Sushi and Other Snacks c/o Doma

L. and I spent the majority of Saturday toiling away at a few large packing tasks. Basically my entire closet and dresser. It was incredibly valuable and important for L. to be there, as she actually enjoys a little organizing, whereas I probably would have thrown my hands in the air and been far more slapdash about it. Also, she was absolutely appalled by the amount of socks I possessed and implored that I get rid of at least some of the most worn out of my sock brood, which I did only reluctantly. It was not literally a Herculean task, but it was figuratively. The thing about L. is that even though it wasn't fun, the packing, having her help me and be by my side made it go by far more quickly and I wouldn't have gotten nearly as much accomplished without her support. So big ups to L. for being some a kind, patient and firm friend, willing to treat me like the stubborn child I can sometimes be. [caveat/spoiler alert: right now I am sitting in a hotel room on the Oregon coast and I just saw something that may or may not have been a corcormarant and then also a pelican...also ducks here look different, some look like they really could be itty bitty flying penguins, and that makes me happy]. So, to celebrate our productive day, to Doma we went for dinner. I decided that instead of having just one piece of the ankimo - monkfish paté - I'd have their appetizer version of it, which came with a smattering of wasabi tobikko and rested in a ponzu sauce. Delectable as always.

L. had a sashimi starter I believe, which consisted of crab, salmon and shrimp.

I had long been fascinated by their tuna/jalepeno tempura appetizer and decided that I wouldn't depart from Philly without giving it a go. Quite generous in tuna portions and presented wonderfully, I was glad to have tried it.

L. tried the gyoza and had an unpictured udon soup to round out her meal.

I went with a few extra pieces of sushi for my additional course: salmon, ikura, toro, and a yellowtail and scallion roll.

This weekend was a weekend of incredibly cold tempuratures and additional snow, but that didn't phase us on the whole. Though my hands did seem to get dryer and dryer by the second. After dinner we didn't do anything crazy, just went back to the apartment and watched the newest Star Trek movie, which we both enjoyed...but it probably would have been good to at least slightly check in on what the ending of the last movie had been, as there were a few plot points that we didn't really follow. Another lovely meal with one of my favorite people, and another step closer to my actually leaving Philly!

A Little Pasta

On some day in the not so distant past I concocted a meal for myself that included sauteed garlic, mushrooms and green pepper, bits of smoked salmon, a lightly fried egg and pasta. I'm not sure of this, but I would guess that I added cheese and truffle oil to boot. Because that is simply how I roll.

Seafood Country Days

After CPM, R. and Brutus departed I futzed and fiddled around the house and woods and consumed a whole lot of Divergent and Insurgent. If you are a teenage girl, or have one lurking inside of you, you should really read these books. Eventually I realized that eating would probably be a good thing, and that's when I remembered that in addition to the salmon I purchased at a suburban Whole Foods, I had also seen the rather unlikely option of soft shell crabs and had gotten two. So I took care of that whole thing. Seasoned the breading with salt and pepper and accompanied the crabs with lime because I had no lemons at hand. They were generally good for previously frozen crabs. I was glad to have them at such a late point in the summer.

The next night S. stopped by and I decided to try a slightly different approach to another fillet of salmon. This was farm raised salmon instead of the more fancy Atlantic salmon, and I usually am a hater of that kind of salmon...but I will say that this version of salmon was actually a bit better. In this rendition I sliced up a sweet onion, one lemon, three stalks of lemon grass and some garlic and thyme and created a bed on which I could put the salmon. Then I salted and peppered the salmon itself and filled the baking dish up to the base of the salmon with a white bordeaux. No lie, it was really good. The salmon I made the other night was good, but this was definitely better. I don't know if it was the aromatics of the lemongrass or the fat content of the farmed fish, but it definitely was pleasing to the taste buds.

Salmon Dinner and Catan

The main meal of the evening was Atlantic King Salmon, which was accompanied by roasted potatoes and sauteed squash and zuchini. CPM did the potatotes and squash/zuchinni while I handled the salmon and a salad. Everything turned out quite well.

Afterwards we enjoyed a round of Catan and Brutus slept, wiped out from all the walking we did earlier in the day.

Smoked Salmon, Goat Brie and Other Treats (With More Catan)

Another day with more floating, sunning, reading and playing. For another outdoor game I put together a little smoked salmon plate with goat brie, cornichons, capers and red onions. A perfect accompaniment to the game and location.

Pre-Pimlico Racing Weekend Meal c/o b.

 A few weekends back it was time for the annual running of the Preakness. The big race - The Preakness - is run on Saturday, but the Friday before - known as Black Eyed Susan Day - is also a relatively big deal, especially in Baltimore. Historically my parents, the T.'s and a few others would do both days of races, driving up from Silver Spring each day and then driving back down at the end. Last year we all stayed in our cousin V.'s house in nearby Towson and it was decided that my father, me, and L. and Fat T. would do so again. L. and Fat T. couldn't arrive until Friday morning, so it was only me who arrived late Thursday afternoon. The drive was solid, nothing surprising. After a bit of chatting on V.'s delightful porch, we set off to the Bolton Hill area of Baltimore to enjoy a dinner al fresco courtesy of b. Bistro. The Bolton Hill area, as far as I could determine, has a pretty similar vibe to my own Art Museum/Fairmount Philadelphia neighborhood, and is not unlike Cobble Hill or Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn. All to say that its lined with buildings I think you could refer to as brown stones, which often enough have nicely landscaped front stoops and streets that include the occasional shade bearing tree. It's cute, is what I'm saying. b. was also cute. The evening was lovely, temperature-wise, so we weren't the only ones sitting outside, enjoying the not-too-hot, not-too-cold environs. We started our dinner with a bottle of wine and fried oysters. The batter around each oyster was thick and crunchy, so much so that at my father's first bite there was a moment where we heard a sound that initially seemed to signify tooth against shell bit...but upon closer and careful mouth inspection on my father's part, it was determined that no, it was just an especially fiesty batter morsel. Oysters were nice and sweet and succulent inside their new battered shells. And the greens and dressing that accompanied them were also solid. I could have done with perhaps a little more of a lemon element, but that's my only complaint.

 Dad and the wine.

I chose the Organic Salmon with crispy skin pan roasted, green onion polenta cake,
sauteed spinach, and fire roasted red pepper coulis. The fish was excellently prepared, tender and not dry at all. I enjoyed especially the crispy skin element and the polenta cake, an element of some plates I really could take or leave, was a little more interesting than many. The coulis was also a nice touch.

Dad had the special fish of the day with a crab risotto with English peas and corn, which was also nicely executed. V. ordered the scallops and the bite of said dish I had was proof positive that the folks in the kitchen know their way around seafood. Everything was just on point.

What a wonderful first meal for the racing weekend. Thanks to V. for the suggestion and Dad for the meal itself.

NYC Salmon and Bagel; Icy Woods Walk

The next morning those of us without gluten allergies enjoyed toasted everything bagels (from NYC of course) along with the salmon pastrami that I asked L. to pick up from Shelsky's, as well as some of their horseradish cream cheese. Honestly the cream cheese could have been more horse radishy and the salmon wasn't quite as delicious as I remembered it from the crazy bagel I had a while back. Though perhaps they didn't entirely live up to my expectations, I won't say that I was actually unhappy. I was very happy.

After breakfast and laying about for a bit, we took another walk adventure in the now snow covered woods.

We had an especially good time breaking ice, of which there were a few different sets. Here you'll see Fatty holding on to a tree while investigating this particular ice pool.

Here you will see me truly thinking that I was about to be eaten by the ice (it was hard to sense how deep it would be once we broke through, so it was a little scary for a second). Poor L. didn't have very warm shoes/socks and even though she was wearing galoshes they weren't 100% water proof.

Ice. Ice. Baby.

Stop. Collaborate and listen. This ice is going to glisten.

My hat in a new configuration.

A lovely morning and afternoon. I was very sad to see the two of them leave shortly after our walk but I was very glad that they had been able to make it at all.

Cheesestravaganza, Country Walk, Sweet Potato Soup, Salmon and Snow

L. has not been having the easiest of times as of late, so I thought it would be nice if she and Fatty could come out to the country for a little respite. Additionally, she's in the process of trying out a new diet, which would pretty much put an end to her cheese consumption. This is, of course, a travesty. I figured if she had to bid adieu to cheese in all its glory, she should go out with a bang. So before going out to the country, I stopped at DiBruno Brothers to pick up a few stellar cheeses for us to all enjoy in a sort of final stand (for her...I simply cannot imagine my life without cheese). Mad props to the cheesemongers for being so good natured and chatty with me. They were equally sympathetic to L.'s cheese-less future and had good recommendations that further strengthened the list of cheeses already on my list. And just what was that list?

Well, some I chose based on previous McCrossen's cheese and wine events. Other cheeses made the cut due to a longer standing love of them. And then there were a few new ones I tasted at the suggestion of the mongers, and enjoyed heartily. So. Starting in the top left corner (the cutting board was a present from cousin K...it's a map of France with different cheese regions notated): Cabot clothbound cheddar; Hudson Red; Comte Essex; Fougerus; Ossau Iraty; Chatham Hearts; Truffle Tremor...with a Roquefort in the center.

Oh boy a good plate it was. I might could have gotten a bigger slab of the fougerus, and the Chatham goat was good but not as interesting as the goat's cheese I had wanted (which had peppercorns in it/it wasn't in stock). The Ossau Iraty was a definite nutty delicious success. And the cheddar remains some of the best that I've had.

I was very pleased with the plate. While L. and Fatty were driving to meet me, I began preparing some of the elements of the dinner we would eventually eat. Once they arrived, the cheese plate went out so all the cheeses could warm up and live up to their potential.

While the cheeses were warming up we went on a woodsy walk.

At some point during that walk, it started to snow. Also, we did a photo shoot of silliness.

This is me practicing to be a goal post in the Super Bowl.

While this is Fatty running.

And this is me out of chronological order.

His return.

So in addition to the cheeses, which we enjoyed with baguette and red wine (gluten free crackers for Fatty), I made a sweet potato chorizo soup with a little walnut/arugula pesto accompaniment. Turned out pretty well.

I also poached a salmon in white wine. The salmon was laid upon a bed of leeks and topped with shallots. Turned out nice, though I think I used a slightly too sweet white wine. It wasn't moscat sweet, but something a bit dryer would have made me slightly happier. Additionally, I made a brie/mushroom/pea risotto, but by that point in the evening I totally forgot to take any photographs of it.

Once we were properly stuffed we went back outside, where the snow had really begun to fall and stick. At some point we went back out to the field, feeling the snow fall on our eyelashes and seeking the stars from the crowds.

These two are always great company and I delight in being able to feed them from time to time.

Poached Salmon

The evening after the art I made myself a piece of wild caught Alaskan King Salmon. Basically I poached it with onions, rosemary, garlic, lemon and white wine. It was generally a success, though the wine I chose wasn't quite right.

Still, I managed to not overcook the damn thing, which is a constant struggle I face as a home cook: overcooking meats of all kinds.