liamsaunt

It's striped bass season, and the tomatoes are starting to come in so.. Pasta with uncooked tomato sauce and basil Roasted striped bass with Mario Batali's Sicilian lifeguard sauce (made with fresh tomatoes). The recipe is originally meant to be served with calamari, but it's basically impossible to find calamari here, even in the fish markets.

We are not going to the Cape for the 4th this year in the first time in forever. I miss it already. I bet the business will be really slammed this weekend. The weather is great after so many rainy weekends. I was talking to the guy who cleans my house on Wednesday and he said that Provincetown is completely sold out for lodging--the only thing he could get was a bare site for camping! Luckily he enjoys camping. That would be my husband's nightmare.

Grilled satay chicken with peanut sauce. Jasmine rice and cucumber-mint-peanut salad to go with it. I think coconut rice would have been even better but I got lazy.

Friday, roasted striped bass with amtriciana sauce over kalamata orzo Saturday, miso salmon bowls with bok choy

I've been cooking and taking pictures, but have not been posting. So, apologies for the dinner photo dump! A clean out the fridge dinner of stir fried chicken, peppers, garlic scapes, and bok choy with lots of scallions and cilantro There was an old bag of pretty stale potato chips in the pantry, so I crushed them up, coated chicken with them, and served it over a big salad. My CSA gave me about three pounds of spinach, so I made it into a pasta sauce to use a bunch of it up in one meal. Another clean out the fridge dinner of roasted peppers, broccolini and cherry tomatoes with feta over garlicky orzo We had fajitas another night. No pictures of those, but I used the leftovers to make big salads on the day it was 101 degrees here. Steak salad for husband, niece and nephew and chicken salad for my sister and me. Last night I tried a NY Times Cooking recipe for grilled honey-lemon-tahini chicken thighs, served with rice pilaf, flatbread, and yet another salad. I thought I had finally made a good dent in the salad greens from my CSA, but they dropped off a box this morning with seven more heads of lettuce in it...

A couple of meals from the last week or so, all picked by my nephew. Chipotle style (I guess?) rice bowls Another day he grilled some peri peri style chicken, and I made a big salad and some crisp roasted potatoes with a creamy cilantro dipping sauce that everyone really liked Ina Garten's recipe for spaghetti and spicy turkey meatballs

Coconut curry cod with sweet peppers and rice

It’s a decent substitute, and has some of the flavors of regular gin. It has a different mouthfeel, as do basically all non alcoholic spirits. This is the thing I notice most about non alcoholic mocktails. At home, my mocktail of choice is light tonic water mixed with preserved lemon pulp and a pinch of salt and sugar over ice with olives. I do have a small collection of n/a spirits, but have not really experimented with them to date.

I have HB steins from when my husband went with colleagues about five years ago. They are clear glass with the HB logo on them. They are huge and I have tried to get rid of them a few times but they are always rescued from the donation bin and put back, even though no one ever drinks out of them. A couple of recent dinners. Miso salmon noodle bowl with peppers and spinach Grilled tuna with soy-ginger butter sauce, broccoli, and rice

It’s readily available where we live. It’s even in the grocery store! Our house is only a 15 minute drive from the Trillium brewery (#3 in the country), so we always have lots of good options to choose from. Too bad I cannot drink it any more 😑 One drawback is that it is very tall. I do think things would get lost in there for me because of that. I have two full sized fridges at my house and that setup works better for me. Last night we visited Pisces. Here is the menu Drinks. Spicy margarita for my nephew, a n/a gin and tonic for me, and a weird flavored martini that my husband disliked (this has been a theme for this trip) We shared a starter special of flash sautéed calamari with olives, tomatoes, and arugula Husband and nephew both had a special of spaghetti with poached oysters in a bacon Parmesan cream sauce with spinach I had the cornmeal crusted cod dish. Nephew had a dessert of espresso affogato and we all shared a slice of lemon cake with blueberry sauce And that’s it for this visit. A few pictures from our beach walk this morning on aptly named Cockle Cove. The sand is covered with the cockles that give the beach its name Until next time

It said devils on the menu. I know that’s not the usual filling haha. I have been there, but not for years. It’s pretty rare that we go out for breakfast. We all typically eat just toast, fruit, and/or yogurt in the morning. It was on the daily specials drink menu, which I did not look at, so not sure, sorry. Not disagreeing, but you could say that about a lot of weird alcohol mixers, right? Do we really need all those flavored rums floating out there in the world? Cucumber or chili pepper infused vodka? Or more traditionally, even a worm in a bottle of mezcal? Probably not, but maybe a marketing tool. I know there is still a bottle of rum in my liquor cabinet that my husband and I bought on our honeymoon. We did not buy it for the excellent flavor, we bought it because it was in a bottle shaped like a policeman and we thought it was cool looking at the time. It’s never actually been opened. It’s a Thermidor. Here’s the inside. Nothing in the freezer but ice cream and ice cubes. I brought the ice cube trays from home in case the house did not have any. I did not realize that there was this huge ice maker! And the fridge. Nothing in there either except some yogurt, fruit, my nephew’s loaf of bread, and stuff to make coffee. There’s also beer and wine for my husband and nephew (most of which will get hauled back home), and spindrift seltzer and Diet Coke for me (just the right amount for the time we have left here, because I am a planner like that). So after saying we never go out to breakfast, we went out to breakfast in town yesterday, at the Captain’s Table. Nephew had pancakes And husband and I both got a bowl with scrambled eggs, bacon, avocado, tomatoes, cheddar and home fries The day was pretty foggy and windy, so no scenic pictures. Nephew wanted sushi for dinner, so we went to Bluefins in town. Nephew had a whiskey sour (I think?), and husband had a sake martini We were restricted as to what we could order by my nephew’s shellfish allergy, but they did a great job being careful about the order and customizing stuff as needed. It took a little longer, but he was really happy with everything he got to try. Left to right, there’s a spicy scallop roll, a bluefin roll, a mixed salmon, yellowtail and tuna roll, some crazy thing with spicy tuna and tobiko (he thought this was too sweet), and a toro roll. He also wanted to order the Oreo sushi roll for dessert This basically tasted like a mint Girl Scout cookie. One slice was enough though! One thing I have discovered about staying in this house is that the lighthouse next door plays trumpet music each day at 8am and 8pm through a loudspeaker. It always starts with the calvary charge, which was a bit jarring this morning!

They were smashed and deep fried fingerlings, rather than standard French fries. Very crunchy! Yesterday my sister and niece left in the early morning to go back home. The remaining three of us did a bunch of beach walks. One of my favorite spots to look for sea glass in Truro had been invaded by seaweed We stopped in Wellfleet to get a gelato at Gelato Joy. Limited flavors at this time of year My half salted caramel, half dark chocolate was mostly chocolate, which was disappointing. I tossed over half of the chocolate, it was just too much. Another beach walk near the house and then dinner, at my nephew’s request, was back at Mac’s Shack. He is moving to Chicago in the fall for grad school and is hitting all his old favorites before leaving. specials drinks. Two mezcalitos and a mocktail with lime, cucumber, and jalepeno we got the tuna tartare appetizer and some sashimi husband had the bluefish special nephew had roasted ritz cracker bluefish with creamed spinach and mashed potatoes I had a fried cod sandwich We made it to the beach just in time to see the sun slip below the horizon Today we moved to Chatham, but first we went to Provincetown. Lots of beach walks. Some good success in sea glass hunting. Here’s one At nephew’s request we went to Local 186 for lunch. Soda water with strawberry puree, lime and mint for me. Husband and nephew had iced tea. I got the Southern BLT, which was tasty but huge. I only ate half husband had a hot dog and nephew had a burger After some very successful shopping in Tim’s Used Books, we headed back to Chatham to check in to our new accommodation. Here is part of the kitchen. I think this is the largest home refrigerator I have ever seen. The doors are quite heavy. The lighthouse is practically right next door to us. I snapped a picture on the way to dinner at Impudent Oyster Drinks. The one on the left is an oyster Negroni (apparently made with oyster infused liquor) Devils on horseback clams casino Nephew’s meatballs grilled swordfish with cilantro rice and asparagus

My nephew joined us late yesterday afternoon. Last night was another repeat from our last visit, the Wicked Oyster. Drinks and mocktails. House made focaccia and pickles with coppa from Maine Wellfleet oysters I got the clam stew again my niece and husband both got the fish and “chips” (smashed and fried fingerlings) sister had the sole with citrus buerre blanc And nephew had a cavatelli with pork sausage We skipped dessert and hustled to the beach but missed sunset again. Still made for a nice walk. Sister and niece drove back to our home this morning, so it’s just me, my husband, and my nephew for the rest of the visit.

We are back on the Cape, staying at the last house we were at until Thursday, and then moving to Chatham for the rest of the time. We arrived Sunday, and the group voted for dinner at Winslow’s Tavern. My sister and husband’s drinks. We liked the curried mussels so much last time that we ordered them again. We also ordered a special of smoked oysters Rockefeller. I am not sure why they were served on scallop shells! Niece ordered the pork schnitzel Sister and I ordered ramp fettuccini with fried oysters. This was just ok. It needed more acid, I think. Husband had a special of roasted skate. We shared a blueberry panna cotta for dessert. and a salted caramel tart We got to the harbor too late for the sunset, but did manage a very cold, very windy walk Yesterday we had dinner at Mac’s Shack. They built a new outdoor patio which has a view of the water drinks and mocktails oysters spicy tuna mango martini steamed mussels sushi for my niece sister had scallops seared sesame tuna sandwich bluefish with clams and celeriac puree I tried to get a picture of the northern lights, but there was not much to see Some scenic pictures from our lunchtime low tide beach walk We found a very dead beached basking shark. I remember reading that this had washed up a few weeks ago. I found a whelk with many creatures attached Post-walk key lime pie ice cream

Last night's dinner for my husband, sister, and myself. Haddock cooked in a spicy, garlicky fresh tomato sauce with capers and olives over spinach. served with a garlic bruschetta. Since it's still my niece's week to pick dinners, I also cooked her what she wanted for dinner, which was crunchy haddock with peach-mango salsa, curry roasted sweet potatoes, and sautéed spinach. The rest of us just wanted a break from the sweeter stuff she prefers.

My nephew is in Montana this week, so I have been letting my niece choose the dinners. She has been picking stuff she loves that he dislikes. One night it was chicken katzu with rice and cucumber salad. He tolerates this meal, but it's not a favorite (he says he could live on five dinners: pasta, pizza, tacos, curry, and burgers) And last night she asked for pineapple fried rice with glazed bok choy. He hates pineapple in every form, and she loves it, so it was a nice treat for her.

I did not follow a specific recipe. Basically, I wanted to make gnocchi but I did not have time, so I made dumplings. I used this recipe as a jumping off point. King Arthur Flour sweet potato gnocchi Last night, we had grilled herbed chicken with tzatziki, salad, lemon rice and flatbread

Some quick dinners this week Rigatoni with roasted pepper sauce and spinach A NYTimes cooking recipe for weeknight chicken tagine Sweet potato dumplings with broccoli, brown butter, and toasted pine nuts

Thanks for this article! You solved the mystery of where Ceraldi is going for me. We went by the old place in Wellfleet and saw that he was out of there. The 9 Ryder spot is a good one. I do wonder if he is going to stick to the full seven course tasting concept. We actually skipped eating there last year because it's just so much food. I wish he would do a five course menu. We stopped into the White Hare on our last visit too. It's definitely over the top! I have a huge Alice in Wonderland collection, but it's very specialized as to what I collect, so I was unsurprisingly unable to find anything there. I wish them good luck though. Ladyslipper sounds like a successful concept too. We are heading back out there in a week, but the visit has morphed from just the two of us to a larger group, so not sure that we will be able to stop in this time given the size of the building (if it's even open yet). If we do though, I will report back!

Weekend dishes. Friday: sole meuniere with mashed potatoes and spinach Saturday, tuna with rice and smacked cucumbers Sunday, miso salmon with roasted broccolini and carrot-parsnip puree

That was mascarpone cheese with preserved lemon. It's called Caribbean mignonette. I am not sure what exactly makes it Caribbean. It was lightly sweet and had a little heat.

For our final day, we did some more hiking in Provincetown yesterday and then ended up in Truro for the opening night of Blackfish. I really like this restaurant, but sometimes the food feels too heavy in the heat of the summer, so I was glad to try it on this cooler evening. Husband’s negroni Fried oysters Steamed littlenecks with fennel, saffron, Calabrian chiles, and fregola sarda. We both got the tuna bolognese. This is the most popular dish at the restaurant. The server brought it out with a flourish and said we had ordered the first two of the season. The portion was smaller than in prior years, which I really appreciated. It’s usually way too much food. We shared a strawberry rhubarb crostata with basil whipped cream And then headed to the beach for the final sunset of this visit We’ll be back in a couple of weeks for some more beach walks and oysters.

Yesterday we did a lot of the trails. We drove to Chatham to hike in the Monomoy Wildlife Refuge. About two years ago a large portion of the preserve near the visitor center got washed out during a storm, and there’s only parking for about a dozen cars now. Because of the erosion, you have to park in one of the few spots and then walk into a private neighborhood, past many “private” signs, for about 1/2 mile, to reach the trailhead. We knew there was no chance we would be able to get anywhere near it once the summer crowds arrive. A quick stop at Lighthouse beach before Monomoy Monomoy is really stunning. It’s mostly a soft sand trek, which I find tiresome, but I am glad we did it. We went back to Eastham to do the Salt Pond trail And Nauset Light beach. This is the lighthouse pictured on the bags of Cape Cod potato chips, if you have eaten those. A very large driftwood sculpture on the beach. We saw lots of seals, but no sharks or whales. For dinner, we went to the Pearl in Wellfleet. Cranberry margarita, and cranberry juice with mint and seltzer water Steamed littlenecks (not what we ordered, but oh well) Shrimp tacos Sunset over Wellfleet harbor

Monday I went for a walk down to the beach near the house. It was quite cold and windy. I had the beach to myself. Stopped back into PB Boulangerie to buy some bread. I saw these cute chocolate sardines. If they came in dark chocolate I would have bought some After husband finished working, we went back to the beach to watch the very end of the sunset and then go to dinner. We quickly realized after driving around that almost everything was closed for dinner on Mondays. It was also too late to go to the fish market, as they were closed too. Luckily, Van Rensselaer’s was open, so we stopped in there, more from default than desire. Oysters A special of curried mussels Husband got a seafood pasta with clams, shrimp, swordfish and lobster I had pasta with shrimp We were too full for dessert. Yesterday, after husband finished working, we drove to Provincetown to walk on the beach at low tide and have dinner. The right whales have been spotted from the beach here recently, and I was hoping to catch a glimpse, but no luck. Provincetown was empty. That should last for about two more weeks, and then the summer crowds will arrive. I noticed a few new shops and what looks like a few new restaurants, but everything was closed, and signage was not up yet on the restaurant spaces. We went to Ciro and Sals since they are open year round Negroni for husband, berry mocktail for me We kept up our mussels theme and shared some mussels marinara I had seafood fra diavolo with more mussels, shrimp, and scallops And husband had spicy calamari puttanesca We shared a dessert of bread pudding with salted caramel sauce. It would have been better if it was warmer. The rest of the dinner was delicious though. We swung back to the beach after dinner just in time to catch the very tail end of the sunset. Odd things happen at the beach sometimes. There was a man at the beach who looked just like my Dad, who passed away six months ago. He was even wearing his clothes, down to his favorite pair of shoes. He was all alone just watching the sun set. I took his picture and sent it to my siblings, who were equally stunned by the uncanny resemblance. I hope the man enjoyed the sunset as much as my dad would have.

I am going to try and replicate it at home. I really liked the butter beans in it. Yesterday was more walking, this time at the Audubon Nature Sanctuary in Wellfleet. We hit all the trails Painted turtles Scenic views Then back to the house for a slice of vegetable quiche from PB Boulangerie…kind of bland and a shared raspberry tart. We went to a beach near the house at low tide to walk on the tidal flats it was cold and there were lots of laughing gulls Dinner was at Mac’s shack. A mocktail of muddled jalepenos, lime, cucumber and mint, and a spicy margarita for husband oysters clam fritters with garlic-parsley sauce. The flavors were good but the fritter interior was a tad gummy Husband tried a special of stuffed squid with a lobster mousse and crisped potato wedges. I thought it looked dry, but he said it was decent. The seafood portion was more like an appetizer than an entree though. There was only one piece of squid. I had this year’s scallop dish, which came with a curried corn bisque, toasted pine nuts, raisins, and capers. Full moon with osprey nest