I went grocery shopping for the first time in a LONG time yesterday. It was invigorating! Unfortunately I was talked out of cooking and into a not-so-yummy dinner out (the company was great, the food so so, and the service horrible).

As a rebound, I decided to make the dinner I was going to eat last night for lunch today. Baked salmon fillet with olive oil & steak seasoning over angel hair pasta and fresh pesto sauce. The basil was amazingly brilliant in both taste & smell. Blended it with toasted pine nuts, olive oil, kosher salt & freshly shredded Parm until pesto-y. I made the salmon & pesto last night before turning in, and then boiled the pasta this morning to finish off the dish.

I haven't had a great Monday lunch like this in a while - maybe this week won't be so bad!

Tomato & cucumber sandwich on sunflower bread from Spring Mill with Veganaise Grape seed oil mayo and strong brown mustartd. Plus a good chardonnay.

OK, that just trumps my Cibola Farms Bison & cranberry sausage, with peppers & onions from the farmers' market. I fold. Never eating dinner again. . . .

Don't despair, Scottee. We left Waitman and the Mrs. in France and flew home yesterday to the realities of kids and laundry and jet lag. Dinner was fried bologna and onion sandwiches, with mustard.

Previous night's dinner was at Alain Assaud in St. Remy, but I'm letting Waitman write that one up.

Four (4) Guinnesses and four (4) strawberries.

Anybody got a Tylenol?

I hear ya. Leftover burger, no bun, bottle of Cotes du Rhone. Though I did have 2 nectarines before hittin' the sack that were sublime-- had to eat them over the sink they were so juicy.

One fragrant white peach from a roadside stand, a handful of tomatoes from my own backyard.

And by accident, nearly a pound of Schwartz's smoked meat. I'd meant to thaw and steam just a few strips to augment my veggies, but it was sooooo good that I just kept going, fork in one hand, mustard bottle in the other...

I know just how that happens. My mouth says, "Yummy! More! More!" and my stomach says, "OK, you're the boss..."

A simple -- yet oh so satisfying -- meal:

Edamame
Salmon (oven poached in wine, butter and Old Bay)
Gingersnaps (the ubiquitous KitKat bars have been removed from the vending machine 'cause of the summer heat), and
Manhattan (a "tip o' the hat" to Corduroy for introducing Canadian Whiskey in my Manhattans. Hmmm. Good. )

Grilled flank steak rubbed with mustard seed, tarragon, and sea salt.

Inspired by a suggestion in the roasted red potatoes thread, I tossed some with olive oil, curry powder, garlic, and white pepper. They were tasty, but flavor was faint -- I need to get over my seasoning restraint.

Green salad with vinaigrette.

Sadly, no cocktail this evening.

An it's too hot and I'm too tired to really cook but want good food meal:
Nachos made with a cheddar and another cheese from Cowgirl with homemade salsa.
Blueberry Izzy with vodka
Bowl of blueberries and cream

Lemon/olive oil/basil/garlic-scape-marinated chicken breast. Pattypan squash quickly sauteed and then browned in the oven with smoked paprika and parmesan. A tasty summery meal.

gnocchi tossed with halved yellow cherry tomatoes, picholines, capers, mozzarella, diced garlic and shallots, basil, olive oil, sea salt and a few drops of balsamic vinegar

vinoce sauvignon blanc from the napa valley

sliced white peaches and valrhona noir noisette (with hazelnut couverture)

Two (2) martinis, one (1) glass of sangria, one (1) beer, and a bit of grazing at Jaleo.

Anyone got some common sense?

Apparently not me. Two Dogfish beers (the 120 Minute IPA & Golden Shower) and a couple non-descript cups of macro-brew from a pitcher downtown were only slightly balanced with a big bowl of fried dough with tomato dipping sauce.

Tonight's menu is roasted lamb loin, smashed red potatoes, fresh zucchini or a spinach salad. Sans alcohol.

It's strawberries and a green salad for me, accompanied by several tall, cold glasses of water. And an Alka Seltzer.

actually, these were orecchiette, pasta shaped like gnocchi. this is no way to treat a real gnocchi.

A Four-Cheese Lean Pocket and a bowl of organic Raisin Bran. Some nights are better than others.

Pork chops, sauteed and finished in the oven, pan sauce of white wine, dijon mustard, a little cream, tarragon, chervil, and some minced cornichons. Baguette. Green salad.

Later, vanilla ice cream with creme caramel au beurre sale, from Joel Durand's shop. I carried two jars of it back from France. From the website:I like the bit about seducing the liquorice.

I'm making cajun ribeyes with buttered noodles, broccoli, sweet corn and apple-blueberry crisp. The noodles were going to be orzo, however I realized I had no broth in which to simmer it.

Last night
Vegetarian dinner for four adults and two toddlers cooked in someone else's kitchen:
Broiled squash blossoms with baby fruit still attached, stuffed with herbed Pipe Dream goat cheese
Pea shoots with crimini mushrooms, red wine vinegar, evoo, truffle salt, and topped with piave
Sauteed squash and zuchinni with herbs
Purple heirloom roma tomatoes sauteed with garlic and basil over perciatelli topped with piave
Roasted garlic and mozerrellla Pao de Queijos

Dogs Head Pale Ale
Special Reserve Root Beer

We were supposed to have broiled blueberries for dessert but the almost four year old found them first

Tonight:
Cold roasted golden roma tomato soup (that was supposed to be for last night too but I forgot to bring it)
Roasted cherry tomato salad with three types of basil
Strawberry, black pepper and champagne Papa Rums from ShoeBox

OK. I have certainly heard of fried squash blossoms (and even attempted that myself a couple of years ago), but never broiled. Is there a trick to this?

Gazpacho

Griled Flatbread with Hummus, Grilled Veggies, Goat Cheese (Pipe Dreams) and Arugula

Broadbent Vinho Verde

It seems a lot of us are eating vegetarian meals with all of our green market bounty lately...

Panzanella-- with stale baguettes, tomatoes, cukes, fennel, Vidalia onion, roasted garlic, roasted red pepper, avocado, olives, Pecorino Toscano, basil, EVOO, red wine and balsamic vinegars, OJ and peel.

2005 Chateau Lascaux Rose

Big hunks of creamy, decadent cheese--Mount Tam, Le Pau, Red Hawk, Blanca Bianca--punctuated by the occasional chunk of Breadline baguette.

Homina.

Last nite:
Grilled pattypan squashes with a little olive oil and soy sauce
Roasted baby potatoes with soy/red wine marinated shiitake mushrooms
Heirloom tomato, sliced, with salt and pepper
Grilled ribeye steaks served with
a green "sauce" made with chopped chives, crushed garlic, parsley, lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, and toasted pistachios (This was a new concoction made by husband and it was awesome!)

2004 Ravenswood Zinfandel

Tonite: Leftovers!

eggplant tomato gratin a la richard olney, with saffron custard and saffron rice

domaine ehrhart pinot gris im berg 2004

cold water

i am still making my way through deborah madison's supper book, and there is some serious cholesterol in this recipe, but it is at least grass-fed if not raw. purple and white (my high school colors) asian eggplant from the farmers market, after a week wrapped in the vegetable bin, were still far superior to anything you can find at the grocery store. i sampled a raw piece for bitterness and there wasn't any, just good flavor, so didn't need to salt them.

the recipe isn't fast, so i would take care of the first part ahead of time: preparing a tomato sauce, which starts off sauteeing diced onion and celery. a whole peeled carrot, removed at the end, is added to balance things out. tomatoes, i used yellow, are simmered for a good hour or more with a bay leaf and basil is added at the end. this is a bit more elaborate than it needs to be. for all-purpose sauce, i always have some alice waters tomato confit in the freezer: peeled tomatoes on a bed of basil doused with olive oil and salted, baked in a pyrex bowl or casserole in a 350-degree oven for an hour and a half or so, until the tomatoes are caramelized. you can try many variations of this, throwing in garlic, scallions, using purple basil, etc.

the gratin layers tomato sauce and sliced eggplant. the saffron custard uses eggs, riccota, milk, parmesan and mozarella, and is baked on top.

saffron rice starts out with sauteed butter and onion, a small bay leaf and one-third cup of dry white wine are added. long-grained rice makes it lighter.

for the rest of the week, it will probably be too hot to stay in the kitchen the amount of time it takes to make this. tonight it will be a salad nicoise, which will only require a relatively small expenditure of heat to steam some small potatoes and green beans.

Last night's dinner was a pair of improvisational Korean-ish beef sandwiches -- shredded beef reheated with soy sauce, lime juice, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger. Served on a roll with red peppers and red onions, plus some cucumbers I quick-pickled in palm vinegar, brown sugar, and fresh mint. Good stuff.

Seafood stew, with fresh shrimp, scallops and monkfish in a long-simmered tomato base made with shrimp shell stock.

Fennel slaw

Sliced peaches with blueberry compote and vanilla ice cream

2005 Turkey Flat Rose

Buckeyes: 5:1 Tanqueray Ten and dry vermouth, garnished with a black olive

Ham, mushroom, black olive, and sharp cheddar frittata with seven-grain toast

Last night I made the recipe in Wednesday's WaPo Food Section: the shrimp with the commercial "Simmer Sauce." I took one for the team. Don't bother, unless you like really bland pseudo-Indian food.

Salad with butter lettuce, golden beets, heirloom tomatoes, and cold salmon. Honey basil vinaigrette.
Goat cheese croutes.
Sweet corn on the cob.
Rose.

What brand was the sauce? I've tried a few, and "bland" seems to apply to all of them.

It was the "Ethnic Gormet" Bombay Curry Simmer Sauce, which was the one recommended. The Yes! Gourmet store down the street carries the whole variety. Safeway has shrimp on sale this week, so what could go wrong? It was fast, however, but couldn't hold a candle to the Ma-Po Tofu Craig made the night before. Now THAT was something exciting. (recipe on epicurios).

I've been using Patak's Rogan Jhosh and Korma sauces for many years, to make an easy meal, and I've always found them to be very tasty. The Korma is mild, with coconut milk in it--I usually make vegetable Korma for my veggie-teen daughter, with chickpeas, potato, winter squash or carrots, green beans, mushrooms, peas, whatever combo I've got, or divide the pot, and put some chicken in for us. The Rogan Jhosh is quite spicy--I often make meatballs with ground turkey and poach them in the sauce. Of course, there are other quick and easy dishes to enhance the meal-- basmati rice, dal Makhani from Tasty Bite, raita, and a spicy fresh chutney with coriander and chiles, and Patak's eggplant pickle, which is plenty spicy. For a "semi-homemade" supper, it has always made my family happy. I haven't tried other brands, except Trader Joe's, which is eh, I stick with Patak's. Their Vindaloo is even spicier than Rogan Jhosh.

Wegmans has Dry sea scallops at $9.99/lb now, with a sign crediting "abundant supply" for the reasonable price.

Last night I used them to make Pan-Seared Scallops With Beurre Blanc Sauce from epicurious.dom.

With the scallops, I served smashed baby Yukon Gold potatoes and steamed green beans with lemon-chive butter.

Tonight:
Capellini with scallops, sweet corn, sungold tomatoes and basil. Sauced with white wine, butter, olive oil, lemon zest, S & P.
Green salad.
Halved apricots filled with mascarpone flavored with lemon zest.

Last night:
Grilled hot dogs. I tried the Coleman natural casing hot dogs, not bad. Nice garlicky flavor and snap.
Classic potato salad, with egg.
Sliced tomatoes.

I love summer.

Gazpacho
Chicken liver crostini
Apricot flan
2006 Avondale Rose´

Dinner last night:
Panko-crusted pan-fried catfish sandwiches w/remoulade
Steamed baby artichokes
Fruit salad

Lunch today:
Gazpacho
Leftover fruit salad (we make the never-ending bowl of fruit salad - just keep cutting up and adding more...)

toasted whole wheat pita stuffed with salmon, avocado, tomato and watercress

torbeck 2004 cuvee juveniles

i sauteed the salmon briefly with shallots in olive oil and bacon fat, the latter something totally new for me, inspired by nina planck's views on fat and someone in the kitchen making blt's the week before. bacon fat is a miracle gro for flavor, providing a nice boost. i added the salmon directly from the pan to the vegetables, dressed with pulverized garlic, vinegar and oil, which breaks the avocado down some and wilts the watercress.

the wine is somewhat provocative, a bit exotic, i guess because of the matard. it is 60% grenache and 20% shiraz. it took a while to open up, the body at first is silky smooth, almost cloying, and from there it's all layers of ripe, ripe fruit, with a slightly mad center. this is first-class communion wine or a charms lollipop for adults, take your pick, and it makes a strong impression, like it or not. (on sale, on tuesday at least, at whole foods on p street for $17.99, marked down from $26.99. however, watch the cash register when you check out because the sales price may not ring up. it didn't for me, which provided the opportunity for a five-minute chat with the wine department leader, who said that the team has been encountering problems with the wine prices, and tuna, but got tired of listening to my ranting fairly quickly and abruptly turned her back and walked out the store. i had been at least expecting to be refunded the difference. i went through my entire spiel about the store's pricing woes -- you can read it here, somewhere under stores -- with a second leader, who also didn't at first get the point that i wanted to be refunded at least the difference, and she promised that the discrepancy would be fixed as soon as i left the store. based on my experience, i would doubt it. based on the fact that nobody even bothered to look at my receipt or ask me what wine i was talking about, i also doubt it. but miracles do happen.)

Parmesan rind enjoyed with a glass of Laphroaig scotch (my favorite combination).

Portabello duxelles in my "special" red wine sauce over saffronated* biscuits with grated parmesan.

2003 Chateau Picau-Perna Saint-Emilion. Wonderful velvety bordeaux that went great with my special sauce (as well as playing a central role in the sauce itself).

*PLEASE let this be the first time anyone has every described something as "saffronated."

How does that work? Chew on it? Suck on it? Use it in place of ice cubes?

Seared dry scallops (from Wegmans) with tomato beurre blanc over rice
Sauteed corn and heirloom tomato salad with scallions and basil

No, don't be disgusting

You just... eat it. Like you would a bite of parmesan. It's waxy and flavorful and goes great with the scotch. You just sip the scotch after eating. Like you would sip a fine burgundy after taking a bite of steak. It's my ultimate relaxational comfort food.

Roast chicken with lemon and thyme. Served room temperature.
Beet salad with green beans, toasted walnuts, chives, goat cheese. Walnut oil, lemon and dill vinaigrette.
Baguette.
Mint chocolate chip ice cream cones.

Salmon, oven poached in wine, butter, and Old Bay
Zucchini Fritters adapted from Simply Recipes
Tater tots (I know, I know... but I definitely needed comfort food tonight)
and, of course,
KitKat bar (see above)

Roasted eggplant gazpacho a la Michel Richard

Spice crusted charcoal grilled tri-tip steak from Organic Butcher of McLean
Spice-rubbed grilled crimini mushrooms for Vegi-teen

Cheese grits

2004 Dão Quinta dos Grilos vinho tinto

Peach crisp with vanilla ice cream

Wood-grilled Coho salmon filets.
Tomatoes and basil from the garden.
Skillet cornbread (stone-ground cornmeal from Old Mill--and, if you will forgive a spouse's pride, my wife won a blue ribbon at the Maryland State Fair for her cornbread lo those many years ago.)
Fresh peaches.
2005 Kim Crawford sauvignon blanc.

Chuck roast from whole foods, trimmed of a little fat then ground (+ kosher salt and pepper) and formed into a hamburger patty. Grilled over hardwood charcoal to medium rare, on a toasted bun with mayo on the bottom and homemade mustard on top.

Sometimes, simple = good.
Strike that. Most of the time, simple = good.

i would have to start sipping on my scotch for some time before i found myself chewing on parmesan rind. you can boil it, though, and it is okay if you eat it while it is still soft, although it starts hardening the minute it gets out of the pot.