liamsaunt

Lobster rolls. I use cucumber, scallions, and tarragon in mine, never celery.

I thought it was as close as I could hope for. The menu description gave no indication of which na spirits it used. I think it just said something like “juniper, herbs, roots.” It was a non sweet mocktail, so I was happy. Perhaps. The batter was definitely light and the food was piping hot. We spent Sunday walking on the beach in front of the house. You’ve already seen those views. For dinner, we decided to go to Bluefins in town for sushi, since none of us were in the mood for a big, rich meal. Cocktails. As you can see I was back to my club soda with lime. Toro tasting spoon (we did not realize this was the presentation, but my sister and I just shared one) tuna tower Three rolls to share: tuna, salmon, yellowtail, jalepeno. Toro jalepeno. And a tuna special roll which was everyone’s favorite. Chatham Squire at night Husband and I did one last beach walk before heading home this morning, this time at Claflin Landing. Most of this beach is owned by Chatham Bars Inn, but strolling is generally (though not always) allowed on private beaches in MA (you just cannot stop and set up on them). Beach A few boats operated by the Inn. The Bartender, which shuttles you over to the sandy break you see in the background for a beach day or picnic Sailboat A very large house on the far side of the beach and a fishing boat. That’s it for this visit.

Yesterday we did some more exploring on the beach in front of the house. Here’s the Occupy Chatham shack up close. The background on this shack is that 10 years ago the frame floated across the channel from one of the outer islands during a winter storm. It was reinforced and added to by locals over the years. So far it has survived ten years of nor’easters. There is some dispute over who manages this stretch of beach— the town of Chatham or the National Seashore, and the shack is a gentle protest by locals against the Seashore’s encroachment on what is considered by many to be town land. Some scenic shots from our walk: All that walking made us hungry, so we went to town for a treat. Buffy’s Ice Cream Heath bar and mocha chip. These were smalls— they were huge! After ice cream we did more walking and caught the sunset at Harding’s Beach Dinner was at Viera on Main. Menu Cocktails. They actually had a decent mocktail menu, so I was able to order a phony Negroni (center). Husband had a martini and I don’t know what my sister ordered. We shared the fritto misto— a vast improvement over the prior day’s over fried calamari we also shared the clams balboa I had the dukkah spiced tuna sister chose the fettuccine with clams and husband had the butter poached lobster. given our earlier ice cream, we skipped dessert.

My husband, sister and I are back on the Cape for the weekend, this time staying in Chatham. It was a last minute decision to come out (the weather is beautiful this weekend). Here is the sun setting over the house as we arrived last night. Most restaurants are already booked for the weekend, but we were able to get a table at the Impudent Oyster for dinner. The menu is vast cocktails for my sister and husband disappointing fried calamari and odd Cajun oysters that my husband added My sister had the sole with crab stuffing I had scallops and shrimp with udon noodles and my husband had swordfish piccata we shared a slice of key lime cheesecake for dessert. We all agreed this was the best part of the meal. Our house is close to the Occupy Chatham art installation. I will walk over and get some close ups of it later today Some scenic photos of the dunes in front of the house

We got an abundance of sprouting cauliflower in this week's CSA box, so last night I made roasted cauliflower shawarma with spicy tahini sauce. Served with rice pilaf, garlic flatbread, and some of the many tomatoes from my CSA

Creamy cajun chicken pasta, a NY Times recipe I made to use up a bunch of veggies in the fridge. I probably won't make it again. Mutter paneer, maharajah rice, and garlic naan

Some dinners from this weekend. Spicy chicken salad Jackfruit and black bean tacos Tomato galette and arugula salad

A couple of dinners using fish I brought back from Cape Cod. Green coconut curry with cod cheeks and rice Herb marinated roasted halibut with creamy corn and roasted red pepper coulis

They were potatoes. I am fairly certain they are the same ones I can buy in my grocery store, which is Lamb Weston brand. This shape is called potato dippers, I think. It's not a shape that is too popular in my house, so I very rarely buy them. Their fries are good for a packaged product though. I usually have their house cut and shoestring fries in my freezer.

I am not really sure what went in to the croquette. They were extremely light and tender, almost like a fluid mashed potato inside. It was so dark I could not get a good look at the make up of them unfortunately. They were definitely one of the best croquettes I have ever had--I often find them too stodgy. The sauce was sweet but it worked really well with the salt cod flavor. Sorry I can not be more specific than that! Yesterday we spent the day walking around Provincetown, talking about whether we should move out this way (not all the way to Provincetown though). Herring Cove was like glass While Race Point had some waves Unsurprisingly, my sister chose Pepe's on the Wharf for dinner. She's predictable 🙂 Drinks Oysters Rockefeller Fried calamari Husband and I both got the jumbo shrimp and sister had halibut with roasted red pepper sauce We shared a slice of their famous coconut cake for dessert And that wraps up this visit. I think we will come back at least one more time before it gets too cold, if the weather cooperates. Here's a contemplative Provincetown scene taken last night from the pier in town to end this report.

Saturday morning my husband and I walked down to Ceraldi to check out his breakfast cafe pop up. I chose a jam filled tart and husband had a croissant stuffed with spinach bechamel After that filling breakfast we once again did a long beach walk, though I forgot to take pictures. Next, we decided to try and go to one of the town ponds again, since it was later in the afternoon. We hoped the little kids might be back home doing nap time or dinner. Success. The pond was quiet, and my husband got a nice swim in My sister arrived that evening, and we did try to go to Mac's Shack for dinner, but they don't take reservations and there was a 2.5 hour wait for a table (!), so instead we snagged a last minute reservation for the Wicked Oyster. This restaurant was reopened recently with new management and all new front and back of the house staff. One of the new owners is Mac's brother, so we were willing to give it a try. Our last few meals at the old version of the Wicked Oyster were decidedly mediocre, so I am glad someone else has taken it over. The menu is quite small and generally focuses on local seafood. Unfortunately, the restaurant was incredibly dark, so no menu pictures. You can tell how dark from this cocktail picture. We shared some starters. Oysters house made focaccia Salt cod croquettes with golden raisin honey and almonds and clam strips (the one miss of the starters--we all thought they were bland and chewy, and I am opposed to clam strips on principle anyway) Husband's brother got the lobster gnocchi with walnuts Sister and I had the sole with Carolina rice and lemon caper beurre blanc and husband had pan roasted skate with pepper sauce All of the desserts sounded very strange, so we decided to share just one to say we tried it. This is sesame ice cream with blueberry jam and cornflake crunches. That's not lime zest on top, it is seaweed. I thought it was interesting, sister hated it, husband's brother was neutral, and husband really liked it. Overall, it's a vast improvement on the old Wicked Oyster, and I would go back again. Yesterday, the weather was rather bad, so we just stayed at the house reading books and relaxing. We headed back to Mac's Shack again for dinner attempt #2. We went right at 5PM and this time there was only a 40 minute wait, so we stuck around. Cocktails for all but me A rather mediocre tuna mango martini (the chips were overfried and there was mostly tomato in the dip--very little tuna) Halibut turadito Yellowtail jalapeño sashimi Fried clams for sister Green curry scallops for me (husband's brother got this too) Seared halibut with lobster mashed potatoes for husband Today's our last full day. The house owner offered to let us extend our rental a few days, and my husband has his equipment here to work remotely, but I think I am ready to go home tomorrow. We are heading up to Provincetown to spend the day walking on the beaches and then have dinner at my sister's choice of restaurant.

I do hope this is the case. There are only a few places I have been where I've found a really delicious, non-sweet mocktail. I think the market for it is definitely growing for lots of reasons. Yesterday we spent the entire day walking various beaches in town. It was a big step day on my fitbit for sure. When the tide goes out you can find some interesting things. Pretty shells, sea glass, occasionally a buoy that has washed up, or sometimes even a boat that floats without water We decided to go to the Pearl, since it is one of the restaurants that is easily walkable from the house we are renting. Menu Drinks for my husband and his brother Bang bang shrimp appetizer Wasabi crusted tuna sashimi appetizer I got seared cod Husband's brother had grilled swordfish and husband had fried scallops We barely made the sunset. View from the parking lot And from the top of the dune that I had to full out sprint to the top of to get there in time Sister returns this evening, so I am betting that we will end up back at Mac's Shack. It's her favorite.

Yesterday was my nephew's last day with us on this visit, so we let him pick the itinerary. He wanted to go to Provincetown. We visited both National Seashore beaches, Race Point and Herring Cove He opted for dinner at Ciro and Sal's. We passed the iconic Lobster Pot on the way. Nephew has a policy of never eating at any restaurant with the world "lobster" in the title, so we just admired the neon sign and then kept walking. No menu pictures from Ciro and Sal's as it was so dark inside. Here are the guys' drinks. Black manhattan for my nephew, a spicy tequila thing for my husband's brother, and a dirty martini for my husband Nephew wanted to try both the fried and the baked oysters. He actually ended up preferring the baked ones. Fried with lemon aioli Baked with pesto Glasses of wine for my nephew and husband and then we all ordered the same thing for dinner, calamari puttanesca. It was seriously spicy! We shared a tiramisu for dessert My nephew leaves this morning to go home and play in a golf tournament. If it were me, I would forget the golf and stay at the beach, but we all have different priorities 🙂 I am not sure what is on tap for dinner tonight. My sister rejoins us tomorrow.

We were curious about that too, so asked. It's a frozen grasshopper pie. I like mint desserts a lot, but was too full to order one. Yesterday was a pretty mellow day. Nephew just wanted to relax at the house. My husband, his brother and I went out to try and go swimming at one of the kettle ponds, but they were all just too crowded with little kids for our mood, so we decided to go for a walk at the beach instead. The crowd level at the beach was much more to our liking... The only crowds we experienced were these guys... Nephew wanted to stay home for dinner, and asked me to make linguini with clams. I took a few pictures of the fish market. This is the smallest market that Mac runs by far--he has others in Chatham, Provincetown, and Eastham that are at least twice as large, but this tiny one in Wellfleet is well stocked for its size. There's also a prepared food counter, which is mostly side dishes, and a small fridge with milk, butter, and eggs. 50 littleneck clams, a package of french butter, a loaf of bread, and a bottle of clam juice was $40. Much cheaper than going out to dinner!

Monday we decided to go to Van Rensselaer's. We have not been there yet this year, and enjoyed a dinner there last summer. Menu It turned out that my nephew could not have anything from the fryer, so he asked to get a plate of clams casino to share. They were OK-- the ones at the Bookstore were better. He ordered the short ribs for dinner, minus the fried onion strings. He said they were fine, but the ones I make are better (smart nephew!) Husband ordered the swordfish New England style with lobster stuffing. He said the stuffing was a bit bland, and his swordfish was overcooked. Husband's brother ordered the fish and chips, and he was very pleased with those I had the Cajun swordfish with mashed potatoes and asparagus. I would have liked more vegetable--they only gave me three spears of asparagus. We passed on dessert. Yesterday was a gorgeous day, so beaching was in order. As you can see from the sign, the water is a "warm" 60 degrees. I will stay on the shore, thanks. Guards guarding. There's no cell phone service out this far, so it's best not to get in trouble while swimming as it can be difficult to get timely emergency services. The lovely beach. We saw many seals. Another reason to stay on the shore... We decided to stay in for dinner tonight. The guys all wanted tuna, and the seafood market had local bluefin, so we got that, and a piece of swordfish for me. My nephew grilled the fish up. Here's my husband's plate of tuna with deviled shallot butter, with the corn and tomatoes from my CSA that I brought out with me, and some grilled garlic bread. You can see that my husband poached a big bite of my swordfish before I took the picture too.

bolillo roll?

I do subscribe to Milk Street and Cook's Country (which I should cancel since I never make anything from it anymore). I would like to see that info if you have it. My problem with most mocktails is that they are just too sweet. I don't like sweet drinks. I save all my sugar for desserts! Some restaurants allow this, if they have the equipment to provide the required sealed bag (see weinoo's post below). However, he generally only bothers if there's a nice bottle of red he wants to have with dinner. He has equipment at home to reseal it so it lasts a while longer. The waitstaff usually treats it as a hassle if you want to bring wine home, so if he is going to do it, he informs them when he orders the bottle. Yes, there are decks on two levels of the house. The main deck has a huge hot tub (it's debatable whether we will use it) and a large fire pit. That upper deck you can see has high chairs with a good view of the water and the sunset. That sign is indeed funny, but my favorite part of the kitchen is a wall that has a massive built in ice maker, a large wine fridge, and multiple refrigerator drawers. I wish I had thought of something like that when I remodeled my kitchen! Yep... This is SO true! There are at least four dispensaries in Wellfleet, maybe more! I don't understand how a town of 4,000 people can support that many dispensaries. There are more dispensaries than liquor stores! Choose your pleasure I guess 🙂 Last night was my niece's last night for this visit, so we let her pick the restaurant. She wanted to go to Winslow's Tavern, even though my husband and I had just eaten there. We aim to please so off we went. Oysters to share Nephew wanted the meatball appetizer with harissa tomato sauce. and niece selected the fried polenta with prosciutto and whipped ricotta My sister, husband, and husband's brother shared the lobster croquetas For entrees, nephew chose pasta with prosciutto, figs, corn, and arugula niece had an arugula salad with grilled zucchini, grilled peaches, parmesan foam, and cashews I had a cod dish. It had two types of tomato sauce pickled fennel and basil mashed potatoes. The portion was small (which was fine with me) and the flavors were delicious. Much better than the tempura shrimp pasta I had last time! My sister and husband both got seared striped bass with pommes anna, grilled peppers, and sweet corn bisque And my husband's brother ordered a swordfish schnitzel with grilled artichokes and au poivre sauce. It was huge! We ordered a bunch of desserts to share. Housemade tiramisu gelato. Very creamy, but my favorite is still at the little gelato shop in town, Gelato Joy Lemon panna cotta Salted caramel tart with peanut butter ice cream Everyone was really happy with their dinners! That's how it can be at Winslow's Tavern. Sometimes it is mediocre, and other times it is a wonderful meal. My sister and niece drove home early this morning. My sister will be back on Saturday, so until then it is me, my husband, my nephew and my husband's brother. Not sure what the day will bring--right now it is pouring rain and thundering, so it could be a good day to just stay home and make some chowder...

Yes, they usually have specials of nice bottles for reasonable prices. Unfortunately for my husband their by the glass list is nothing special. I had to give up alcohol completely about four years ago for medical reasons, and though I adjusted quickly, I do occasionally miss sharing a nice bottle of wine with dinner. Yesterday my niece requested that we go to the Beachcomber, but their parking was full (not surprisingly on a warm summer Saturday), so we ended up walking down to the water and having dinner at the Bookstore. Menu Niece of course wanted the tuna nachos. Nephew could not have then since the chips were fried in house so he chose an order of clams casino. I did not try one but he said they were good. He had the special of linguini with clams and nduja sausage for his main sister ordered the regular linguini with clams husband had a swordfish sandwich niece had a steak sandwich and I had a bowl of mussels Only nephew wanted dessert. He got a tiramisu My niece wasn't too impressed with her sandwich, but everyone else really enjoyed their food. We missed the sunset again, but should get there tonight.

We are back in Wellfleet for the next week and a half. My husband booked this visit as a surprise for me, because what has always been my favorite house in town (from the outside, anyway) came on the rental market for the first time. He snatched it as soon as he saw it. We are literally the first people to rent it. It's an old sea captain's house that, according to the sign on the door, was built in 1820 and renovated in 2000. Here it is from the outside And here's the kitchen, where I will be making some meals later this week. That's my weekly tomato share from my CSA piled in the far corner. I guess the crop was abundant this year! My sister and niece are with us for a few days before my sister has to bring her back to NYC for college. My nephew is also here for the whole time, and my husband's brother is joining us later today. The first night it was just me and my husband. We walked into town to try Winslow's Tavern, since we have not been there yet this year. Menu, with some new things for this season We were seated at an outdoor table We ordered the striped bass belly roulade to share. The flavors were nice, but the fried oyster on top was odd and didn't go with the rest of the dish Since this was our only meal where we'd be able to order shrimp due to my nephew's allergy, we also ordered the grilled shrimp appetizer. It was pretty but nothing special, flavor wise. Husband ordered the mixed sea pasta. It was kind of flavorless And, continuing the shrimp theme, I ordered the shrimp pasta even though it sounded really weird. Tempura shrimp on pasta? And it was, indeed, weird. The pasta was good, and the flavors of the tempura were nice, but they did not work together at all. Plus the sauce made the tempura coating soggy. I ended up picking the shrimp out of the tempura batter. We shared a lemon tart for dessert. Again a mixed bag. The curd and meringue were delicious, but the crust was terrible. It was raw tasting. And the compote was incredibly bitter. We just scraped the curd off it and ate that with the meringue, leaving everything else on the plate. Winslow's is always hit or miss, and that meal was no different. The beautiful setting makes up for a lot. My sister, niece, and nephew joined us yesterday, and we headed back to Mac's Shack. Oysters Calamari stew for my nephew Razor clams (nephew requested I cook these at home later this week. He could not eat these at the restaurant as the broth had lobster stock) Spicy tuna mango martini for my niece More niece food: salmon poke bowl and gon jah mon roll Falafel burger for my nephew Tuna with soba noodles and wasabi cream sauce for me Special of lobster pesto gnocchi for my husband Lobster fettuccine for my sister Mac's doesn't really do dessert and we were all stuffed anyway.

Broiled salmon with green coconut curry spinach sauce, and lemongrass rice

Corn risotto with roasted pepper and asiago cheese chicken sausage and tomatoes

Somali spiced chicken and pepper saute over spiced rice, with flatbread. The rice and chicken recipes were from NY Times cooking.

I have not been cooking anything special the past couple of weeks, because covid has been ripping through my house. We all succumbed one day after the other one until we were all infected. Argh. Everyone's ok now though. Here's a couple of things I made on the nights I actually cooked. A NY Times recipe for chicken spiedie with buttered broccoli My nephew grilled steaks that night too, for the red meat eaters Mutter paneer and a vegetable korma I made with a huge zucchini my CSA gave me. That turned out to be a decent use for it. I did discard the seedy center Ramen noodle bowl with mushrooms, spinach and jammy eggs, a comfort meal on the day I was feeling particularly ill. Chicken shawarma

Zucchini and summer squash noodles with spiced chicken, minty yogurt, cashews, and a pineapple chutney Paneer masala with peas and spinach

Jumping back in with some recent dinners after a few weeks of vacation and too much restaurant food. Yogurt marinated grilled chicken with zucchini, an Israeli couscous salad, and a tomato-olive-cucumber salad Everything but the bagel coated tuna with rice and soy roasted mushrooms and peppers Tomato tart with lemony green beans and pistachios Charlie Bird's farro salad (minus the radishes because I didn't have any) with grilled chicken on top