Week 1 of food coma.....

So, Christmas version 3 on the Central Coast was again "the best ever". This time it was just 5 of us in the house, which was definitely less hectic. There were no scheduled activities, it was nice to laze around, take walks, go to the beach, and just enjoy the peace. Speaking of the beach, this one turned out pretty good:
For Christmas Eve, I made cioppino, with fresh fish from the fish market in Morro Bay (supplemented by some crab legs from the grocery, they were on sale...). Local California halibut, the sweetest bay scallops, the shelled crab, and some fresh clams went into a thicker version of my family marinara recipe, just simmered long enough for the clams to open and the fish to cook.
This turned out great! I took my dad's advice and made sure the marinara was nice and thick so that the stew wouldn't thin out like bouillabaisse (like theirs did in Colorado this year.... sorry Dad!)

Some dead soldiers:
Oooh, learning how to use depth of field on my DSLR camera, hehe:

Cannolis to round out a semi-traditional Italian American Christmas Eve, then off to wait for Santa:


Andrew cooked up some quail to go with a spectacular mini-vertical of Loring Cargasacchi Pinot on Saturday:
All in all a great weekend for food, I feel like I had my fill of cream cheese based items though. Grand plans for New Years as usual, with photos to follow....

Way overdue

I got this cookbook for Christmas last year (or maybe the year before), it was one of those "I should probably have this". I borrowed my mother in law's copy just previously to make something, I can't remember what now..

Anyhow, it really screams 80s to me, but I've been meaning to try making the famous Chicken Marbella. So I did, but I cut the recipe way down (the recipe in the book serves about eleventy billion people I think, sheesh). You know what? It was really good!! The balance between the marinade, the dried plums (er.. prunes), the olives & capers. I would absolutely make this again! Maybe even for company.


Speaking of company, the holidays are well underway and aside from our annual barbeque the day after Thanksgiving, we have yet to have company over. I'll be making cioppino and probably canolli (if I can remember to buy shells before Monday) in the Los Osos house for Christmas Eve, so I'll be sure to take some good photos and post on it.

Rest and recovery

After too many weeks of this, we had a brief respite at the coast. That and the big guy was a statistic of the H1N1 flu... he was out for a whole week with a terrible fever and aches. But, he felt good enough for a 5 hour drive.. well worth it to get to this:

After a day spent at Pismo Beach, and an afternoon of just lolling about the house, we headed down to the fish market in Morro Bay and picked up these beauties, live spot prawns. Andrew was brave and did the skewering.. yes they were still alive here.

Not so live anymore, made for great surf and turf.

I really have been cooking at home for a change, but just comfort food this week now that we are over flu and colds.. soup, pot roast, chicken divan, sausage and cabbages... things I have posted about before, and fall back on when I am busy.

Oh, and this cheap thing -- eggs in purgatory. Poached eggs in tomato sauce over toasted tuscan bread. Yum!


Its almost recipe testing time for the New Years extravaganza though, yay!

I love this man

3 meals from these books this week. Not sure why I haven't managed to take photos, but it has been a crazy one.

Away...

Sadly,

It's been youth baseball tournament time... Henderson & Paso Robles.

Not much cooking, but this:
http://www.ajisen-la.com/

and this: http://www.southpointcasino.com/dining/big-sur-oyster-bar.php... 3 words, lobster grilled cheese

Soup night was back today with the triumphant return of pasta e ceci. Yum!

It's my birthday.... almost

So, rather than an expensive night out, look what we bought:
Yes, they cost $26/lb, but for 3 people to have a steakhouse meal, with wine for 2, for less than $100, a steal.

Plus I loooovvveee these carrots, pan roasted with thyme:
The steaks were expertly cooked to the rare side of medium rare, and were absolutely sinful.

Tensley syrah from the central coast to balance out the meal, capped off by a visit to the neighbor's hot tub.
A perfect pre-birthday celebration (since my birthday will be spent watching my 6th grader play in his first flag football game before trucking of to a baseball tournament in Nevada).

Tomorrow... Dodger dogs @ Chavez Ravine!

Problem Solver

So... here we were several beverages into the evening, after a beautiful sunset at Montana de Oro state beach, and I was told, "Here's some halibut, can you do something with it?". Well, here is what I did.... sorry for the lack of photographic evidence, too much wine and beer was consumed...
I buttered a pyrex dish, placed the thick halibut steaks in the dish, salt & pepper, and into a 350 oven for about 15 minutes. Then Andrew finished on the grill. That's it, there was no magic formula, no secret recipe. Just simple, fresh, honest. Some perfectly grilled yellow squash, a steamed local artichoke (with lots of butter & mayo of course), some green salad, and the forementioned wine - Claiborne & Churchill Riesling and Gewurtztraminer to be exact.
What a great weekend!