Vacation, how I've missed you.

 I've been back at work for five days and I swear it feels like my last vacation was at least two months ago. It was heaven while it lasted, though, and I wanted to share some photos from the week with you.

See you soon, PI!



Brian and Blue went out the day before Blue and I left. When Bucca and I finally met up with Bri Friday afternoon, I put Buc in the truck....and it was clear he wasn't going anywhere.

He was MUCH happier when we finally got to the deck. Can you blame him?!

Blue snoozed. A lot.
He definitely has this vacation thing down.

It rained quite a bit early in the week. Like, torrential downpours.
But once it cleared up, this is what awaited.

It's so beautiful and peaceful sitting on the deck, you forget what waits for you on the other side of the gate.

Fourth of July night, we were treated to the most beautiful sky.

It was nearly as breath-taking as the fireworks that followed.
Like a nighttime rainbow.

Happy hour!
The week started with this delicious grown-up ginger lemonade.

Wine on the upstairs deck. <Great for checking out the neighbors! ;-) >

Two favorites from the Plum Island Grille:
Watermelon Smash (think watermelon Jolly Rancher)

and the infamous Plumtini.

Cheers!!

Old Fashioned Apple Crisp

We eat well at the beach. Anywhere, really, but at the beach especially.

It helps that your internal clock switches to "vacation time" as soon as you come over the bridge into Newburyport. Whether you're there for the night, a weekend, or your summer vacation week, there's something that's just different about time spent on the water.

And, how can food not play a huge role in that, when each day starts with a "committee meeting" to decide on the day's culinary adventure? Most often it's breakfast in (unless someone suggests Mad Martha's...and the wait's not too long), lunch out (but a grilled ham and cheese at home works, too), and dinner in (well...what does the Plum Island Grille have for specials?!). Grocery lists are drafted, reservations made, plans set.

It's a lazy, comfortable, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of time - is it any wonder it's one of my favorite places to be?!

We'll next be there for Easter weekend, and we have a fabulous menu planned.  Can't wait to share it with you!

This apple crisp is by far the best I've ever had. Most crisps tastes pretty much the same to me - not much distinguishes one from the next. Until now. The orange and lemon put it truly over the top. And they aren't just background flavors; they compliment the apples perfectly while standing on their own, as well.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 5 pounds McIntosh or Macoun apples
• Grated zest of 1 orange
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 T freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 T freshly squeezed lemon  juice
• 1/2 C granulated sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 C flour
• 3/4 C sugar
• 3/4 C light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 C oatmeal
• 1/2 lb. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 14 by 2-inch oval baking dish.
2. Peel, core, and cut the apples into large wedges.
3. Combine the apples with the zests, juices, sugar, and spices. Pour into the baking dish.
4. To make the topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Scatter evenly over the apples.
5. Place the crisp on a sheet pan to catch any juices and bake for 1 hour or until the top is brown and the apples are bubbly. Serve warm.
 

Down by the Seashore

We spent the past week on Plum Island and what a week it was. The weather was absolutely perfect and there were outdoor concerts, more fireworks than you can imagine, tall ships in Boston Harbor, Blue Angels over Boston Harbor, shopping, ice cream, skee ball, and of course much food and drink.

This Seafood Stew is one of the first meals Brian and I prepared this week and it was a perfect beach meal. The recipe is very versatile - the original called for bass and haddock, but we had some tilapia that we hadn't cooked the night before, and I also threw in some scallops. To make it even more special, we steamed a small lobster and used that as the garnish. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 small yellow onions, chopped
• 2 cups large-diced small white potatoes
• 2 cups chopped fennel (1 large bulb)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups white wine
• 1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1 quart seafood stock
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1/2 pound sea scallops, halved
• 1 pound tilapia fillets, cut in large chunks
• 1 bag mussels, cleaned
• 3 tablespoons Sambuca
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1 1-1/2 pound lobster, steamed, claw and tail meat diced
• 2 tablespoons fennel fronds, finely chopped
• Toasted baguette slices, buttered and rubbed with garlic

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a stockpot, then add the onion, potatoes, fennel, salt, and pepper, and saute over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, until the onions begin to brown.
2. Add the wine and scrape up the brown bits with a wooden spoon.
3. Add the tomatoes with their juices, stock, and garlic, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
4. Add the shrimp, scallops, fish, and mussels, bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and allow the pot to sit covered for another 5 minutes. The fish and shrimp should be cooked and the mussels opened. Discard any mussels that don't open. Stir in the Sambuca, orange zest, and salt, to taste.
6. Ladle into large bowls.  Garnish with fennel fronds and lobster.
7. Serve with toasted baguette.

Source:  Adapted from Ina Garten

Tuscan Chicken with Lemon Couscous

In celebration of Sue's birthday, Brian and I made dinner tonight on the Plum. This is a new recipe from the American Heart Association. If you didn't know it is heart healthy ("HH," as Brian refers to it), you'd never know. Big flavors in a nice, easy, delicious meal!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Zest of one lemon, divided
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp  chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 16 cubes
• 16 whole crimini mushrooms, stemmed and cleaned
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 16 pieces
• 16 cherry tomatoes
• 1 small onion, quartered, then chopped in eigths
• cooking spray
• 1 box parmesan couscous
• 1 1/4 C chicken stock
• 2 scallions, diced

Method:

1. In a large freezer bag, stir together 1/2 the lemon zest, lemon juice, rosemary, oil. garlic, oregan and red pepper flake.
2. Add the chicken and stir to coat.
3. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes or up to 8 hours. (Turn several times if marinating longer than 30 minutes.)
4. When ready to cook, preheat grill on medium high.
5. Drain the chicken and discard the marinade.
6. Alternately thread chicken and vegetables onto 4 metal skeweres.
7. Lightly spray all sides with cooking spray.
8. Grill the kebobs 2 - 3 minutes on each side (8 - 12 minutes total), or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the vegetables are tender.
9. Meanwhile, cook the couscous according to the package directions, using the chicken stock instead of water. When done, fluff with fork, adding in the remaining zest and half of the scallions.
10. Serve kebobs over the couscous, and garnish with remaining scallions.

Variation on a Theme

We liked last weekend's lobster pie so well that we made it again yesterday. To mix things up, though, this time we use shrimp and scallops.

I didn't go to the fish market, so am not sure how much either weighed, but we had three jumbo shrimp and three sea scallops for each of us. I chopped all the seafood to ensure they were uniform in size (so they'd cook evenly), and cut the shrimp in thirds and the scallops in half. We had a little more seafood this time than we got from the lobsters last weekend.

We also cut back on the butter and Ritz crackers, using one stick and two cups, respectively.  Baked at 425 degrees for 17 minutes, the seafood was perfectly cooked and the crumbs had browned nicely.

The verdict?

Well, Sue and I liked to scallop and shrimp combo best.  Brian liked both and Kevin would like to try a scallop, shrimp, and lobster combo next. I think he's just looking for some more butter and Ritz cracker topping! ;-)

Lobstah!

Brian and I spent the weekend on Plum Island with his mom and dad and his Aunt Kathy. Wanting to try something different, we made the Maine Diner's Lobster Pie.  Oh, my! This is our adaptation of the original recipe.

Ingredients

• 5 1-lb. lobsters
• 2 sticks butter
• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 3 C crushed Ritz crackers, about 2 1/2 sleeves  (Note - we all agreed there was way too much cracker topping.  Next time, I'd use just 2 C.)
• chopped parsley, for garnish
• lemon wedges, for garnish

Method

1. Steam lobsters in salted water 12-15 minutes, or until done. 
2. Allow to cool.
3. Over a bowl that can hold the juices, pick out the meat from the tails and claws
4. Melt butter in skillet.
5. Stir in the lemon juice.
6. Remove from heat and stir in the crushed crackers.
7. Add enough reserved lobster juice so the mixture is moist and thick, somewhat like stuffing.
8. Place lobster meat in a buttered 2 quart casserole.
9. Cover with the cracker mixture, patting it on evenly
10. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes or until cracker is golden brown.
11. Garnish with parsley and lemon wedges.

This was our first time cooking lobster ourselves - yikes.

Brian kisses Sally good bye and thanks her for her service!

Seriously.  You could top anything with Ritz crackers and butter and it would be delish!

It was soooo good....

...all that was left were some breadcrumbs!

We served the pie along side a traditional potato salad - check it out here.

It was so good, I think we should rename it the Linger Longer Lodge Lobster Pie!