liamsaunt

There is a large Portuguese population on the Cape: Provincetown in particular. Sometimes you will hear people speaking in Portuguese near the fishing boats. Probably so the tourists cannot understand what they are saying :-)

Oven roasted halibut with tomato caper sauce

Day two of Oysterfest, Sunday. Unfortunately, day two of fest corresponded with a 1PM Patriots game, so all guys in my group decided to stay at the house to watch. So, the samplings are limited to what I tried along with my sister, niece and nephew. First up, breakfast crepe with spinach, tomato, potato, cheddar and egg My niece had a coffee frozen yogurt pop for breakfast, because she could nephew went for a mango smoothie Hatch's booth Mac's booth and their grilled oysters with garlic butter (oysters from Dennis) buttermilk fried oysters (from Dennis) At the shuck off, on the right is Mac Hay, the organizer of the festival and owner of Mac's Shack, Mac's Fish House Provincetown, and fish markets in Wellfleet, Truro, Ptown, and Eastham. And shuckers in action, last year's champion Calen from Wellfleet on left, and this year's champion "some guy from Newport so I forget his name" on right One last sunset end

Here is my report of Wellfleet Oysterfest. First, we were all shocked to learn, two days before 'fest, that there was a norovirus outbreak in Wellfleet that was potentially caused by contamination of the shellfish beds in Wellfleet harbor, an unprecedented event. This led to the complete closure of all shellfisheries in Wellfleet. It was going to be an Oysterfest with no oysters! The organizers brought in oysters from other areas of the Cape, but made the decision to not have any raw shellfish served. So, this was very much a different Oysterfest than in prior years. I feel so badly for the shellfishermen in Wellfleet, as Oysterfest weekend accounts for a good chunk of their winter income. Anyway, on to some photos. Day One, Saturday Despite the lack of raw oysters, the festival was completely packed! This photo was taken at around 11AM. As the day went on, it got more and more crowded, to the point that you could not get near the food tents. We ended up leaving earlier than planned due to the crowds. Backside bakes quahog balls Chequesett chocolate pot du creme Clam cake from a stand I forget the name of Offerings at Eat this Shellfish Lemon sugar crepe from Cape Cod Cones Banana nutella crepe from same Clam and crab cakes from Harmons (our favorite of the day) Tabasco-lime oysters from Winslows Tavern Porky's Concessions, featuring the "BBQ Sundae" (we did not try) Fried dough and a sausage sub The menu at Fairway's stall Not food, but I thought I would show the necklace that my husband bought for me from one of the vendors. It is created from a c.1830 watch fob. It is lucky for his wallet that I don't like traditional jewelry, this is my style No festival is complete without kettle corn And of course I have to show you last night's sunset with concurrent moon rise behind the dunes

this recipe was dinner tonight. Pretty good. I nixed the parsnips and used green beans instead because I felt like it: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014468-coconut-chicken-curry-with-cashews

Roasted swordfish with garlic-herb sauce, crispy potatoes, and broccoli with a little soy.

Saturday we returned to Mac's Fish House in Provincetown for lunch. Oysters broiled with garlic herb butter Fried calamari Salmon hand roll Tempura fried spicy tuna stuffed avocado Warm lobster roll Burger with salad Flounder BLT Fish sandwich Brownie with chocolate sauce and ice cream Creme brulee And this morning some of us went to breakfast at the Wicked Oyster in Wellfleet http://thewickedo.com Huevos rancheros Omelet stuffed with bacon, avocado, and sour cream Banana walnut pancakes Blueberry pancakes

A classic. I have not eaten there in forever. I'll have to get back there. I spent yesterday afternoon baking pizzas while listening to the Patriots on the radio. A pepperoni pizza for my nephew, made with a thick crust, extra cheese and extra pepperoni the way he likes it. A carbonara pizza for my niece And then seafood pizzas for the adults. A white clam pizza A lobster pizza And my favorite, a Nantucket bay scallop pizza. The scallop season has just started on Cape Cod, and they were so sweet!

I am back in Wellfleet for Columbus Day weekend. We actually have the house rented through a week from Monday, but have to go back home for a few days to work and attend a funeral. We are here through Monday, and then back again next Friday through next Monday. Next weekend is Oysterfest and always a lot of fun. I'll chronicle it here. We are having a pretty mellow weekend in anticipation of next weekend's craziness. This is the porch of our rental house on Wellfleet harbor, where we eat many meals The view from the table: Yesterday it was just my niece, my husband and I, and we had lunch at Mac's Shack. My niece's poke salad: My husband's lobster tostadas And my flounder paillard Heading to Provincetown in a bit. Here's last night's sunset

A croissant from PB Boulangerie in Wellfleet stuffed with scrambled eggs, mushrooms, and cheese

@kayb, where did you dine? Boston is my hometown. Dinner Thursday night: stir fried chicken and peppers with Thai flavors and ginger rice

Chicken tonkatsu. Between this and last night's fish fry I think I need to make a big salad for dinner tomorrow night.

fried cod, baked rosemary oven fries, onion rings, and slaw

barely seared toro on udon noodle stir fry

linguini with mixed olives and sun dried tomatoes

@Norm Matthews I think I made the same NYTimes chicken recipe as you the other night: the chicken provencal that is really popular right now? I liked it. Last night I made tortilla soup and quesadillas

Big salad

I made the Bisteca California with pepperonata and baked ricotta from Sunday Suppers at Lucques yesterday. The beef: And with chicken for the non red meat eater (me, haha) No photo of the baked ricotta but it was delicious. We ate it on crusty bread.

Soft boiled egg and toast soldiers. The soldiers were the last thing to cook in my Breville Smart Oven before it died. Unplugging it revealed a very corroded plug with slightly melted plastic on the plug end. I am not sure if the issue originated with the oven or with the outlet, but needless to say the electrician will be paying a visit tomorrow.

Yes, it is yogurt mixed with lemon zest, garlic and a little salt. It is interesting to see how differently things are priced in different parts of the world. I bought my sumac (enough to fill a quart size jar) for $3 at a middle eastern grocery in town.

last night I grilled up a chicken recipe that is currently very popular on NY Times Cooking. This one: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018244-middle-eastern-herb-and-garlic-chicken The chicken Plated with salad Very tasty and easy. I'm adding it to the keeper file.

Last night's dinner was sandwich night. Option one was a riff on a grouper "reuben" I have on vacation sometimes, but of course I can't get grouper here. This was made with leftover haddock from the prior evening's fish tacos. It bears no resemblance to a real reuben, but it's tasty. And option two was a seared salmon on ciabatta with avocado mashed with onions and a few other things and topped with bacon. I saw this idea in one of Ina Garten's cookbooks. All the components were good individually but for me personally they did not really go together in the sandwich. Now I get to grill tonight's dinner in the pitch black. Summer is truly over.

The salsa is mango, onion, kumato tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeño, and lime juice. There is also a lime flavored crema drizzled on top.

fish tacos

Tomato, rice and spinach soup