DAY ONE (not counting last night)

OK We're starting off the first full day here in Manomet. Last night's dinner of burgers and dogs went well, but I'm doing an Oleana inspired meal tonight; brined, grilled turkey, etc.

BEEN FAR TOO LONG!

OK this is just a head's up that I'll be cooking for 25-35 (depending on the day) relatives down in Plymouth this week. Will post images and meals. Cheers!

Quick dinner...

Quesadillas are a long time easy favorite of mine. Last night I wanted to jazz them up a little, so I added grilled duck magret breast and proscuitto. Duck was seasoned with garlic/pepper salt and grilled rare, then the Armenian string cheese is melted in a warmed tortilla. The meat is added and the whole thing returned to the pan for another minute. Add the critical hot sauce to taste... Served with sauteed corn, ramps and proscuitto and a great Lisa salad.

Black Beluga Lentils with Peppadew peppers and Salami

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion diced
1 cup salami diced
1 cup beluga lentils
3-4 cups chicken stock
Salt
7 Peppadew peppers diced
2 cloves garlic minced

Saute the onion in the preheated olive oil until softened (6-8 minutes) Add diced salami and cook for 2 minutes, then add lentils and 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock.Simmer over medium low heat for 30 minutes. Add additional 1/2 cup of chicken stock if the liquid has cooked off. Add a large pinch of salt and cook an additional 10 minutes or until the lentils are cooked through. Stir in the diced peppers and the minced garlic. Serve as a bed for pan roasted fish or grilled meat.

Serves 4.

Cooking Demo @ Harvard General Store Pictures

The Demo was successful despite Saturday being the nicest day of the year by far. People were very receptive to the Lentil dish, even people who don't "like" lentils. Enjoy. Recipes to follow!

Demo Day...

I did a trial run of the lentils last night with grilled steak and they were really great! Looking forward to the Demo... More to come!

Cooking Demo @ Harvard General Store

I am presenting a cooking Demo Saturday, April 25th @ 11AM at the Harvard General Store (http://www.harvardgeneralstore.com). The subject will be an easy and inexpensive meal. All of the ingredients will be available at the HGS. Tune in here for more details...

Saturday dinner

A simple meal at the "little shack in the swamp" consisting of a fair amount of breasts (You know boys...)(ie duck, quail, an veal...)

Sliced Duck breast with Baby Fig Compote
Boned quail with Forelle Pears
Shaved Salad of Radicchio and Belgian Endive
Braised Veal Breast with Farro Risotto, butter poached Asparagus and Tarragon Gremolata

Not too shabby!

Saturday lunch aka the greatest new food trend!

SHOVEL ROASTED OYSTERS!

After a wonderful lunch of Jon's Chili and raw oysters eaten fireside, Brendan hits on the idea of roasting the oysters on a shovel... and the rest is history! When they open they are between raw and fried in consistency with the sweet salty and smoky-just great!

Boy's Burning Weekend II- The Wine

The 1978 Prunotto Barolo Bussia... Not sure I can add much more... Amazing and very generous. Thanks B!

Dinner with Chrissy at Tomasso's

Had nice dinner at Tomasso's in Southboro, MA on the 31st. Great food and atmosphere... (tomassotrattoria.com) We had great antipasti and dinners...

Rabbit Brining

A nice little Sunday dinner I made for Jon, Jesse, Lisa and I. I started with a 3lb. rabbit that I cut up and used the rabbit cure recipe from the Zuni Cafe cookbook. It involves kosher salt, pepper and fresh thyme rubbed over the meat and letting it sit for an hour or so. Then the salt is washed off and the meat is soaked in milk to cover for another hour. I then browned the meat and roasted it in the cast iron skillet. Came out really great...

Sunday Breakfast...

A little breakfast I whipped up with leftover roasted fingerling potatoes, local bacon, and a farm fresh egg. Plus I found a use for all the pretty too sour sourdough pizza dough I made a few weeks back. Worked great with walnuts, butter, brown sugar and lemon juice brushed on before baking.

Local Farm Search One

This a new project I'm starting on the suggestion of my friend Jon; to collect info on the various small and retail local food producers. Lisa and I headed out of Harvard looking for 2 microfarms in Concord...The first, Spencer Brook Farm (www.spencerbrookfarm.com) was quite easy to find and a beautiful location. They had a couple versions of salad mix, Pork in the freezer, as well as honey, wool and some very nice small artwork and postcards.

Grilled chicken and spaetzle with fire-roasted beets

I had some large red beets that I roasted in the coals of my Weber grill after making dinner. After a quick rinse you can cut off the skin and use them as you would any roasted beets. The spaetzle couldn't be easier... 2 c flour, 1/2 to 3/4 c milk, salt and pepper. Then fill the hopper of the spaetzle maker and slide it back and forth over boiling water. When they float to the surface they're done. I drain them and cool them in ice water before adding them to the sauce.