liamsaunt

Egg, bacon and cheese on a toasted poppyseed bagel

Thursday night I made a spinach and gruyere souffle

I have that cookbook. I have not used it in a few years, but I do remember that the roasted chicken balsamico with potatoes is really delicious. I take notes in my cookbooks when I make the recipes, so I will flip through it this weekend and see if there were any others that I really liked and can recommend.

A cold Tuesday night meant a big bowl of comforting congee

I did the feast of the seven fishes last night. It was a lot of food! We started with some salmon tartare and a glass of champagne Then had some clams casino My niece made some sushi, this roll is based on her favorite roll at a restaurant we like on Cape Cod called Mac's Shack. It has tuna, avocado, mango and cream cheese. I don't like fruit or cream cheese in my sushi so did not try it smoked salmon deviled eggs bacala fritters with garlic aioli mini scallop rolls with smoked paprika mayo lobster sliders and the main course, tuna bolognese there were also lobster stuffed mushrooms that I missed getting a picture of.

Dinner tomorrow is settled. Thanks to nagging from people that are coming, I am doing Feast of the Seven Fishes. Yes, normally a Christmas Eve thing, but we have normally done it on NYE in my family. So, the menu is mostly appetizers to be consumed over hours: fried Wellfleet oysters mini scallop rolls with smoked paprika aioli mini lobster sliders on brioche smoked salmon devilled eggs tuna sushi (made by and mostly consumed by my niece ha) bacala fritters main: linguini with clams, and a simple salad of bitter greens Lots of champagne and other wines with all. We are all very great friends and family, and everyone coming is spending the night at my house, so the excess garlic and wine is just fine :-)

Dinner tonight. I attempted homemade sushi for the first time for my 14 year old niece. I got the tuna from the sushi counter at our local Wegmans. It was a bit tricky at first (the saddest aka first roll is in the back somewhat blurred by my camera haha) She ate the whole plate other than the two she graciously allowed my sister and husband to sample. And then asked what was for dinner! She is going to be an expensive date someday. Adults had salmon burgers with ginger-lime aioli and soy glaze. Apparently this recipe won some burger contest a while back. It was good but I prefer my usual salmon burger with lemon-dill aioli.

Happy Anniversary Shelby! I have New Year's Day figured out. I am doing a ham, and a turkey roulade for the folks who don't eat ham. Sides are potatoes au gratin, sweet potato puree with pecans (yes, two kinds of potatoes, but the people eating ham want sweet potatoes and the people eating turkey do not), brussels sprouts and spinach. I have not figured out New Year's Eve yet haha! I have some friends coming over and am trying to come up with something easy. Maybe pizza, maybe spaghetti and meatballs. I had originally planned fish stew but the kids won't eat that and one guest is allergic to mussels. Hmmm...hopefully inspiration strikes soon!

Last night I cooked a heritage turkey that my husband ordered from D'Artagnan. It was my first time cooking a heritage bird. The flavor is much stronger than a typical bird, and there is much less meat too. There were five of us dining, and there is only a very small ziplock of meat left. Typically I would get at least three meals from a turkey. We all liked the heritage bird very much. Well, except for my niece who complained that there was not enough meat on the legs haha. I am going to make some sort of soup out of the carcass and leftover gravy this afternoon. Served with mashed potatoes, green beans, and these maple roasted acorn squash wedges

Yesterday I made Eric Ripert's recipe for roasted capon stuffed with mushrooms and truffles. It was very tasty. Served with mashed potatoes, shredded brussels sprouts, and whisky-glazed carrots. Leftovers were made into a bunch of stock that will be made into a chicken stew or soup for after the football game this afternoon.

Here are some photos from my group dinner on Sunday. The house salad. I like to make this because my nephew always takes at least two bowls and his vegetable intake is somewhat limited these days And a platter of fried chicken No photos from the last few days because I got whomped with a stomach bug. There is something about this time of year, I always seem to get sick with something or another! So annoying. I am better now, and have some interesting meals coming up this week since I am off work until January 5. No cooking today, as I am going to my husband's family for Christmas eve, and they do not do home cooked food at gatherings, it is catering only for them. This used to annoy me, but now I just make sure to bring along a nice bottle of wine and enjoy the company :-) I am doing a prime rib roast for my family tomorrow.

A rustic stew of sausage, onions, garlic, kale, white beans and cherry tomatoes.with some parmesan cheese. Comfort food on a cold and rainy night.

Sure. This is the CSF I belong to: http://www.capeannfreshcatch.org/about-cafc/ It is a great program. The fish comes right from the boats to the share, they portion it out and deliver it in coolers on ice to the pick up location. You buy shares in eight-week increments. You can opt in for a 1 lb, 2 lb, or whole fish share. They also offer kosher shares. If there is a storm that prevents the boats from going out, the share credits you a week towards the next share period. Also, if you know you are going to be out of town for some of the share weeks, you can let them know when you sign up for the share and then you only have to pay for the weeks you select. The fish has been consistently excellent, much better than anything you can get in the stores around here. I enjoy the variety and the weekly puzzle of what to do with the catch. I am making Faroe Island salmon from the share tonight.

More fish last night. We got scallops in our fish share this week. I cooked the lightly and served in a hollowed out baguette with some garlic-herb butter. Fast and easy.

Yesterday's fish share was dabs. I made it in a white wine-lemon-butter-parsley sauce, with some crispy potatoes and asparagus. The fish was very sweet and tasty.

Lettuce wraps on Thursday night. One of my favorite super fast dinners.

Reposting Monday's dinner that got lost in the reboot of the upgrade: fish tacos made with haddock from my fish share. My husband got an email from them yesterday saying that next week in addition to the usual 2 pounds of white fish we get, we will be getting a pound of Faroe Island salmon and a pound of scallops. It will be a fish heavy week! Tuesday I made banh mi to try and use up the rest of the daikon-carrot pickle I made a couple of weeks ago. Still have some left.

BonVivant, that halibut looks delectable The other night I made a pork tenderloin for the first time. I don't make pork often, and when I do, I typically cook bone in chops or a roast. I wrapped it in prosciutto before roasting. It got a little more cooked that I was aiming for. My meat thermometer's battery is dead at the moment. Served with a sage wine butter, smashed potatoes and shredded brussel sprouts. I really like shredded brussel sprouts, so fast and easy to make.

Kim Shook, that looks really good. Nice idea for a big gathering. Poached eggs on toast with maldon salt

Curry chicken and grapes on baguette

More scallops last night, this time seared and served on linguini with a creamy arugula-basil pesto.

I have dry-brined a chicken for three days in a fridge on a wire rack with a plate underneath and it was fine. Not too salty at all. It made for a very tasty chicken. I would do it this way all the time if I had the foresight to prepare. I usually don't though.

A brown plate but very tasty. Scallop rolls with smoked paprika mayonnaise and herbed parmesan fries.

Brie, apples, arugula, and dijon mustard on a baguette. Not really breakfast food but it is what I felt like eating.

It is mayonnaise with sriracha and garlic added.