liamsaunt

You are right, and I was wrong. It was not Benedictine, it was chartreuse. I guess I just did not like the flavor profile. Monday we stayed in and I cooked pizza. Last night we went to Provincetown for dinner at Mews. There was a cruise ship in town again, but it pulled away shortly after we arrived. It's Women's Week this week, so I guess that is why it was there. Overall the town was really quiet. I think there were about five other tables filled at Mews. Drinks to start. Husband's was a cucumber martini and I had a citrus drink. Bread with olive oil Nephew ordered a grilled peach, prosciutto and burrata salad Husband and I split some baked oysters with bacon and jalepeno And a tempura tuna roll Nephew had pesto pasta with roasted peppers and grilled sausage. He was unable to finish and brought the rest home for his lunch today. I had an almond crusted cod with citrus beurre blanc and roasted vegetables Husband had butter poached lobster with mushroom risotto Today's plans are up in the air. Mac's Shack offers a small Mexican menu on Wednesdays, so we'll check that when it's released at 1PM to see if there is anything on it that my nephew would like. I'll need to call and make sure it is allergy friendly. If that does not work out, we might go back to PB Boulangerie. There is a big storm coming in later today (they are calling it a bombogenesis), so the weather is going to factor in to our plans as well.

It's a dreary, foggy day here in Wellfleet. Luckily, the weather looks better for the rest of our stay. Yesterday we had a late lunch at Winslow's Tavern. We ordered a mix of new items and old favorites. Drinks--a crush and blush, and a new drink called the Last Word. It was....odd. It had gin, luxardo cherry, and benedictine. I would not get that drink again. The usual roasted oysters A tuna tartar. The tuna was an odd color and lacked in flavor. I don't think it was local, which is weird. Pear apple salad Burger with prosciutto and blue cheese crab burger Wild mushroom pasta with truffled egg Squid pasta Butternut squash and crispy lamb belly soup Niece of course ordered the triple chocolate mousse for dessert. We have been here so many times that the waitress did not even ask, she just brought it over Nephew had a malva pudding This morning my sister and I took the teens to breakfast at the Wicked Oyster. Niece got french toast, which she started eating before I got a picture. Nephew had blueberry pancakes Sister ordered an omelet stuffed with bacon, sour cream, and avocado I had chilaquiles Sister and niece left after breakfast because niece has school tomorrow. They will be back Friday. My brother and my husband's brother are leaving shortly and will be back Thursday night. So, it's just me, my husband, and my nephew for the next few days.

last night we went to Mac's Shack. We were seated in a cramped setup so I had to use my phone rather than my camera. Oysters Steamed littlenecks with garlic and shallots Nephew had a steak with garlic mashed potatoes. He only likes fish when it is fried and he cannot have anything fried at Mac's. Husband and brother had the pan roasted halibut with lobster mashed potatoes Sister had the lobster fra diavolo with squid ink gnocchi. She said the flavor was good but there was too much sauce. I was in the mood for salmon so got that roasted with maple sweet potatoes and bourbon brussel sprouts Brother in law had the scallop dish that I had last time, served with farro and coconut curry sauce. He ate that in about five minutes and then helped my sister and I finish our dishes. My niece had sushi but she was too far away from me to get pictures. She said it was very good as usual.

I’m back in Wellfleet for the next 10 days so it’s time to update this thread. There’s a nor’easter happening right now so it is very windy. In fact, five minutes after we walked in from dinner power went out on the Outer Cape for as far as I can see. Luckily our rental house has a huge generator. Tonight we went to a restaurant we have been meaning to try for years, PB Boulangerie. This is the restaurant side of the bakery I have posted about in the past. They offer a $31 prix fixe menu from 5-6:30. In tourist season the choices are limited but after Labor Day the whole menu goes to prix fixe with a couple of upcharges for certain items. We all chose from the non upcharge items. Tonight it was my husband and myself, my nephew, and my husband’s brother dining. pre dinner cocktail, the Provence. We were the first diners, so got a song from the organ grinder. I have that same fish light that is on the ceiling in my home. bread from the bakery roma tomato tatin smoked salmon with wasabi caviar amuse bouche: tuna tartar and tuna rillete. The tartar was good but the rillete was fantastic local curried clams with rice nephew’s pasta poached cod with leeks, potatoes and clams “Paul Bocuse” classic quenelle de Lyon made with local cod and scallops. This was mine and it was outstanding. chocolate mousse Floating island By the time we left the restaurant was full with people waiting to get in. I am stuffed. 🙂

pantry dinner (except for the tomatoes and eggs): pan bagnat

My husband and I are flying in from a short vacation the afternoon before Thanksgiving, so I am relying on my mother, brother, and sister to do all of the shopping and advance prep work this year. Here is the menu with cooking assignments: two turkeys (prepped by my sister, roasted by me) gravy (made by my mother--she makes the best gravy) sage stuffing (prepped by sister, finished by me) cranberry sauce (made by my mother) whipped macomber turnips with crispy shallot garnish (me) mashed potatoes (me) dinner rolls (sister and niece will make these) roasted green beans with toasted almonds (me) whisky-glazed carrots (me) apple pie (made by my mother) My family does not do appetizers. My husband is in charge of the wine. My sister, husband and I will be in charge of clean up. My niece and nephew will set and clear the table, my brother is in charge of turkey acquisition and packaging leftovers, and my father gets to do nothing 🙂 Luckily I have two full kitchens so there is room for everyone to spread out and work, and clean up is relatively fast.

Another recipe from Milk Street Tuesday Nights: Hazelnut crusted chicken cutlets with an arugula, fennel and shallot salad. I added some shaved parmesan to the salad. Quick and tasty.

So, I cooked my Impossible Burger product tonight. I used a recipe from Milk Street Tuesday Nights for Vietnamese meatballs in lettuce wraps. The recipe was written for pork so I used the cooking guidelines on the Impossible site (425 for about 10 minutes) and the meatballs temped at 130 and were "bleeding." Obviously this is not the best method for tasting the product itself (the meatballs had cilantro, chiles, scallions, fish sauce etc). My husband and I both enjoyed it. I'm tentatively a fan, and can see us not buying ground turkey or chicken anymore.

The bottom might be burnt, but the top looks delicious! Last night, clean out the fridge BLT pasta

Hot mushrooms on toast is one of my favorite winter dinners. Yours looks delectable. Dinner number three from Vietnamese Any Day. Coconut kissed chicken and chiles, and smacked cucumber salad sans the optional shrimp the recipe calls for. Plus rice. The coconut flavor in the chicken comes from coconut oil and coconut water.

My husband has ordered from Heritage Foods a couple of times. About three years ago we did a two day Thanksgiving feast, with a regular bird one day and a bird from Heritage Foods another day. People had very strong opinions about which was better. We got their catalog recently but I don't think my husband kept it to browse through for whatever reason. Meal number two from Vietnamese Food Any Day: shrimp in coconut caramel sauce. I had a different dinner planned but got home later than expected and this was fast because I made the caramel sauce base over the weekend in anticipation of cooking from this book this week.

Sometimes I grab a cookbook off the shelf and make food from it all week. This week I picked Andrea Nguyen's Vietnamese Food Every Day. Tonight's dinner was ginger-garlic fish parcels. She suggests salmon or halibut, and I used salmon. The sauce is oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, pepper, garlic and ginger. The parchment parcels have a layer of baby bok choy tossed with sesame oil, scallions, and then fish topped with the sauce and scallion greens. I served with rice. Very nice dinner.

Today I found the Impossible product at my local Wegman’s. The cost was $8.99 for 12 ounces. I picked up a package but am not sure what I am going to do with it yet since I had already planned my menu for the week.

Shrimp and scallops fra diavolo

Last night, spicy turkey stir fry with crisp garlic and ginger from NY Times Cooking. Here is the link. I doubled the liquids and chiles https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020222-spicy-turkey-stir-fry-with-crisp-garlic-and-ginger?action=click&module=Local Search Recipe Card&pgType=search&rank=1 That's it for poultry for a few days. I stopped at Eataly on the way home tonight and picked up halibut, scallops, and black sea bass.