Hello Halibut Stock!

Well, right now is the season for Fresh Wild Alaskan Halibut, which is super delicious in my opinion.

Buy this fish (or any wild caught) while it's in season to promote sustainable fishing ( https://www.msc.org/ )

This weeks "Seasonal Bistro" menu:

Shaved Celery & Fennel Salad with Sweet Pickled Radish

Fresh Spinach & Chard Gratin

Nut Crusted Halibut with Spicy Lemon Cucumber Sauce

Puff Pastries with Blackberry Ice Cream & Chocolate Sauce

If you have a fishmonger that fillets his own Halibut, ask for the bones, this makes the most flavorful fish stock. Add whatever vegetables (lemons, tomatoes, carrots, celery, onion) you desire include lots of herbs (thyme, bay, parsley, peppercorns) & simmer stock for 30 minutes (fish stock doesn't take as long as meat stocks). I like to stain it & then reduce for easier storage. Halibut stock can be used for seafood pies, soups, white wine sauces. For added flavor you can "sweat" the vegetables before you add water. Do not use mackerel or salmon in this recipe; their taste is too strong and heavy.

Halibut Stock
3 c cold water
1 onion
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
sprinkle of black peppercorns
sprig of parsley
1 bay leaf
sprig of fresh thyme
3 garlic cloves
1/2 lemon
1 lb halibut fish bones

Place water, onion, carrot & celery in stockpot. Tie peppercorns, parsley, bay leaf, thyme, cloves, and lemon rind in a square of cheesecloth and add to pot. Add rinsed fish bones and trimmings. Heat to a simmer over medium high heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Skim the surface of the soup, strain the stock, and refrigerate or freeze.

Graduation Feast ~ Kleyla Backyard BBQ

Texas Style BBQ in Rhode Island?

For the sport of it (well, and as a favor to Chris K & money enough for the ride back to Austin) my cousins & I threw a party for one of our favorite families; graduations for two of them, a birthday for Katie, a brand new kitchen for mom & the oldest home for a visit. This definitely calls for celebration, we decided to give them a taste of Texas.

The Menu:

• Slow Cooked Whiskey & Cider Brisket

• Spicy Texas BBQ Sauce

• Barrocho Beans

• Roasted Corn on the Cob

• Cheesy Jalapeño Corn Bread

• Homemade Mac & Cheese

• Sauteed Collard Greens

Slow Cooked Whiskey & Cider Brisket

1

Ricci Reserve's Feline Wine

Grandpa Ricci has been growing this garden forever.

It has been located in many different spots around his North Providence backyard, the garden now resides on a dirt patch where the old above-ground pool used to be. It is now a lovely circular garden that has been manicured & tended to so lovingly. What you should know about Grandpa Ricci is that some people like to describe this gentlemen as being a bit particular and he loves cats, a lot. This first quality has helped produce an excellent viniculturist, not to mention his green thumb and of course the beautiful Rhode Island summer weather.

I believe that when "Ricci Reserve" started Grandpa Ricci was ordering his grapes from an

outside source maybe even from Connecticut (no way!), he has since started using his own grapes.

This summer I have had the pleasure of drinking his 2007 rosé; a crisp, high in alcohol, sweet wine, reminiscent of a humid summer night with a note of fresh cut grass and a spicy marinara at the end. And it might remind me of 1965 if I was born.

I designed this wine label for RR's 2001 Rosé. It's pretty 2001 of me.

Here's an unusal recipe that originated in Naples, Italy.

Concord Grape Pie

6 c ripe concord grapes, washed
3/4 c raw turbinado sugar
1 T tapioca
pastry for a 9-inch pie

butter

Directions:

Pop off the skins of the grapes by pinching them at the end opposite the stem; set skins aside. Put the grape pulp into a heavy pan, bring it to a boil, cook for 6 minutes. Then strain grape pulp through a sieve to remove grape seeds. Pour the hot pulp over the skins and let the mixture sit for 5 hours. Add the sugar and tapioca, then pour the mixture into the pie crust and dot with butter.

Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and cook 20 minutes more until the crust is browned and the juice begins to bubble up.

(Tapioca is a flavorless, colorless, odorless starch extracted from the root of some sort of plant)

Greek Biker Day in Coventry, Rhode Island

The Menu:

• Roasted Gold Potatoes & Marinated Artichoke

• Fresh Parsley Tabouli

• Zatar Grilled Chicken

• Mini Sheep Feta & Spinach Lamb Burgers (I'm resisting the urge to use the term "slider")

• Creamy Hummus

• Kalamata & Toasted Feta Salad

• Shaved Cucumber & Yogurt Dip with Lemon

Our second day back in the hood was mostly preparing this Greek style feast for the party that my cousin through for the family to gather in one location. This was a challenge because we are not greek & this style of food is not very common in this area of Rhode Island. The cousins were very nervous about pulling this off.

Is it because we're in an Italian part of town with mostly Harley riding biker dudes? I was determined to prove that if you make delicious food that is perfectly cooked, they will eat it. And they did. All of it.

Zatar Grilled Chicken Thighs

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of any extra fat

4 T zatar (a middle eastern spice blend consisting of thyme, sumac & whole toasted sesame seeds)

2 T canola oil

kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper

directions: Heat grill. Then toss all ingredients in a stainless steel bowl using your favorite tongs (we should all have our favorites!). Grill on high heat turning twice until chicken is cooked through. About 4 minutes per side.