Been awhile since I’ve posted, sorry some of my pics were after we started to eat. Had a small dinner party last night:
Shrimp cocktail
charcuterie board
mozzarella and jersey tomato (from the garden)
lobster ravioli in vodka sauce
filet Mignon - Oscar
Spicy pizza margherita made with CSA tomato plus part of a red jalapeño and a garlic scape, both chopped finely. Cooked indoors because of fall’s earlier sunsets and the crisp temperature.
A visit to Cider Hill Farms in Amesbury for my annual unpasteurized apple cider, some apples (Empire and Macoun), and cider donuts at midday on a gorgeous autumn day. But despite the crowds, everyone was masked and I was in and out in 20 minutes.
So tonight had to be autumnal-type food. Decided on sausage, broccoli, and pumpkin penne.
Mostly used this recipe, halved, but subbed Aleppo pepper for the RPF, and sauteed broccoli instead of spinach. No shallot or onion, but added some freshly grated nutmeg to the sauce with the dried sage.
Wine. Of course. It’s Saturday. 
I got ya!
Wow! Fancy occasion?
The succulent pork (?) and the ravioli look especially enticing!
Friend’s birthday!!
Our pescatarian friends came over for an afternoon hang in the yard, and I ended up inviting them to a socially-distanced dinner on our front porch. I made a Portuguese seafood stew (monkfish, scallops, and clams) with sautéed longaniza on the side, served with baguette and buttered pasta for the kiddos. Also made creamy, lemony fennel slaw as a side. Local ice cream (peach caramel and Japanese purple sweet potato) for dessert.
My stew recipe:
Ingredients
1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 carrots peeled, halved or quartered lengthwise and finely diced
2 stalks celery, quartered lengthwise and finely diced
2 small shallots, minced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 jar fire-roasted red peppers, drained
1 tsp anchovy paste (optional)
2 thyme sprigs, stemmed and minced
2 bay leaves
3 parsley sprigs, stemmed and minced
1/2-1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp Spanish smoked paprika
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 packet Goya Sazón with saffron
pinch of saffron, crumbled (optional)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 bottle clam broth
1 box Kitchen Basics seafood stock
1 pound multi-colored new potatoes, halved or quartered if large
1 13-oz box / can of butter beans, drained
1 pint canned tomatoes / 4 medium tomatoes (1 1/4 pounds), roughly chopped
1 can chopped clams in clam juice
2 skinless monkfish fillets, cut lengthwise and sliced into 2-inch chunks
12 oz. jumbo sea scallops, thawed and drained if frozen
1 Tbsp sherry, optional
Crusty bread, for serving
Directions
Step 1
Roast the bell pepper directly over a gas flame or under a preheated broiler, turning, until charred all over. Cool covered or in a sealed paper bag. Peel, seed, and stem the pepper, then coarsely chop. Coarsely chop the drained fire-roasted peppers.
Step 2
In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and sauté a few minutes. Add the chopped roasted peppers, garlic, thyme, parsley, bay leaves, shallots, tomato paste, anchovy paste, saffron, Sazón, both paprikas, and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the wine to deglaze and boil until reduced, about 3 minutes. Stir in the clam broth and fish stock and drain the juice from the canned clams into the pot. Add the potatoes, beans, and tomatoes. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are just tender, about 20-25 minutes.
Step 3
Add the monkfish chunks and cook 1 minute, then add the scallops. Simmer until the seafood is just white throughout, 1-2 minutes more, then stir in the chopped clams. Heat through, stir in the Sherry if using, and serve immediately with crusty bread.
Fried rice with char siu and grilled cabbage from this week, but also lap cheong and eggs, a bit of green onion, garlic, dried red pepper, oyster sauce, shaoxing wine and maggi.
So nice of you to share that with all of us! I saved it, and will make. Wish I could get my hands on that ice cream…@ChristinaM
DW and me teamed up to create a loaded salad for dinner. Lots of terrific end of season Michigan produce to add to leftover pork cutlet.
(Lamenting the relentless move of the Sun towards the Equator. Very soon there will be no late afternoon light in our kitchen. Hence, less photos to share)
I love how so many of us are finding creative ways to enjoy the company of friends and family at mealtime. Sitting on a sunny front porch enjoying that seafood stew sounds heavenly.
We had some friends over for an outdoor Movie night last night. Very socially distanced in the backyard. Unfortunately, I was bustling around and didn’t really take any food pictures.
For nibbles and starters we had cheese crusted olives, individual cheese boards, and individual crudite cups with black chickpea hummus and tzaziki. Followed by grilled burgers on challah rolls, tater tots and corn on the cob. chocolate chip cookie bars and vanilla sour cream cupcakes with chocolate buttercream for dessert.
Kids had sparkling lemonade, grownups and spicy thyme palomas. A fun evening for all.
Loads of errands and chores to do on Saturday, so we opted for a takeout meal of hand pulled noodles and lamb skewers from Gene’s (Westford, MA location). Ordered extra spicy.
Yes, that is a mound of minced garlic in the center of the noodles.
The garlicky punch makes this a meal to be eaten when you won’t be near others for about 24 hours or for as long as you exude the aroma of garlic. Well worth it if you enjoy this stuff, as we do.
this was WFL yesterday, at my sister’s. Pan Bagnat - following a Bon Appetit recipe: chopped anchovies, garlic, capers, olives, sliced red onion, basil, parsley, mixed with dijon mustard, olive oil and red wine vinegar, spread on half the bread, then piled on with tuna packed in olive oil with fresh lemon juice/zest, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, and roasted red peppers. more oil over all, s&p.
i used some generic “French” bread - ciabatta would probably have worked a little better. Also forgot to toast it lightly. The sandwich only gets pressed for 10 mins. or so. i went 20 but would do as suggested next time. and there will be a next time.
Not without effort, this sandwich, but simply delicious! So many flavors. I added extra anchovies, they did not overwhelm.
that is my kind of rice.
That looks AMAZING!!!
