just heard from a friend that she broils her pizza, so I’m going to try that next time. We cooked it long enough that the bottom was very crispy, at least. and the flavors were great - loved the juicy tomatoes, fresh mozz, salty prosciutto… coulda used more basil at the end. Drizzled with olive oil and then strewn with parm regg, chili flakes and black pepper.
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Gumbo tonight!
Had a couple of cups of gumbo z’herbes* in the freezer, a dozen okra pods and some SV chicken breasts. Thought I had a bell pepper - nope. Tried some dried roasted red bell peppers that I had bought awhile a go. (They didn’t really contribute anything to the dish plus looked strange.)
Cooked off onion and celery. Added a full flavor chicken broth (home canned) and the defrosted gumbo z’herbes. Simmered for an hour to reduce. Corrected seasoning.
Added half the okra, chopped, to the pot along with the SV chicken, chopped. Popped rest of okra in the oven when I began the rice. Roasted okra until beginning to crisp. Chopped and used as garnish.
The crisped okra gave a nice texture, the stewed okra helped thicken the gumbo. Really good!
This was a great use for SV chicken. Adding the chicken last kept it tender and moist.
(Freezer now down 2 more items!)
- spell-check thinks z’herbes should be sherbets.
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