Simple and Good

Grilled boneless pork chops, roasted Yukon Gold potatoes,

Brussels sprouts with butter, and cured olives and oven-dried

tomatoes.  Almost every forkful has all the elements of  the

spread laid out before me.  It's no wonder I'm always the last

to get up from the table.

Dinner under the Dome

Whole roasted chicken, potatoes, and onions cooked with indirect

heat under the Weber grill dome.  Slow is the way to go.  

170 degrees in the thighs and 160 for the breast and taters

and onions tender and ready.  About an hour and a half.  Magic.

Once all of that stuff is off the grill, throw the zucchini

halves directly over the coals and watch for about 5

minutes, with a turn halfway through.  No mess in the

kitchen and minimum 3 days worth of dinners.  Probably

$10.00 of  product, but the flavor is priceless.

Yes, Pleese!

Can you spot Sponge Bob?

Stacks

Sliced baguette fried in olive oil, with Grana Padano

(a cousin of Parmigiano Reggiano), whole basil, and

of course field-grown Jersey plum tomatoes.  Sprinkled

with grey sea salt (sel gris) and cracked black pepper.

Obviously you don't have to eat it like this. It's just that,

well you know, I like to play with my food now and then.

  

Thinking of Charley in Ireland, I dug up this photo

of the sea stack at Downpatrick Head, County Mayo.

It was one of the most spectacular sights we came

upon during our visit.  I'm thinking my stack was a 

bit more tender to the bite.

Pizza Night

I don't think being perfectly round is the most important thing.

I made two, and there was not a slice left.  

Cosas Verdes

Are you thinking what we're thinking?

So I was wondering what kind of Mexican Squirrel was chewing

on my jalapenos lately.  I probably missed him the other day

because he is kinda green.  Holy guacamole!  Bonnie, what kind

of caterpillar is this again?

Don't worry, I brought him inside just to get a better look at him

before I batter-fried him.  Kidding.  Just like with the mouse I caught

 in my living room years ago, I went outside and threw him into the 

woods.  No way they'll ever find their way back here, right?  

The one ripe jalapeno he didn't get.  I don't know what's wrong 

with me and growing certain vegetables.  The herbs do fine, but the

freakin tomatoes take forever to grow, and half of them rot on the

vine before I pick them.  The jalapenos have not even been remotely

hot, just chewy green pointy bell peppers.  At least someone likes 'em.

And yes, blowfish again.  This time panko crusted.  I'll get tired

of them soon, right around the end of their season.

Blown away

I Stopped at Ahearn's on the way home today.  I am

usually drawn to the dry sea scallops immediately, but 

I also scanned the fish case for some nice fin-fish fillets.

At first I thought I saw frogs' legs, which are certainly

good but not typical of Ahearn's offerings.  I looked

more closely and was thrilled and inspired to see

blowfish!  Of course I asked if they were local, which

they were not (Maryland), but where do the best

crabs come from?  Along with a half pound of

scallops, I got a half pound of blowfish bodies.  The

spine, tail, and dorsal fin were still included, but 

otherwise there were two beautiful loins on each fish.

First I cooked the scallops with a scant amount of 

oil on high heat, removed them to a dish on the side...

added some more oil to shallow fry, lowered the heat 

to 2/3, dredged the blowfish in flour, and fried both sides 

until crisp and brown.   

I had some leftover sticky, Japanese sweet rice which

I mixed with scallions, sesame seeds, sesame oil and

a touch of bacon fat, and snow peas which I boiled

quickly and tossed with oyster sauce.  At the table, I 

drizzled sweet chile sauce over the fish and scallops,

and had a couple beers to wash it all down. The fish was 

mild, sweet and super easy to pry away from the backbone.

No pesky pin-bones to deal with, just two perfect bites per

fish. I kept the presentation simple in honor of a good friend 

of mine who scoffs at over-decorated plates.  What

really matters is flavor, texture, and proper doneness,

all of which were well-achieved. Promise.

P.S.- the tails were crunchy and delicious.  Eat some today.